Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2016-11-10-ZBA-minMinutes of the Lexington Zoning Board of Appeals Selectmen's Meeting Room November 10, 2016 Board Members Present: Chairwoman, Jeanne K. Krieger, David G. Williams, Martha C. Wood, Ralph D. Clifford, and Associate Member Nyles N. Barnert Also present at the hearing was Alternate Hank Manz Administrative Staff: Jennifer Gingras, Administrative Clerk and David George, Zoning Administrator Address: 27 Muzzey Street The petitioner submitted the following information with the application: Nature and Justification, Plot Plan, Drawings, and Photographs. Also received was a Request for Waiver of a Certified Plot Plan, dated September 7, 2016. Prior to the meeting, the petitions and supporting data were reviewed by the Building Commissioner, Conservation Administrator, Town Engineer, Board of Selectmen, the Planning Director, the Historic District Commission Clerk, Historical Commission, Economic Development, and the Zoning Administrator. Comments were received from the Engineering Department and Zoning Administrator. The petitioner is requesting a SPECIAL PERMIT in accordance with sections 135- 5.2.8.3 and 135 -9.4 of the Zoning Bylaw (Chapter 135 of the Code of Lexington) to allow a free standing non - illuminated sign. This is a continuance from the September 22, 2016 meeting. The Chairwoman read the described information received from the petitioner. Dr. Brett Davidson, the owner of the dental office at 27 Muzzey Street, stated that they are requesting a new sign to replace the old sign. The Chairwoman, Ms. Jeanne K. Krieger, stated that the last time the applicants were here, the Board asked them to go back and ask the other tenant if they could combine their signs into one. Dr. Davidson asked the Board what their rational is for wanting 1 sign instead of 2. A Board Member, Mr. David G. Williams, stated that in a residential neighborhood they would rather have one (1) sign. The applicants asked the Board if there has ever been an issue in the past with the two (2) signs. Ms. Sandy Kursen of the Rangley Co., stated that there are already two (2) signs. They are asking the Board for permission to flip the old sign to face the road and make a better looking sign. There are similar signs existing on the same street. BOA Meeting November 10, 2016 2 A Board Member, Mr. Ralph D. Clifford, stated that his concern is that the sign is in a residential neighborhood and just because it's recognized as a Commercial business, doesn't make it allowable. The applicants asked the Board if they recommend taking down the signs. Mr. Kursen stated that there is no public harm done with putting in a new sign. It's more attractive and easier to read. It's a public benefit for safety and appearance. It would be awkward for Dr. Davidson to talk to his neighbor about spending more money on a joint sign. A Board Member, Ms. Martha C. Wood, stated that her concern is that it adds to the clutter of the residential neighborhood (the sign is an upgrade to the existing one). Dr. Davidson asked the Board if there were any concerns received from the neighborhood about the sign. A Board Member, Mr. Clifford, stated that their job is to enforce the Lexington zoning ordinances and this is a residential area. A Board Member, Mr. Nyles N. Barnert asked what the rational is for a double sided sign since Muzzey Street is a one -way street (it's visible for walkers). Ms. Kursen stated that there is another dentist sign across the street and there are a lot of walkers. They just want to take down the unattractive sign and put up a new sign and make it look fresh. A Board Member, Mr. Williams, stated that they are all in favor of a 2 sided sign. Mr. Williams asked the applicants what the problem is with asking the other tenant about putting their names on one sign. It's not a hardship to ask the neighbor. There were no further questions from the Board. There were no comments from the audience. The Chairwoman closed the hearing at 7:42 pm. On a motion by Martha C. Wood and seconded by Nyles N. Barnert, the Board voted 2 -3 (David G. Williams, Martha C. Wood, and Ralph D. Clifford in opposition) to grant a SPECIAL PERMIT in accordance with sections 135 - 5.2.8.3 and 135 -9.4 of the Zoning Bylaw (Chapter 135 of the Code of Lexington) to allow a free standing non - illuminated sign. A 4 -1 vote was needed so the motion was denied. Minutes of the Lexington Zoning Board of Appeals