Planning and Zoning Commission
40 Old Farms Road Willington, CT 06279
April 6, 2010 – 7:30 PM
Meeting Minutes
Roll Call
Members Present:
Matt Ellis – Chairman
Tom Murphy – Secretary
Edward Standish
John Sullivan
Walter Parsell
Phil Nevers
James Poole
Member Absent:
Andy Marco – Vice-Chairman - excused
Also Present:
Susan Yorgensen – Zoning Agent
Public Hearing
M. Ellis called the Public Hearing to order at 7:30.
James Poole was seated for Andy Marco.
PZC2010-2 Application for Special Permit for Light Repair on Fed Ex Trucks at 672 River Road (Map Lot 1 Zone DI) Owner: Russ Boehle Applicant: Dennis M Lavallee (Received March 2, 2010 Public Hearing April 6, 2010 Decision within 65 days after close of P.H.)
Dennis Lavallee was present. He said he is a contractor for Fed Ex Ground and owns 13 Fed Ex trucks. Mr. Lavallee said the application submitted is to do light maintenance on the 13 trucks that he personally owns and he will not work on any trucks that he does not own. M. Ellis said they may have to change the wording of the application and asked about the race trailers currently on site. Mr. Lavallee said he sponsors the race team but does not own the trailers.
P. Nevers asked about storage for waste. Mr. Lavallee said the waste is self contained in drums from Safety Kleen and a company in Stafford picks up the waste oil to burn. A discussion was held on waste oil and antifreeze. T. Murphy asked how he handles spills and Mr. Lavallee said he has big containment pans under the trucks and then the waste oil goes into the drums.
Doug Stanish of Willington Auto Body was present. He asked for clarification on what the applicant is asking for and what the commission is granting. Mr. Stanish said, if the commission grants light repair, it requires a Commercial Repair License from DMV since the work is done on commercial vehicles. Mr. Stanish asked who is going to monitor this. Mr. Lavallee said he went to the state and as far as regulations go, he owns the vehicles and is working on his own vehicles. He said if the state requires him to have a license; they would have to require that from everyone that works on their own vehicles. A discussion was held on the wording of light repair.
Mr. Stanish said the commission has no way to monitor or control if they grant light repair and if it could be handled in this way, he would drop all his licenses and save $15,000.
A discussion was held on non- profit repairs and repairs for profit. A brief discussion was held on the site walk and Mr. Lavallee said he showed the commission his trucks and they all say Lavallee Enterprises. Mr. Lavallee said if the commission has EPA concerns, he will have Safety Kleen take the waste oil off site.
P. Nevers motioned to close the Public Hearing. E. Standish seconded the motion. All if favor.
Regular Meeting
PZC2010-1 Application for Modification of Final Site Development Plan to include Phases 2 thru 5 and Amendment to Special Permit ~at 511 River Road (Map 39 Lot 6 Zone DR) Owner/Applicant: Town of Willington (Received February 16, 2010 Public Hearing March 16, 2010 Decision within 65 days after close of P.H.)
Public Hearing was held March 16, 2010.
J. Poole motioned to approve the Modification of Final Site Development Plan including Phases 2 thru 5 and Amendment to Special Permit, at 511 River Road. J. Sullivan seconded the motion.
J. Poole asked S. Yorgensen if there were any issues with putting the well pump below ground in a chamber and she said no. A discussion was held on the chamber and the pump. T. Murphy said the town would have to meet all state and health requirements. J. Poole asked about Potability testing. Karl Acimovic said they have started filling out the application and will have to have a water study done which could take up to 18 months.
M. Ellis abstained from the motion. All others in favor. Motion carried.
PZC2010-2 Application for Special Permit for Light Repair on Fed Ex Trucks at 672 River Road (Map Lot 1 Zone DI) Owner: Russ Boehle Applicant: Dennis M Lavallee (Received March 2, 2010 Public Hearing April 6, 2010 Decision within 65 days after close of P.H.)
A discussion was held on the special permit. S. Yorgensen asked the commission about a spill prevention and maintenance plan. A discussion was held. A discussion was held on regulation 11.09. The commission discussed having the applicant provide a secondary spill containment plan, a waste oil plan and maximum waste allowed on site. A discussion was held on the wording of the special permit. A discussion was held on registered and unregistered vehicles on site.
The commission asked staff to come up with stipulations on approving this application and to provide them at the next meeting.
PZC2010-3 ~Application for Modification to Special Permit ~Final Site Development Plan to add 8’X20’ storage container and in the future a 25’X35” 3 sided pole building at 49 Hancock Road (Map 38 Lot 20 Zone R80)Owner/Applicant: Town of Willington (Received March 16, 2010 Public Hearing by April 20, 2010Decision within 65 days after P.H.)
Linda Nicholls and Karl Acimovic were present for the applicant. Ms. Nicholls said a container is coming in from a supplier for refrigerators and electronics. The future 25’ x 35’ container will be a building material swap shop for re-use.
