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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - ZBoA - 06/04/2019 APPROVED MINUTES COHASSET ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS DATE: Tuesday,June 4,2019 TIME: 7:30 PM PLACE: COHASSET TOWN HALL 41 HIGHLAND AVENUE COHASSET,MA. 02025 Board Members Present: S. Woodworth Chittick, Chairman(WC) Peter Goedecke,Vice Chairman (PG) Charles Higginson(CH) David McMorris,Associate Member(DM) Matthew Watkins,Associate Member(MW) Lee Darst(LD) Assistant Clerk Present: Jennifer Oram,Assistant Clerk,ZBA Others Present: Karis North, Special Counsel Chairman S. Woodworth Chittick called the meeting to order at 7:30 PM. The Chairman introduced the Board members that were present. BOARD BUSINESS The Board agreed to move the July meeting from July 9, 2019 to July 2, 2019. The August meeting will be August 6, 2019. CONTINUED HEARINGS SPECIAL PERMIT-Filed by Geoffrey Scott Anderson. Special permit pursuant to 000-8.7 and any relief the Board deems appropriate. Applicant seeks to construct a second story addition over the existing first floor footprint within the side setback at 658 Chief Justice Cushing Highway. File#19.04.09. In attendance to represent this agenda item: Geoffrey Scott Anderson Documents used for this hearing: Volume Calculation submitted via email on May 10,2019 This is a continued hearing. The applicant had been asked to submit additional information regarding the massing calculations within the setback. They did so via email and that information will be incorporated into the decision. MOTION BY VICE-CHAIRMAN CHITTICK: CLOSE THE HEARING SECONDED: ASSOC.MEMBER WATKINS VOTE 3-0 MOTION CARRIES (WC,PG and MW) NEW HEARINGS SPECIAL PERMIT—Filed by Cavanaro Consulting,on behalf of their clients,Christopher and Cheryl Lund. Special Permit per�300-8.711. The applicants seek to relocate and replace a detached garage at 429 King Street. File#19.05.07A. In attendance to represent this agenda item: John Cavanaro of Cavanaro Consulting Documents used for this hearing: ➢ ZBA Application date stamped May 7,2019 ➢ Architectural Drawings prepared by HC Design,date stamped May 7,2019 ➢ Site Plan prepared by Cavanaro Consulting dated 5/6/19 and date stamped May 7,2019 ➢ Comments sheets submitted by the Building Commissioner,Health Agent and Conservation Agent. Page 1 of 7 APPROVED MINUTES Chairman Chittick opened the hearing and Mr. Cavanaro addressed the Board. He reviewed the site, explaining that the applicant's home sits on Lily Pond and the site has three detached structures. The existing garage is about 20 x 22 or so conventional vehicles do not fit into it. They are proposing to relocate the existing structure and create a turn-around in front of the proposed garage. Right now the garage sits precariously on the Right of Way. Due to their location on Lily Pond,they do have an Order of Conditions from the Conservation Commission. They have to contend with a 50 foot buffer, so they can only push the garage back a certain amount back, and they are also pushing it out of the flood elevation. The Conservation Commission voted favorably for an Order of Conditions and a Stormwater Permit. Mr. Cavanaro said that because the structure is within the setback,they did the fagade calculation for the Board showing the existing and proposed garage. The existing fagade within the setback is 329 square feet and the proposed will be 500 square feet for an increase of 170 square feet. The new garage will be similar in presentation to King Street,with a shed roof facing the street,as well as a shed roof on the rear of the garage. The structure will be wider and deeper than what is there presently, and the roof height will increase 4.5 feet to the peak. The height to the mid-point will be approximately 18-19'. Chairman Chittick stated that it's good that the structure is coming out of the right of way. The Planning Board also voted to recommend this application. Chairman Chittick asked if anyone in the audience wished to speak and there was no response. MOTION BY CHAIRMAN CHITTICK: TO CONTINUE THE HEARING SECONDED: VICE-CHAIRMAN GOEDECKE VOTE: 3-0 MOTION CARRIES (WC,PG and CH) Associate Member David McMorris arrived. CONTINUED HEARING VARIANCE—Filed by Attorney Richard Henderson, on behalf of his clients,Wayne and Sondra Schmidt. Variance from the required minimum lot width at every point between the frontage street and the nearest point of the building. Variance pursuant&300-5.2.4b and any relief the Board deems appropriate on Howe Road Assessor's Map Page Plot#001;038;002. File#19.01.25 