Planning and Zoning Commission
40 Old Farms Road ~~~~Willington, CT 06279
October 2, 2007 - 7:00 P.M
Meeting Minutes
Regular Meeting:
The regular meeting of Planning and Zoning was called to order at 7:30 PM by M. Ellis.
Members Present: Matthew Ellis
Andy Marco
Thomas Murphy
Ralph Tulis
Jim Poole
Peter Latincsics
Phil Nevers
Members Absent: Norm Gray
Also Present: Mark Branse
J. Poole was seated as an Alternate for N. Gray.
Continuation of Discussions with Attorney Branse
Moratorium
The commission members explained to Attorney Branse that they are considering a moratorium on sub-division applications due to the fact that they are currently rewriting their sub-division regulations. They stated that this will prevent confusion when reviewing an application as to which set of regulations applies to which application.
Attorney Branse told the commission that there are three things that must be done in order to have a moratorium. He stated that first the moratorium needs to be adopted as a regulation amendment to the current sub-division regulations. The second term is that the time period set for the moratorium must be specified and reasonable. Attorney Branse stated that the state supreme court states that a reasonable time period is six months, although that can be extended if the new regulations are not complete. The third term is that the moratorium must be for a proper purpose. Attorney Branse stated that the state does say re-writing regulations is a proper purpose.
J. Poole told the commission members that the town of Lebanon asked for nine months for their moratorium and it was approved.
Attorney Branse also reminded the commission members that they must have a public hearing for an extension.
Pre-Application
Review proposed two-lot subdivision 34 Cisar Rd (Map 8 Lot 3) Owner/Applicant Nancy Smith
Steve Fillips was present for the pre-application discussion. He told the commission that a free cut was taken in 1986 on Cisar Road and now they are looking to build on the property. He told the commission that he understands the regulation states that he must have 40,000 square feet of buildable area and it must be as rectangular as possible. He asked the commission members to look at his currant plans to see if the buildable area he has determined is rectangular as possible.
The consensus of the Commission was that the buildable area is a rectangular as possible on that particular lot.
New Business
Request for recommendation of approval for Angela and Ashley Lanes.
J. Poole told the commission that he walked the property and he found that some of the iron pins and monuments that were to be placed to mark the conservation easements are not on the property.
S. Yorgensen said that Mr. Acimovic’s memo stated that everything required for the road was satisfied, and she received a signed, sealed letter from Gardener and Peterson stating that the monuments and pins had been set. J. Poole said that he went out with the map and could not find several of them.
J. Poole stated that there is a dug well that borders Lohse Road that has not been filled in. Peter Anderson from the Conservation Commission commented that he noticed some gravel piles in the open space area. R. Tulis said he would walk the property.
M. Ellis tabled the discussion to the next meeting.
Request for release of performance bond
Tabled to next meeting
File PZC2007-29- Application for Preliminary site plan approval in a Designed Commercial Zone. (Rcd. 9/18/07, Decision by 11/20/07)
J. Poole recused himself.
M. Ellis told the commission that they will see the plans again when reviewing the special permit, the plans that they are approving today are just conceptual.
M. Ellis made a motion to approve File PZC2007-29- Application for Preliminary site plan approval in a Designed Commercial Zone.
R. Tulis seconded the motion, all members voted in favor, thus the motion passes.
File PZC2007-30 Application for a Special Permit and Final site development plan for a Veterinary Hospital at 451 River Road (Map 34 Lot 6 Zone DC) Owner/Applicant Teresa & Jeffery Love (Received 9/18/07, P. H. 10/16/07, Decision by 11/20/07)
Public Hearing scheduled for 10/16/07
Old Business
File PZC 2007-17 Application for Resubdivision of Lot 7 Mihaliak Road Ext. & Rosemary Lane (Map 50, Lot 3, and Zone R80). Lechowiz Farms Estates Owner/Applicant: Mary C Litwinczyk & Litwinczyk Children, LLC (Received 6/19/07, P.H. 8/21/07 continued to 9/4/07. Decision by 10/16/07) Sitewalk 8/18/07
M. Ellis asked if staff received the documents that were missing. S. Yorgensen said that the town still has not received anything from the applicant or engineer.
R. Tulis made a motion to deny without prejudice, File PZC 2007-17 Application for Resubdivision of Lot 7 Mihaliak Road Ext. & Rosemary Lane (Map 50, Lot 3, and Zone R80). Lechowiz Farms Estates Owner/Applicant: Mary C Litwinczyk & Litwinczyk Children, LLC for the following reasons:
1. Documents required for the original subdivision to be valid are not filed.
2. Public improvements bond (or fee) for the original subdivision was not submitted.
3. Application is incomplete since evidence that the original subdivision is valid has not been submitted and this is an application for a Resubdivision on a lot that was part of the original subdivision.