M. Ellis asked the commission if they saw this as a major modification requiring a public hearing and they said no. J. Poole asked if the town will still be charging the $10 dump fee and Ms. Nicholls said that was up to the Board of Selectmen. A discussion was held on the companies that pick up various items and the charges associated with that. Ms. Nicholls said the Board of Selectmen are aware of this. J. Poole asked S. Yorgensen if they could separate the 8’ x 20’ and 25’ x 35’ in their approval and she said yes. J. Poole said he would like to get closure from DEP before the 25’ x 35’ is approved.
J. Poole motioned to approve the application for Modification to Special Permit and~Final Site Development Plan to add an 8’X20’ storage container only at 49 Hancock Road 8’ x 20’ container as depicted on the site plan. P. Nevers seconded the motion. The future a 25’X35” 3 sided pole building will stay on the agenda, until they get closure from DEP and no later than June 1st All in favor.
8-24 Review Capital Improvement Program for Fiscal Year 2011-2012, 2011-2015
A discussion was held on the 8-23 Review verses the 8-24 Review. J. Poole said he believes the commission should be approving under the 8-23 review. A discussion was held on the CIP and what should come before the commission. The commission has not yet received the revised version of the CIP. Ms. Nichols gave a revised copy to J. Poole. She said some of the items on the CIP have been there for 8 years. She said they were initially minor repairs and now they have blossomed. E. Standish said the commission is not getting the CIP in a timely fashion to do their part and said he does not feel they should take action. W. Parsell said they received it a month ago and he believes they were supposed to read 8-23 and look at all the items to see if they fit in with the Plan of Conservations and
Development.
J. Poole said the CIP is done on an annual basis. He said Public Works and the legislative body look at 5 years out from a planning perspective.
A discussion was held on the timing of when Board of Finance and Planning & Zoning receive the CIP. J. Poole said he would like to send a letter to the executive branch saying they are not getting the CIP soon enough in the process.
The commission agreed to review the CIP under 8-23 and asked S. Yorgensen to email the revised copy. The commission asked if John Patton could come in and speak to the commission at the next meeting.
Renewal of Special Permit for Dance Studio Leaps & Dreams Performing Arts LLC.
S. Yorgensen said Laura Chevalier has not responded to her renewal notices. M. Ellis asked the commission if they were okay with him contacting her and they said yes.
New Business
PZC2010-6 Sign Application 451 River Road Love Veterinary Center
J. Poole recused himself. The applicant Jeff Love was present. S. Yorgensen said the signage meets all regulations and requirements and gave the commission the diagram and specifications.
M. Ellis motioned to approve the signage and lighting as depicted on the plans and reviewed by staff. P. Nevers seconded the motion. All in favor.
S. Yorgensen asked Mr. Love how his experience has been in dealings with Planning and Zoning. Mr. Love said prior to his project he was a bit skeptical but everyone has been extremely helpful and has bent over backwards to work with him. He said they were fabulous to work with.
PZC2010-7 Sign Application 33 Ruby Road Willington Baptist Church
S. Yorgensen provided the commission with the plans. S. Yorgensen said the sign is larger than allowed but is a reduction in square footage from what they currently have. She said they are going to get rid of both signs and replace with the one sign. S. Yorgensen said she believes the sign meets regulations but the lighting does not.
A discussion was held on the current signage verses the proposed signage. A discussion was held on the applicant submitting new lighting plans. A discussion was held on the size of the proposed sign and the applicant staying within the current regulations.
The application was tabled until the next meeting.
Pre-Application - Town of Willington Ruby Road (Map 42 Lot 49 Zone R80) discussion on section 5.10 Reserved Land Zone
Karl Acimovic and Lynn Nicholls were present. M. Ellis asked if counsel had reviewed this application and S. Yorgensen said no. S. Yorgensen said, if the site is in a reserved land zone, they can do sand & gravel if a Special Permit is approved by Planning & Zoning. A discussion was held. K. Acimovic said they want to retain the site as a storage area and the gravel operation would be secondary. L. Nicholls said they need the space for storage especially in an emergency situation.
J. Poole said the town was under a Sand & Gravel Permit but Public Works continued to use the land as storage. He said the town has not followed the rules and continues to do whatever they want. Ms. Nicholls and Mr. Acimovic said they are trying to rectify the problem and are asking for direction. E. Standish said the Zone Change is one application and the Special Permit is another. J. Poole asked the town to interpret the regulations and come back before them. S. Yorgensen said the Reserve Land Zone comes first with a preliminary site plan and the Special Permit is second. She asked Ms. Nicholls and Mr. Acimovic to refer to section 13 of the regulations.
A discussion was held on whether or not a reclamation plan is required for a sand and gravel permit.
M. Ellis asked staff to contact Attorney Mark Branse regarding this discussion.
Subdivision Regulations
M. Ellis said a workshop has been set for April 27, 2010 for 7:00 at the library. M. Ellis will call Teri Haun regarding further work.
Minutes
Minutes were tabled until the next meeting.
Staff Report
S. Yorgensen had nothing further at this time.
Correspondence
- A memo from Gary Jones regarding the swap shed and container and his discussion with DEP.
Adjournment
Respectfully Submitted,
Michele Manas
Recording Clerk
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