Town of Willington, CT - PZC Meeting Minutes 01/20/2015

PZC Meeting Minutes 01/20/2015

Planning and Zoning Commission

40 Old Farms Road Willington, CT 06279

January 20, 2015 7:30 PM

Meeting Minutes

Roll Call

Members Present

Andrew Marco – Chairman

Doug Roberts – Vice-Chairman

John Sullivan – Secretary

Phil Nevers

Edward Standish

Kenneth Golden

Members Absent:

Walter Parsell - excused

Also Present:

Susan Yorgensen – Planner/Zoning Agent

Public Hearing

D. Roberts called the Public Hearing to order at 7:30. A. Marco was present via conference call.

PZC2014-38 Amend Zoning Regulation Section 5.07.03.01 (setbacks) and allowable yards for the DCR zone in table 8.02 which are conflicting. Applicant: Willington River Corporation (Received November 18, 2014 Public Hearing January 20, 2015 Decision within 65 days after close of P.H.)

Mark Peterson of Gardner & Peterson Associates was present for the applicant. He said there is a discrepancy in the regulations in regards to setbacks as it refers to a 200 foot setback and a 100 foot setback. He said they are asking the Commission to match the dimensional requirements of the site and allow for a 100 foot setback from the structure to the property line. A discussion was held.

Ralph Tulis cautioned the Commission as this may set a precedent and affect other DCR zones in town. He asked the Commission to consider subsequent development that may occur.

Mr. Peterson said they are interested in a multi-family development and showed the proposed plans. He said they are asking for a 100 foot setback because a 200 foot setback will have adverse effects. W. Parsell questioned if the development would be apartments or condos and Mr. Peterson said they do not yet know.

E. Standish asked the drawbacks of changing to 100 feet and Mr. Peterson said he does not know the drawbacks; he feels they are providing an adequate buffer. E. Standish asked if existing houses would have a small buffer and Mr. Peterson said yes.

Mr. Tulis said, with an irregular shaped lot like this, 100 feet vs 200 feet is going to have a dramatic impact. He suggested taking an inventory of the properties that could be affected. D. Roberts asked S. Yorgensen if this could be done and she said they could look at all the DCRs. S. Yorgensen explained that when the regulations say 100 feet in the table and 200 feet in another Section 4. She spoke with the Attorney and he said it was the Commission’s call on which way to go.

The Commission discussed keeping the Public Hearing open to gather additional information.

E. Standish motioned to continue the Public Hearing to February 3, 2015. W. Parsell seconded the motion. A. Marco asked S. Yorgensen to look at the previous regulations to see if this is a typo. Vote was held. All in favor.

Regular Meeting

PZC2015-01 Amend approved Special Permit for R & D Kempo LLC to move Martial Arts School from upper level to lower level unit # 11 1600 sq. ft. Owner: C & S Willington Limited Partnership Applicant: R & D Kempo, LLC (Received January 20, 2015 Public Hearing or decision within 65 days)

S. Yorgensen said the owner is asking the applicant to move to the lower level but the use will remain the same. A discussion was held and the Commission agreed this was a minor modification.

PZC2014-30 Pursuant to CGS 8-24 request for review and approval of a lighting plan for the drop-off and pick-up parking lot at 12 Old Farms Road (Center School) Owner/Applicant: Town of Willington

S. Yorgensen said the applicant has revised the light fixtures and the Commission looked at the plans. Alan Patnode of Patnode Electric was present and said the shields are now going to be manufactured. A. Marco said the light won’t bleed out with the manufactured shields; that’s what they were looking for.

PZC2014-14 Request of Hull Products, Inc to conduct timber harvest in Conservation Easement on property at 476 Tolland Turnpike (Map 21 Lot 22 Zone R80) Applicant: Hull Forest Products, Inc.

Chris Casadei of Hull Products was present. He said he was before the Commission in June after IWWC approved the application. S. Yorgensen said the access area was the concern of IWWC. Mr. Casadei said the wetlands crossing is an established woods road and in very good condition. He said he would be happy to use the wetlands flags that are out there as it is a very sensitive site.

Mr. Casadei presented photos of the site taken last Thursday and pointed out the corresponding areas on the plans. He gave a very detailed description of the various areas of the site. He also presented an alternative access and explained why it is not a better alternative.

Mr. Casadei said they will use a forwarder which is an 8 wheeled machine and will build their own crane mats out of timber; the mats will be 20 feet long. He said it will be 3 to 4 days of work to harvest. S. Yorgensen asked if they had a management plan and Mr. Casadei said no, not a written management plan but strategies have been discussed with the landowner.