In attendance to represent this agenda item: Attorney Richard Henderson Attorney Henderson gave a brief overview of where this application stood. At the previous meeting he submitted a brief that showed that the non-conforming area of the lot width was in existence before zoning and therefore the lot is buildable. After no further questions: MOTION BY CHAIRMAN CHITTICK: TO CLOSE THE HEARING SECONDED: VICE-CHAIRMAN GOEDECKE VOTE: 3-0 MOTION CARRIES (WC,PG and CH) SPECIAL PERMIT—Filed by Cavanaro Consulting,on behalf of their client,Edna W.Barry. Special Permit per section 000.8.7.B. Applicants seek to raze and rebuild a single-family home at 179 Atlantic Avenue. File #19.05.07B. In attendance to represent this agenda item: John Cavanaro of Cavanaro Consulting and Ms.Heidi Condon of HC Designs Documents used for this hearing: ➢ ZBA Application date stamped May 7,2019 ➢ Architectural Plans prepared by HC Designs,date stamped May 7,2019 ➢ Site Plan prepared by Cavanaro Consulting, dated May 6,2019,date stamped May 7,2019 ➢ Neighborhood Comparison chart submitted at the hearing by Cavanaro Consulting on June 4,2019 ➢ Comment memo submitted by Aiden A.Lon and Clodagh Stoker-Long of 177 Atlantic Ave. at the hearing on June 4,2019. Page 2 of 7 APPROVED MINUTES ➢ Comment memo submitted by Joseph Maraia and Joan Maraia of 12 Hobart Lane at the hearing of June 4, 2019. ➢ Screen shot submitted by Joseph Maraia of proposed attic build out. Mr. Cavanaro addressed the Board and reviewed the creation of the lots for the Board. This lot is an existing lot that sits across from Beach Street. It was"Form A'd"via an ANR back in 1963 in a Perkin's prepared plan. In 2017,the plan was submitted for an endorsement through the Planning Board;the owners of the lots kept the lots but reconfigured them. Chairman Chittick asked what the area of the lots were. Mr. Cavanaro stated they are 21,277 and 34,822 square feet; the subject property is the 34,822 square foot lot. They are proposing to take down the existing structure and build a new one with a slightly larger footprint. The house is getting longer,but not getting closer. Chairman Chittick noted that the bump out they are proposing within the setback is significant. Mr. Goedecke added that there looks to be a lot more proposed facade area within the setback. The greenhouse on the lot will be removed and according to the site plan the shed will be relocated. A new,pervious driveway will be added that will give access to the new garage. That will allow for the removal of the existing driveway and the turnaround. Member Higginson stated that the proposed location of the new driveway is being proposed in a very dangerous location. Chairman Chittick asked for more clarification on how these lots came to be. There are now two houses being built on two undersized lots. Attorney Henderson stated that the lots were created in 1963 when the lot size allowed at the time was 20,000. These are §300-8.3 lots. Mr. Cavanaro provided the board with a series of plans that showed how the lots were created. Ms. Condon then addressed the Board and reviewed her plans. She distributed a graph showing a sampling of houses in the neighborhood that are also non-conforming in lot area. Mr. Cavanaro had wanted to explore whether the subject property was an outlier and this sampling shows that they are one of the larger non-conforming lots. Ms. Condon said the proposed home is a two story, gambrel style 3,200 square foot home. 996 square-feet of non-conforming floor area would be within the setback. There was then an extensive conversation regarding the grade and how the height was measured and the volume of new construction compared to what is existing. Chairman Chittick noted that the submitted plans do not measure to the midpoint of the highest roof. Ms. Condon stated it's easier for the Board to see where she pulled the height from by looking at the side elevation. The area of the facade within the setback is going from 1002 square feet to 2,222 square feet. There was then discussion regarding the attic. The height as it is proposed could make the space habitable which would increase their RGFA. There was then a discussion regarding the facade in the front. Ms. Condon will submit a document addressing the facade calculations; Chairman Chittick asked that the calculations be done in percentages. There was then a discussion regarding the distances from the proposed to the nearest neighbors. In regard to 12 Hobart Lane they are moving about 20 feet closer and for 177 Atlantic Ave.,they are moving about 7 feet