Zoning Board of Appeals
Business Meeting of February 21, 2007
Present: Bruce Simpson, Elissa Flynn-Poppey, Michael Kulesza, Martin Murphy, Robert Garrity, Lorraine Sweeney, John Burke (7:40 p.m.)
Absent: No one
The duly posted meeting of the ZBA convened at 7:35 p.m. in room 105C at the Norfolk Town Hall. Vouchers were signed for office supplies (W.B. Mason) and Norfolk Condominium 40B monitoring (PSC).
The Board reviewed the January 21, 2007 business minutes. Mr. Garrity made the motion to approve the minutes as drafted. Mrs. Sweeney seconded the motion. The vote on the motion was unanimous.
Applications to Preview:
Ella Realty Trust – 10 Sherwood Drive - filed on February 7, 2007. The applicants (Jerry & Derek Jackson) were represented by Mr. Brian Gillis, E.I.T. from Dunn McKenzie. The two special permits requested are for the outside storage of greater than 1,000 square feet ( Section J.4.b.1.B.3) and for garaging of more than three commercial vehicles (Section J.7.a.B). The application was deemed to be complete. Mr. Garrity made the motion to accept the application for a public hearing to be held on March 21, 2007 at 7:50 p.m. Mr. Kulesza seconded the motion. The vote was unanimous.
Sprint Nextel Corporation– 100 Pond Street - filed on February 7, 2007. The applicant seeks a wireless communication facility in accordance with Section F.13. The application was deemed to be complete. Mr. Garrity made the motion to accept the application for a public hearing to be held on March 21, 2007 at 9:05 p.m. Mr. Kulesza seconded the motion. The vote on the motion was unanimous.
T-Mobile – 87 Meetinghouse Road – filed on February 1, 2007. Michael Giery, Esquire from J-Lee Associates represented the applicant. The wireless communication facility is existing but the special permit for the facility expired in April of 2006. It was to be renewed within 5 years of issue. The facility is located on the Norfolk Condominium property. The Board advised Mr. Giery to review the conditions of approval for the original special permit when they return for their public hearing. The application was deemed to be complete. An as-built plan was submitted Mr. Garrity made the motion to accept the application and schedule the public hearing for March 21, 2007 at 7:55 p.m. Mrs. Sweeney seconded the motion. The vote on the motion was
unanimous.
Maple Sands Corporation – 45 Silver Fox Road – This application was accepted by the Board on January 17, 2007 but the hearing was scheduled to March 21, 2007 at 7:45 p.m. at the written request of the applicant’s attorney.
The Board adjourned the business portion of the meeting to conduct the public hearing for Donald Skerry (7:50 p.m.), Hugo DiMartino (8:10 p.m.). The business meeting reconvened at 8:35 p.m.
There were no Conservation Commission filings to review and comment.
Old/New Business:
The Board reviewed and discussed the letter from Norfolk Ram Group on the matter of the zoning violation at 53 Fruit Street (Handong Zhang). The driveway had been paved and widened in violation of the special permit granted in October 1994 (Case #94-6) and in violation of the original Order of Conditions issued by the Conservation Commission (#240-165). The applicants through their engineers, the Norfolk Ram Group, had filed a mitigation project to detain, treat and infiltrate stormwater runoff from the paved driveway prior to discharge to the adjacent wetlands with the Conservation Commission for which they received an Order of Conditions. The applicants were seeking guidance from the Zoning Board of Appeals regarding their zoning violation.
After a discussion on the matter, the Board determined that they would draft a letter to Norfolk Ram Group notifying them that the homeowners would be subject to compliance with the requirements of the Conservation Commission and after review of the completed mitigation project, the Zoning Board of Appeals will again review the project. Upon the issuance of a Certificate of Compliance by the Conservation Commission, the Board will remove the violation to the special permit. No public hearing will be required. Mr. Kulesza made the motion to send the letter requesting that the applicant comply with the Order of Conditions and after documentation that the Commission is satisfied as to the mitigation and documentation is provided to the Zoning Board of Appeals, the Board will formally remove the violation that will
be a recordable document. Until that time, the homeowners are still in violation of their special permit. Mr. Murphy seconded the motion. The vote on the motion was unanimous.
Mr. Simpson reported that a landscaping company has located its business at 209 Dedham Street, at the intersection of Routes 1A and 115. Photographs were reviewed by the Board, which depicted as many as ten trucks, trailers, tractors, snow plows, chippers and piles of mulch and loam. The site backs up to the Horse Stop River and may be of a concern to the Conservation Commission. There are several apparent zoning violations. After notification of the zoning issues via correspondence from Mr. Simpson and the Planning Board, the Building Inspector forwarded a letter, dated February 21, 2007 to the company (Shady Tree Landscaping) informing them of the violations and has issued an order to vacate within ten business days of February 20th.
The Board adjourned the business meeting at 9:10 p.m. in order to deliberate and vote on the variance request of Star Pools. The deliberations and vote closed at 9:35 p.m.
The business meeting reconvened at 9:35 p.m.
It was reported that Michael Kulesza had been appointed by the Board of Selectmen as their representative to the Zoning Bylaw Study Committee.
Mrs. Flynn-Poppey, the Zoning Board’s representative to the Zoning Bylaw Study Committee (ZBSC) reported that she was not able to attend the last session but the Building Inspector forwarded information to her. There is another meeting tomorrow. Mr. Kulesza stated that the Committee will be discussing creating some residential development along with commercial within the B-1 district. He noted that the ZBSC wants to address some financially viable short term solutions for land owners to develop their properties in the center of the town. Mrs. Flynn-Poppey stated that she will be unable to make the next ZBSC meeting due to a conflict.
Mr. Simpson reported that a recent town center development meeting there was a discussion on the possible reason that the downtown has not been developed to its fullest potential to date. There was a discussion that drainage, septic and parking must all be site specific. There is a feeling that these requirements may inhibit development and members in attendance discussed possible solutions such as a package treatment plant, allowing access to town drainage facilities, bringing natural gas to the town, providing fiber optics, etc. to encourage development. They also discussed looking at the current zoning bylaws to see if there are any impediments to the reasonable economic development of the town center. The whole purpose of the Master Plan Committee is to seek input on the direction of the
development of the town and to present a master plan to the town meeting for a vote. The town center meeting was held recently to gather input from the people who live in or own property in the town center. Mr. Simpson expressed the opinion that recommendations to change the zoning bylaws at this moment in time would be premature. Mr. Simpson noted that rather than suggest a greater residential density in the town center, the town should look at the big picture first. He recommended that the ZBSC go to the Planning Board first before making major changes to the zoning bylaws. Mr. Garrity stated that he would be concerned with putting a lot of stock in the personal agendas of property owners in the town center. Mr. Murphy made the motion to close the business meeting at 9:45 p.m. Mrs. Flynn-Poppey seconded the motion. The vote on the motion was unanimous.
___________________________,
Robert J. Garrity, Clerk
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