P. Latincsics seconded the motion. All members voted in favor, thus the motion carries.
Minutes
M. Ellis made a motion to approve the minutes from the previous meeting. P. Latincsics seconded the motion.
R. Tulis and P. Nevers abstained, all other members voted in favor.
Correspondence
1. letter from DOT letting town know that they are still working on the plan to repair the Route 74 Bridge.
2. Letter from Crossen LLC letting the town know that they will provide all maintenance to the dam on their property by 10/31/07 and an engineering survey will be conducted
3. Town of Tolland is proposed to increase the maximum building height.
Staff Report and Discussion
Senior Housing
Bob Campbell came to the commission due to problems getting approval from the Health Department as their dumpster is too close to the well and causing a potential pollution hazard. Mr. Campbell stated that when the dumpster area was being built the builders were looking at an old set of plans that did not have the dumpster pad in its updated location. Mr. Campbell explained that they would like residents to be able to move into the senior housing by 11/1/07 and in order to do that they must create a temporary fix for their dumpster problem so they can get approval from the health department. Mr. Campbell said that until their engineer can create a new located for the dumpster pad and build it he would like permission to put an extra dumpster on the senior center’s dumpster pad and have the senior residents use that.
S. Yorgensen said that she thought the recreation area would be complete before a Certificate of Occupancy was issued. Mr. Patton said that the town does have money to complete the recreation area the builders just have not had enough time to complete it. He asked what PZC would like the town to do regarding the recreation area so they can proceed with obtaining their CO. S. Yorgensen said that the First Selectman could bond the recreation area so this way PZC knows it will be done. S. Yorgensen said that the plans for the housing also included a stone path with benches along the way from the housing complex to the Town Office Building, and those have not been put into place yet either. Mr. Patton explained that the area for recreation and the path was being used for construction equipment during building and
they had to wait for the septic to be finished before any additional construction could be done in that area. Mr. Patton asked if they could write a statement giving PZC a time line for when the remaining projects will be completed and the explaining how much money is committed to each project so they can go ahead and apply for the CO. S. Yorgensen said that is fine with her if the commission members agree. Commission members did not disagree. Discussion continued as to what specific items would be in the recreation area.
M. Ellis asked Mr. Campbell and Mr. Patton what they need from the commission to make the changes for the dumpster pad. Mr. Campbell stated that they are just asking permission to use the Senior Center’s dumpster pad to place an additional dumpster for the Willington Woods until their dumpster is relocated to the correct location.
S. Yorgensen stated that she would not have a problem if they choose to permanently leave the dumpster at the Senior Center, as it would be a shorter distance for the seniors to walk as well as all even pathways. Mr. Campbell stated that the ASHOW board would have to discuss that with HUD, as the dumpster would be outside of HUD’s lease lines if it were to stay at the center.
R. Tulis asked Mr. Campbell when he is looking to obtain a CO for Willington Woods. Mr. Campbell said they would like it as soon as possible as they would like seniors to be able to move in by 11/1/07. R. Tulis suggested allowing Willington Woods to use the Senior Center’s dumpster pad for sixty days. Mr. Campbell said that their engineer Hank Torcellini would be able to come up with a new site plan for the dumpster pad by then.
P. Nevers asked if there would be bins for recycling. Wilbur Gangway said that they do have recycling bins at the Senior Center’s dumpster area.
The commission members all agreed the Senior Center’s dumpster pad is large enough for two dumpsters to be placed on it and said that they will give Willington Woods/ASHOW sixty days to create a new plan for their dumpster pad.
J. Patton told the commission that ASHOW would put together a plan regarding the recreation area so it can be bonded.
Discussion on percentage of open space required for subdivision
P. Latincsics stated that he would like to see the commission increase the amount of open space that is required by sub-dividers to 25%, as it would be following in line with the town’s POCD.
The commission members discussed why 20% was chosen originally. M. Ellis stated that he does not want to penalize individuals who are “trying to save the family farm”. R. Tulis stated that he feels the choosing a percentage for open space is generational; he feels as time goes by it may increase as it has already increased from 15% to 20%. He stated that he would not like to see any changes now that they are in the middle of re-writing the sub-division regulations.
Peter Anderson told the commission members that the town currently owns 20% of the entire town in open space.
The commission members discussed what they would like to see the open space requirement to be. The commission members discussed if it should be based on number of lots in a sub-division or not. The commission members agreed that they should leave the open space requirement at 20% for now.
M. Ellis asked the commission members to forward all comments regarding the new sub-division regulations to himself and to S. Yorgensen.
Respectfully submitted,
Melissa McDonough
Recording Clerk
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