closer. Chairman Chittick asked if anyone in the audience wished to speak. Mr. Joseph Maraia of 12 Hobart Lane submitted a memo addressing his concerns regarding this project. He stated that the house appears to be three stories,the deck impacts his privacy and there are now 16 windows facing his property. He also submitted a screen shot of a plan that shows that they planned on finishing the attic. Dr. Aiden Long and his wife of 177 Atlantic Avenue submitted a memo addressing their concerns with the proposed project. They are concerned about the height,the size of the house,the location as it seems closer to their home at 177 Atlantic Avenue. They are also concerned about the loss of privacy, ledge removal and the proposed driveway. Don Larson of 20 Hobart Lane stated he had been told the structure in the back would be removed. Mr. Cavanaro stated that the greenhouse would be removed,the shed would be moved to where it would be conforming. Ms. Lynne Schwandt, daughter of the landowner Edna Barry, stated that they did not subdivide the property. They understand that the back structure needs to be razed,but they are not touching anything until they go before the Conservation Commission. Mr. McMorris asked to re-visit the driveway. He asked what is better about the proposed driveway than what is already in place. Mr. Cavanaro said they wanted to site the driveway in their own frontage. Mr. McMorris also asked they consider lowering the height of the attic so that it was not habitable, and that they consider lowering the foundation height. Ms. Condon stated they would have no problem with lowering the attic height. Page 3 of 7 APPROVED MINUTES MOTION BY CHAIRMAN CHITTICK: TO CONTINUE THE HEARING SECONDED: ASSOCIATE MEMBER McMORRIS VOTE: 3-0 MOTION CARRIES (WC,PG and DM) SPECIAL PERMIT—Filed by Cavanaro Consulting,on behalf of their client,James Norton—Young Belford, LLC. Special Permit per 000.11. the applicant seeks to convert an existing barn into a single-family residence within the Water Resource District/Flood Plain &Watershed Protection District at 15 Brook Street. File #19.05.07C. In attendance to represent this agenda item: John Cavanaro of Cavanaro Consulting and Can Tiryaki of Tiryaki Designs Documents used for this hearing: ➢ ZBA Application Date Stamped May 7,2019 ➢ Architectural Plans prepared by Tiryaki designs, date stamped May 7, 2019 ➢ Site Plan prepared by Cavanaro Consulting, dated May 7,2019 and date stamped May 7, 2019. Chairman Chittick recused himself from this hearing and asked Vice-Chairman Goedecke to Chair the proceedings. Mr. Chittick left the room. Mr. Cavanaro reviewed the site plan for the Board. The proposal is to replace the barn in the rear of the site as the former Law Office of Attorney Charlie Humphreys. The building in the front of 15 Brook Street lot houses offices on the first floor and two apartments on the second floor. The new owner would like to raze and replace the detached structure in the rear into a single family 1-bedroom apartment. This site falls under the VBD and therefore Site Plan review of the Planning Board. The application before the Board this evening is for relief under the Flood Plain. They plan on keeping the foot print the same;the new foundation would have venting and be Flood Compliant. They will not be bringing in any fill. The Building itself will be elevated out of the flood plain which will require stairs to access the structure. They have a sewer connection, it will require a new gas line and other utilities will have to come in above ground via a pole. Can Tiryaki then reviewed the architectural plans. The building will match the existing footprint. They are hoping to create a two story, detached one-bedroom unit. The goal is to re-create and emulate the existing structure. It will have a simple gable roof with two shed dormers. It will be a 20 x 20-foot tiny cottage. Mr. Higginson asked how high they would need to raise it to get it out of the Flood Plain. Mr. Tiryaki stated it would be between 2 and 2.5'. Under §9.11 they cannot increase the on the ground foot print by more than 300 square feet. They are actually reducing it. They have applied for a Notice of Conditions with the Conservation Commission. They went before them and the hearing was continued. They were asked to hire an arborist to look at an Elm Tree on the lot. Mr. Cavanaro added that the Planning Board issued a recommendation to the ZBA to approve the application. Mr. McMorris asked why this lot fell under the Planning Board for a Special Permit and Site Plan Review. Building Commission,Robert