Selectmen's Meeting Room November 10, 2016 Board Members Present: Chairwoman, Jeanne K. Krieger, David G. Williams, Martha C. Wood, Ralph D. Clifford, and Associate Member Nyles N. Barnert Also present at the hearing was Alternate Hank Manz Administrative Staff: Jennifer Gingras, Administrative Clerk and David George, Zoning Administrator Address: 8 Taft Avenue The petitioner submitted the following information with the application: Nature and Justification, Plot Plan, Elevations, Floor Plans, and Photographs. Also submitted was a Petition in support of the application, received November 7, 2016, Applicant's response to the Zoning Administrator's comments, received November 7, 2016, and Gross Floor Area Calculations. Prior to the meeting, the petitions and supporting data were reviewed by the Building Commissioner, Conservation Administrator, Town Engineer, Board of Selectmen, the Planning Director, the Historic District Commission Clerk, Historical Commission, Economic Development, and the Zoning Administrator. Comments were received from the Building Commissioner, Planning Department, and Zoning Administrator. The petitioner is requesting a SPECIAL PERMIT in accordance with the Zoning By- Law (Chapter 135 of the Code of Lexington) section 135 -8.4.2 and 135 -9.4 to extend the non - conforming building height to include a 3 -story addition. The Chairwoman opened the hearing at 7:44 pm by reading the legal notices and described information received from the petitioner. Mr. Stephen Hamilton, the architect on the project, presented the application. The proposal is to build an addition of 318ft per floor at the rear of the house. The issue is that it currently has a basement of 7'4" that is uninhabited. They are proposing that the floor will be the same size. They are proposing a garage in the basement but they need a minimum head foot of 7'10 ". This is a two -story neighborhood and the issue is that this is a three -story house because of the basement height. They want to extend the same configuration that exists and extend the garage to 7'10 ". They need approval to extend the non - conformance of the three - stories. An audience member, Mr. John Jackson of 10 Taft Avenue, spoke in support of the application. A Board Member, Mr. David G. Williams, asked about the interdepartmental notes from the Planning Department about the square footage calculations. (The Zoning Administrator, Mr. David George, stated that it is in compliance. The applicant submitted the information for the Gross Floor Area and the proposed and it's in compliance and is less than the allowable. The applicant confirmed that it is correct). BOA Meeting November 10, 2016 There were no further questions from the Board. There were no comments from the audience. The Chairwoman closed the hearing at 7:50 pm. 4 On a motion by Ralph D. Clifford and seconded by Martha C. Wood, the Board voted 5 -0 to grant a SPECIAL PERMIT in accordance with the Zoning By -Law (Chapter 135 of the Code of Lexington) section 135 -8.4.2 and 135 -9.4 to extend the non - conforming building height to include a 3 -story addition. Minutes of the Lexington Zoning Board of Appeals Selectmen's Meeting Room November 10, 2016 Board Members Present: Chairwoman, Jeanne K. Krieger, David G. Williams, Martha C. Wood, Ralph D. Clifford, and Associate Member Nyles N. Barnert Also present at the hearing was Alternate Hank Manz Administrative Staff: Jennifer Gingras, Administrative Clerk and David George, Zoning Administrator Address: 6 Bryant Road The petitioner submitted the following information with the application: Nature and Justification. Prior to the meeting, the petitions and supporting data were reviewed by the Building Commissioner, Conservation Administrator, Town Engineer, Board of Selectmen, the Planning Director, the Historic District Commission Clerk, Historical Commission, Economic Development, and the Zoning Administrator. Comments were received from the Conservation Administrator, Planning Department and Zoning Administrator. The petitioner is requesting a SPECIAL PERMIT in accordance with the Zoning By- Law (Chapter 135 of the Code of Lexington) Article 41, subsection 135 -4.4.2 adopted by Town Meeting on March 30, 2016 and section 135 -9.4 to allow a building with gross floor area of 11,078.6 sq. ft. instead of the maximum allowed gross floor area of 9,847.6 sq. ft. The Chairwoman opened the meeting at 7:52 pm by reading the legal notices and described