K. Golden expressed his concerns on the disturbance from previous work done as shown in the pictures. Mr. Casadei said his company is extremely concerned about the environment and hire only the best loggers. He said the logger they are going to use has 35 years of experience and is one of the best loggers in the state of Connecticut. A discussion was held on the short window they have to get the work done as it has to be done when the ground is frozen.

Mr. Casadei said they will take out approximately 100 trees; mostly Ash trees. A discussion was held on the Ash trees and Mr. Casadei said they are not going to eliminate every Ash tree. Chairman Marco referenced the POCD and a discussion was held on the easement. Mr. Casadei referenced the conservation easement document which allows for pruning and thinning. A. Marco asked if the Commission felt this was pruning and thinning.

Further discussion was held on Ash trees and K. Golden said he was talking to an Arborist at UCONN; he said if you have any Ash trees that you want for any kind of use, now is the time to harvest them because over the next few years they are going to be worthless and wind up on the ground.

PZC2015-2 Review of lighting for sign at 451 River Road (Map 34 Lot 6 Zone R80) Applicant: Allen Patnode

S. Yorgensen said the lighting is similar to the lighting that was approved for the library; the only difference is the library included a horizontal blade louver which provided for horizontal cut off and this one does not. The Commission looked at the proposal. E. Standish asked if it is downward lighting and Mr. Patnode said it can’t be downward lighting; it has to point at the sign. Mr. Patnode said the cost of the lighting is the concern of the applicant. A discussion was held on light pollution. K. Golden asked the type of bulbs and Mr. Patnode said T5’s. A. Marco said they have been pushing for dark skies and believes they should stick with that.

Old Business

The Public Hearing has been continued.

E. Standish motioned to approve application PZC2015-01 as it is a minor modification. K. Golden seconded the motion. All in favor. Motion carried.

Chairman Marco motioned to approve the request per CGs 8-24. W. Parsell seconded the motion. All in favor. Motion carried.

PZC2014-14 Request of Hull Products, Inc. to conduct timber harvest in Conservation Easement on property at 476 Tolland Turnpike (Map 21 Lot 22 Zone R80) Applicant: Hull Forest Products, Inc.

A discussion was held on the crossing and the mats. K. Golden said he would like to see the applicant use smaller trees for the approach to the mats so that it doesn’t push the dirt up. He would also like to see the work done when the ground is frozen.

A discussion was held on the Attorney’s recommendations and the IWWC recommendations. Mr. Casadei said he has made some changes and they will stay out of the wetland area. E. Standish and K. Golden agreed it was a reasonable compromise to stay out of the wetlands.

S. Yorgensen said she was disappointed that the “alternate” plan was not submitted prior to the meeting in order that the IWWC could have given their input.

E. Standish motioned to approve request PZC2014-14 with the following conditions:

Harvesting to be done outside of the wetlands as marked by the soil scientist.
Bridge Mats of with small trees at either approach to be laid across the crossing.
Logging will take place during frozen conditions.
Applicant to submit a graphical representation of the revised plan.

W. Parsell seconded the motion. A vote was held. A. Marco voted to oppose the approval of the logging within the easement. All others in favor. Motion carried.

PZC2015-2 Review of lighting for sign at 451 River Road (Map 34 Lot 6 Zone R80) Applicant: Allen Patnode

E. Standish said they do not want to impose extra costs on the applicant but they do promote dark skies. W. Parsell said it is the same sign as the library. E. Standish said the library has louvers that cut off more light. K. Golden said they should follow suit with the standards they have set with other applicants and a discussion was held.

E. Standish motioned to deny PZC2015-2 as the lights need to be full cut-off. K. Golden seconded the motion. A vote was held. W. Parsell opposed denying application PZC2015-2. All others in favor of the motion. Motion carried and application was denied.

Minutes

E. Standish motioned to approve the minutes of 10/21/14. W. Parsell seconded the motion. All in favor. Motion carried.

Correspondence

Letter from Selectman Mailhos appointing Nicole Martin to the Willington PZC Commission.
Town of Willington 2014-2015 General Government Budget Detail.
Letter from S. Yorgensen regarding a violation at 15 Wilderness Way.
Memo from the PZC Commission regarding the CGS 8-24 approval of the lighting plan for Center School.

Staff Report and Discussion

A discussion was held on the lanes and speed limit on Route 32 and Route 74 for the proposed Dunkin Donuts. A discussion was held on reducing the speed to 30 mph on a portion of Route 32 and placing a signal ahead sign.

Respectfully Submitted,

Michele Manas

Recording Clerk