Egan, stated that this lot is in the VB district and because of the mixed use,both commercial and residential on the site,with the proposed being the third dwelling unit on the site, it would fall under the Planning Board. He compared it to the James Lane project that has mixed use on the site. Chairman Goedecke asked if anyone in the audience wished to speak. Mr. Eric Fleming of 23 Elm Street said that his overall concern is that during the past couple of years there has been a dramatic amount of fill brought in to create a parking lot. His concern is run off and drainage. He is also concerned about privacy. Chairman Goedecke stated that the Board can only look at §9.11. Any issues with structure,privacy etc. will need to be brought to the Planning Board. The driveway would be an issue for the Conservation Commission which they are presently before. MOTION BY VICE CHAIRMAN GOEDECKE: TO CONTINUE THE HEARING SECONDED: MEMBER HIGGINSON VOTE: 3-0 MOTION CARRIES (PG,CH and DM) Chairman Chittick returned to his seat: Page 4 of 7 APPROVED MINUTES SPECIAL PERMIT—Filed by Hoadley Martinez Architects, on behalf of their clients,20 Joy Nominee Trust, Lindsay Deane as Trustee. Special Permit per 000-8.7. The applicant seeks to increase raze and rebuild the garage and move it further from the side setback and attach it to the house and move the accessory building further from the setback at 20 Joy Place. File#19.05.07D. In attendance to represent this agenda item: John Cavanaro of Cavanaro Consulting, Susan Hoadley of Hoadley Martinez Architects and Attorney Richard Henderson Documents used for this hearing: ➢ ZBA Application date stamped May 7,2019 ➢ Architectural Plans prepared by Hoadley Martinez Architects date stamped May 7, 2019 ➢ Amended set of plans notated as"Not For Construction" submitted at the hearing June 4,2019 ➢ Smaller set of plans showing highlighted areas in yellow to represent existing area set back submitted at the hearing on June 4,2019 ➢ Letters of support from Allison Galvin of I I Jerusalem Road, dated May 8,2019, Suzanne and Edward Wadsworth of 24, Joy Place, dated May 22,2019 and Nick and Jessica Skrine of 1 Jerusalem Road,May 21, 2019. Mr. Cavanaro addressed the Board and reviewed the application. The house itself sits on 20 Joy Place at a 90 Degree angle. There is a driveway that sits to the Northerly side of Joy Place. There is presently a shed that sits on the lot line and a detached garage. They are proposing to reduce some of the front porch, eliminate the detached garage and replace it with an attached garage. The detached garage presently sits 11.8 feet from the lot line; the proposed attached garage will be at 13.2 from the lot line. Overall,they are under the allowed lot coverage,they are under the thresholds for both Large House Review and for filing with the Conservation Commission. Ms. Hoadley then reviewed her plans for the Board. The home is a 270 year old historic structure. They worked hard to preserve the iconic height, scales and masses. She reviewed a newly submitted plan that highlighted the areas in yellow that were within the setback. The main body of the house is conforming. Their proposal seeks to reduce the nonconformities and renovate the front end of the structure. They are proposing to raise the height of the front of the house by 30 inches. The height of the relocated garage will remain the same and they will be reducing its nonconformity from the setback. Three letters have been given to the Board in support of this project. The Board did not have any questions. Chairman Chittick asked if anyone in the audience wished to speak. Ms. Suzanne Wadsworth of 24 Joy Place spoke in favor of the project. She is pleased they are not tearing it down and they are removing the shed. MOTION BY CHAIRMAN CHITTICK GOEDECKE: TO CONTINUE THE HEARING SECONDED: ASSOCIATE MEMBER WATKINS VOTE: 3-0 MOTION CARRIES (WC,PG& MW) APPEAL—Filed by Mary Ciraface D'Orval and Robert D'Orval at 273 Atlantic Avenue. The Appeal is of the Building Commissioner's decision in his letter dated April 9,2019,that food is a customary accessory use to the permitted use.,i.e. a recreational facility in a residential zoning district. The facility in question is Sandy Beach where the Sandy Beach Association is planning on serving food from their bath house located at 353 Atlantic Avenue. File#19.05.06. In attendance to represent this agenda item: Anita J. Comerford, Esq. of Sullivan&Comerford PC Documents used for this hearing: ➢ ZBA Appeal application date stamped May 6, 2019 with the April 9, 2019 Letter from