information received from the petitioner. The applicant was absent from the hearing. An audience member, Ms. Alison Abdu, stated that she lives across the street from the applicant. The home is out of character for the rest of the neighborhood. Even if the Board denied the Special Permit, they wouldn't have to change the footprint of the house, they would just need to lower the crawl space. They have suffered from the large houses coming into the neighborhood. Ms. Abdu asked why the builder didn't have to retrofit it to the gross floor area allowance at the time the building permit was issued. The Chairwoman, Ms. Krieger, stated that they issued the Building Permit in February after the zoning bylaw at risk period begin. The applicants knew they were operating at risk. If the Board denied the Special Permit, they could alter one of the floors to make the basement a crawl space or change the shape of the structure. Ms. Abdu stated that she wishes that an intervention could have been made earlier. Mr. Richard Canale spoke on behalf of the Planning Board. He had submitted a letter on behalf of the Planning Board regarding this application. BOA Meeting November 10, 2016 A Board Member, Ms. Martha C. Wood, asked if the Planning Board has suggestions about possible changes. Mr. Canale stated that the application states they intend to have an attic in which they have a floor area equal the amount of the exceedance. If there is no permanent stairway to the attic and if it were conditioned to not be livable, then the gross floor area would be under the limit. An audience member, Mr. Frank Sandy of 353 North Emerson Road, spoke in opposition to the petition. He stated that if the 3rd story is an attic, then the Town should make clear that it is never converted to a livable space and must only be accessible by a ladder. A Board Member, Mr. Ralph D. Clifford, stated that Town Meeting gave the ZBA the discretion to issue Special Permits for these items. If Town Meeting hadn't done that, it would be a Variance, which has much stricter guidelines. There was a discussion about the Article 41 bylaw. An audience member, Ms. Jenna Johnson of 23 Ridge Road, Planning Board Member and Precinct 5 meeting member, spoke in opposition to the petition. She feels granting this request would violate the Special Permit criteria. The additional square footage is well over 10% of the allowable GFA and its concerning that the applicant waited so long to apply for the Special Permit. A Board Member, Mr. David G. Williams, stated that this home was not a case of building on spec, it was built for a specific tenant. (No, there is a for sale sign out there). Mr. Clifford asked if they deny the Special Permit, would they still get a Certificate of Occupancy. (The Zoning Administrator, David George, responded that they will not get a Certificate of Occupancy for what they proposed and will have to modify the structure to meet the requirements). Mr. Clifford asked if the applicants would be able to make whatever modifications they wish to make that result (yes). Ms. Wood stated that there is nothing the Board can do to say that it's a permanent reduction in square footage. Ms. Krieger stated that if they deny it, they can't deny it with conditions. If the applicants want a Certificate of Occupancy, they will have to demonstrate to the Building Department that they are going to be something permanent in nature that will limit the usable square footage. Mr. Williams stated that if we deny it, we need to send a clear message to the applicant and the Building Department that the reduction needs to be a permanent solution. BOA Meeting November 10, 2016 7 Ms. Krieger stated that they were given a list of the gross floor area of the abutters and of the 24 they were shown, 4 of them exceed the gross floor area but none of them exceed it as much as the petition presented tonight. Mr. Williams stated they need to send a clear message to others that follow that they need to follow the rules. Ms. Abdu stated that there wouldn't be much of a visible change since they would be altering the crawl space. Ms. Krieger stated that they don't have control over that. An audience member, Mr. Joel Adler of Precinct 1, stated that he feels that there may be an extreme circumstance as to why the applicant isn't here and the Board shouldn't make a decision without knowing why the applicant is absent. Mr. Clifford stated that normally he would agree with that but there