Building Commissioner, Robert Egan attached. Chairman Chittick opened the hearing and introduced the Board members. Also in attendance to represent the Board in this matter is Town Counsel,Karis North. The appeal before the Board was filed by Mary Ciraface D'Orval and Robert D'Orval of 273 Atlantic Avenue; other abutters and neighbors have signed the application as well. They are appealing Building Commissioner Robert Egan's letter of April 9, 2019 in which he concluded that serving food from the Sandy Beach Bath House is"a customary accessory use to the permitted use, i.e. a recreational facility in a residential zoning district.". Page 5 of 7 APPROVED MINUTES Chairman Chittick then set the parameters of the hearing. He stated that the Board is reviewing zoning matters only. If people speak of matters that are not before the Board,they will be so informed that matter is not before the Board. He also asked the large audience to refrain from repetitive comments. If someone has something to say,please direct all comments and questions to the Board. In addition,please be civil to one another. Attorney Comerford addressed the Board. She works with Attorney Walter Sullivan who will be joining the hearing as soon as he is able to get to the meeting. She represents the neighbors/abutters of Sandy Beach. They are aggrieved by the decision of the Building Commissioner that he made in his April 9,2019 decision(letter). It is their position that the decision is beyond the scope of the commissioner and is arbitrary and capricious and needs to be appealed. Attorney Comerford gave their background on the issue stating that the application for the new bath house came before the Board in 2017 and the plans to serve food from the bath house were removed. After the Board's decision for the structure was filed,the Sandy Beach Association filed for the building permit to build out the kitchen and has been moving forward to serve food from the Bath House. She added that the bath house has never served food and by adding food,you have added a use that is not allowed. After further discussion,Mr. McMorris stated that the Board cannot issue Use Variances; unless the use fits somewhere else within the bylaw, it would only be permissible as accessory use. Attorney Comerford said she would like to say that there are many other issues that need to be addressed trash,rodents etc. Chairman Chittick stated that Sewer was not a zoning issue and reminded everyone to keep the discussion to zoning issues. Mr. McMorris said that with the way the Town's bylaws are written, it's an all or nothing proposition. The Building Commissioner looked at this as a customary accessory use for a recreational facility;which would make it a permitted use. Attorney Comerford stated that it goes beyond the scope and that the Board should rescind the decision. Attorney Richard Henderson addressed the Board. He is the Attorney for the Sandy Beach Association(SBA)and is also on the Board of the SBA. Back in March he distributed an email to the Board that outlined the list of similar facilities with similar food uses in Town. He will re-circulate that to the Board. He stated that the SBA has chosen foods that would be the least offensive to the neighbors. Annette Sawchuk of 432 Beechwood Street and a member of the SBA Board stated that SBA considers themselves a Recreational Facility. They will not have a grill and they will not be venting anything. They are only serving sandwiches, salads and flat breads. They will be open when the beach is open,those hours are: Sunday—Thursday, I OAM—6PM and Saturday and Sunday, I OAM—7PM. They are not serving alcohol. They have a nitro machine for coffee, smoothies and will have sodas. They will not be using plastic water bottles. Member Watkins asked Ms. Sawchuk to address the concern of trash. She stated the Town presently picks up the trash for the beach on Mondays,Wednesdays and Fridays. They will hire a private contractor the four other days. Chairman Chittick asked Mr. Egan if he wished to speak. Mr. Egan addressed the plans for the existing building. He stated that the purpose of the previous filing was for dimensional relief so the Bath House could be built. The decision to not show what was inside of the building was done to expedite the zoning process. Chairman Chittick stated that the Board would not have addressed the inside of the building under the application. He then opened up the discussion to the audience. Denise Bordonaro of 21 Sheldon Road addressed the Board. She stated that she is one of the appellants and wished to reiterate that when they SBA came for their Special Permit, it was for an unchanged use of a Bath House. The food portion is 50%of the building and is proposed to operate 8-9 hours of the day;this makes it a primary use of the Bath House. She added that they approached the SBA to try to come to an agreement and what they got was a cursory protective covenant. Chairman Chittick asked if a document would make Ms. Bordonaro feel better. She stated she could not speak to that,but things were promised and not delivered. Mr. McMorris said that now that there is a process in place with this appeal,they may be in a better position. The Board could look into conditions for a decision. Mr. Bob Dorvell of 273 Atlantic Avenue said that on November 6th they found out that the SBA was planning to serve food at the beach. They met with SBA Board Member Robin Lawrence and the association and felt there was an agreement to not have food at the beach. They have restricted views because of the Bath House. Chairman Chittick stated that views are not a zoning issue. Mr. Dorvell stated that this is a neighborhood,they are in the Flood Plain,there are Sand Dunes and it's a Life Guard Station. The Chairman said that they have to relate the discussion to zoning issues and if it is a customary ancillary Page 6 of 7 APPROVED MINUTES use to a recreational facility because that is what is before the Board. Ms. Mary D'Orval of 273 Atlantic Ave. stated that they have the minutes. The decision shows the its only supposed to be a bath house. There has been zero communication between them and the SBA. They have asked for menus etc. and have not had a response. Chairman Chittick reminded Ms.D'Orval that they have appealed the very narrow issue of customary use as cited in the Building Commissioner's letter of April 9th. The concerns she has brought up are not before the Board. Susan Acton of 269 Atlantic Avenue said there is an issue with parking. Chairman Chittick said that is an issue for the Board of Selectmen. John Thompson of 269 Atlantic Avenue stated that he is not aware of any public beach that serves food at the beach. Mr. Ken Paull of 135 Nichols Road thought that when the kitchen area was removed from the Bath House plans that there would be an opportunity for them to talk more about that. He stated that the Bath House decision was approved without food. Member Watkins stated that the decision was silent on food. He would like to address the trash. He and his wife pick up trash about 100 hours per year. He would like that addressed. Member McMorris stated that is not before the Board. Ms. Susan Davis of 257 Atlantic Avenue has conservation concerns and thinks this classifies as a full-time restaurant use. Chairman Chittick asked Attorney Henderson if the SBA would be willing to work with the appellants to try and come to some sort of agreement. Attorney Henderson stated that he is only one member of the eleven-member SBA Board,but if they had two members and the appellants had two members,he does not think they are not that far apart. The appellants do have a list of 18 conditions that they would need to work through. Attorney Henderson does think the issues are resolvable. Chairman Chittick asked Attorney North if the Board could issue a decision with conditions. Attorney North felt that the conditions would have to fall under the purview of the Board. Chairman Chittick asked if anyone else wished to speak before they continued the hearing. Mr. Russ Bonetti of 25 Parker Avenue and Chairman of the Community Preservation Committee addressed the Board. He stated that the CPC has given funding to the Bath House,Milliken Field and the Beechwood Ball Field; all of these locations have limited food. The SBA has very limited ways to make money. After some further discussion: MOTION BY CHAIRMAN CHITICK: TO CONTINUE THE HEARING SECONDED: VICE CHAIRMAN GOEDECKE VOTE: 3-0 MOTION CARRIES (WC,PG and CH) DELIBERATION SPECIAL PERMIT-Filed by Geoffrey Scott Anderson. Special permit pursuant to&300-8.7 and any relief the Board deems appropriate. Applicant seeks to construct a second story addition over the existing first floor footprint within the side setback at 658 Chief Justice Cushing Highway. File#19.04.09. Ms. Darst drafted this decision. After some review: MOTION BY CHAIRMAN CHITICK: TO APPROVE THE DECISION AS AMENDED AND GRANT THE REELIF SOUGHT SECONDED: ASSOCIATE MEMBER McMORRIS VOTE: 3-0 MOTION CARRIES (WC,PG and DM) MOTION BY CHAIRMAN CHITTICK: TO ADJOURN THE MEETING AT 11:30 PM SECONDED: MEMBER McMORRIS VOTE: 3-0 MOTION CARRIES (WC,PG and DM) Page 7 of 7