is no reason to approve the Special Permit based on the application. There were no further questions from the Board. There were no further comments from the audience. The Chairwoman closed the meeting at 8:31 pm. On a motion by Martha C. Wood and seconded by Nyles N. Barnert, the Board voted 0 -5 to grant a SPECIAL PERMIT in accordance with the Zoning By -Law (Chapter 135 of the Code of Lexington) Article 41, subsection 135 -4.4.2 adopted by Town Meeting on March 30, 2016 and section 135 -9.4 to allow a building with gross floor area of 11,078.6 sq. ft. instead of the maximum allowed gross floor area of 9,847.6 sq. ft. A 4- 1 vote was needed so the motion was denied. Minutes of the Lexington Zoning Board of Appeals Selectmen's Meeting Room November 10, 2016 Board Members Present: Chairwoman, Jeanne K. Krieger, David G. Williams, Martha C. Wood, and Associate Members Hank Manz and Nyles N. Barnert Also present at the hearing was Alternate William P. Kennedy Administrative Staff: Jennifer Gingras, Administrative Clerk and David George, Zoning Administrator Address: 1625 Massachusetts Avenue The petitioner submitted the following information with the application: Nature and Justification. Prior to the meeting, the petitions and supporting data were reviewed by the Building Commissioner, Conservation Administrator, Town Engineer, Board of Selectmen, the Planning Director, the Historic District Commission Clerk, Historical Commission, Economic Development, and the Zoning Administrator. Comments were received from the Historic Districts Commission and Zoning Administrator. The petitioner is requesting a SPECIAL PERMIT in accordance with the zoning by -law (chapter 135 of the code of Lexington) section 135 -6.4 and 135 -9.4 to allow the colocation of transmission equipment on the existing tower located at the site. The Chairwoman opened the meeting at 7:56 pm by reading the legal notices and described information received from the petitioner. Mr. Edward Pare, Jr. Esq, attorney with Brown Rudnick, LLP, 1 Financial Center, Boston, MA, presented the application on behalf of New Cingular Wireless PCS, LLC ( "AT &T). AT &T is removing their transmission equipment at the Muzzey Condominium and are looking for a replacement facility to use. The police station has the structural capacity if they can limit the size of the antennas. The coverage will not be as good but they also recognize the age of the tower, structural capacity and visual impact. This would be a temporary solution and not permanent for AT &T since it doesn't provide the coverage they are seeking but for now it will suffice until they find another location. Mr. Pare presented the photographs provided to the Board in their packets. Once they can find the permanent location, they will remove the facility. The Historic Districts Commission unanimously approved the petition at their hearing. A Board Member, Mr. Nyles N. Barnert, stated that it's good it's temporary because the town is considering reconstructing the police station (yes, they are considering a year to year lease). A Board Member, Mr. David G. Williams, asked what AT &T pays the Town for putting the antenna there (he doesn't have the agreement with him but he believes it's over $40K). BOA Meeting November 10, 2016 9 There were no further questions from the Board. There were no further comments from the audience. The Chairwoman closed the meeting at 8:05 pm. On a motion by Martha C. Wood and seconded by Nyles N. Barnert, the Board voted 5 -0 to grant the waiver of the requirement of a certified plot plan. On a motion by Martha C. Wood and seconded by Hank Manz, the Board voted 5 -0 to grant a SPECIAL PERMIT in accordance with the zoning by -law (chapter 135 of the code of Lexington) section 135 -6.4 and 135 -9.4 to allow the colocation of transmission equipment on the existing tower located at the site. Minutes of the Lexington Zoning Board of Appeals Selectmen's Meeting Room November 10, 2016 Board Members Present: Chairwoman, Jeanne K. Krieger, David G. Williams, Martha C. Wood, Hank Manz, and Associate Member Nyles N. Barnert Also present at the hearing was Alternate William P. Kennedy Administrative Staff: Jennifer Gingras, Administrative Clerk and David George, Zoning Administrator Other Business: On a motion by Ralph D. Clifford and seconded by David G. Williams, the Board voted 5 -0 to approve the minutes of October 13, 2016. On a motion made and seconded the meeting was adjourned.