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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2017-10-12-ZBA-min Minutes of the Lexington Zoning Board of Appeals Selectmen's Meeting Room October 12 2017 Board Members Present. Chairwoman, Martha C Wood, Jeanne K. Krieger, Edward D McCarthy, David G Williams, and Ralph D Clifford Alternate Present. Nyles N Barnert Administrative Staff Jennifer Gingras, Administrative Clerk and David George, Zoning Administrator Address 38 James Street, f/k/a 7 Rangeway Street The petitioner submitted the following information with the application Nature and Justification, Plot Plan, Elevations, Floor Plans, and Photographs Also received was a revised plot plan, received August 24, 2017, Addendum B, entitled, "Supporting Additional Information", received July 26, 2017, letters from abutters in support of petition, a Street Adequacy Determination, dated September 7, 2016 and received on September 28, 2017, a letter from John Farrington, received September 26, 2017, and a petition in opposition with three signatures, received October 11, 2017 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, Conservation Administrator, Planning Office, and Zoning Administrator The petitioner is requesting a VARIANCE in accordance with the Zoning By-Law (Chapter 135 of the Code of Lexington) section 135-4 1 1, Table 2 (Schedule of Dimensional Controls), to allow a height of a structure to be 43 ft instead of the required 40 ft. The applicant submitted a Request for Withdrawal without Prejudice, dated October 11, 2017 On a motion by Ralph D Clifford, and seconded by Jeanne K. Krieger, the Board voted 5-0 to grant the Request for Withdrawal without Prejudice of the VARIANCE in accordance with the Zoning By-Law (Chapter 135 of the Code of Lexington) section 135-4 1 1, Table 2 (Schedule of Dimensional Controls), to allow a height of a structure to be 43 ft instead of the required 40 ft. Minutes of the Lexington Zoning Board of Appeals Selectmen's Meeting Room October 12 2017 Board Members Present. Chairwoman, Martha C Wood, Jeanne K. Krieger, Edward D McCarthy, David G Williams, and Ralph D Clifford Alternate Present. Nyles N Barnert Administrative Staff Jennifer Gingras, Administrative Clerk and David George, Zoning Administrator Address 14 Cottage Street The petitioner submitted the following information with the application Nature and Justification, Plot Plan, Elevations, Floor Plans, and Photographs Also received was (9) letters of support from abutters, and a Request for Waiver of the requirement of a certified plot plan 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, Conservation Administrator, and Zoning Administrator The petitioner is requesting a SPECIAL PERMIT in accordance with the Zoning By- Law (Chapter 135 of the Code of Lexington) sections 135-9 4 and 135-8 4 2 to allow modification to a non-conforming structure The Chairwoman opened the hearing at 7 38 pm The applicants, Mr and Mrs Julien and Marilyn Farland, presented the petition They are proposing to construct an overhang over the concrete front platform and construct 2 additional steps They also want to install handrails along both sides of the stairs They have a severe ice and snow problem and it's hard to keep up with, so it becomes a safety issue Constructing the overhang and additional steps will make it easier to deal with the ice and snow and also improve the appearance of the home They submitted letters from neighbors in support of the petition Ms Farland stated that she has had many surgeries and has difficulty going down the steps without a handrail so this would be helpful A Board Member, Mr Ralph D Clifford, stated that on the plans it looks like the handrail extends over the front property line (Mr Farland stated that the handrail will stop at the end of the bottom step and would not extend into the right of way) The Zoning Administrator, Mr David George, stated that it will be handled when the Building Permit application is reviewed and the Acting Building Commissioner will visit the site and take a measurement. A Board Member, Mr Edward D McCarthy, stated he is in favor of the petition Page 2 Ms Wood stated that one of the comments from the Acting Building Commissioner is that it has to be fireproofed since it's less than 5ft from the street (they will make sure that's done) The Chairwoman closed the hearing at 7 47 pm On a motion by Edward D McCarthy, and seconded by Ralph D Clifford, the Board voted 5-0 to grant a waiver to the requirement of a certified plot plan On a motion by Jeanne K. Krieger, and seconded by Edward D McCarthy, the Board voted 5-0 to grant a SPECIAL PERMIT in accordance with the Zoning By-Law (Chapter 135 of the Code of Lexington) sections 135-9 4 and 135-8 4 2 to allow modification to a non-conforming structure October 12, 2017 ZBA Meeting Page 3 Minutes of the Lexington Zoning Board of Appeals Selectmen's Meeting Room October 12 2017 Board Members Present. Chairwoman, Martha C Wood, Jeanne K. Krieger, Edward D McCarthy, David G Williams, and Ralph D Clifford Alternate Present. Nyles N Barnert Administrative Staff Jennifer Gingras, Administrative Clerk and David George, Zoning Administrator Address 191 and 201 Spring Street The petitioner submitted the following information with the application Nature and Justification, Elevations, Floor Plans, and Photographs Also received was Request for a Waiver of the requirement of a certified plot plan and comments from the Design Advisory Committee (DAC), received October 12, 2017 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 Zoning Administrator The petitioner is requesting TWO (2) SPECIAL PERMITS in accordance with the Zoning By-Law (Chapter 135 of the Code of Lexington) sections 135-9 4, 135-5 2 4 1, and 135-5 2 10 to allow one internally illuminated wall sign larger than otherwise allowed The Chairwoman opened the hearing at 7 48 pm Mr Bob Nolt with Mimecast presented the petition Mimecast is an e-mail security company and provides security for e-mail services The construction for 191 Spring Street is currently underway and they will take up about 50% of the building Mr Bill Gilligan of Advanced Signing, presented the information for the sign They are proposing to have a set of internally illuminated letters on the south side of the building The letters would be blue and turn white at night. The letters are all under 3ft in height except for the `i' There is a structure being built specifically for the building to put the sign on The Chairman, Ms Martha C Wood, read the comments from the DAC that requested that the applicants should reduce the height of the sign (Mr Gallaghan responded that from an aethestic point of view, the sign was designed to fit in with the façade of the building and sized so that it wouldn't leave gaps in that portion of the building) A Board Member, Mr David G Williams, stated he has no issues with what they are presenting Page 4 An audience member with Boston Properties, stated that he is the Project Manager for this project and Boston Properties fully supports Mimecast. A Board Member, Mr Edward D McCarthy, asked what the height of the proposed sign would be (Mr Gilligan stated that the dimensions would be 47" x 29'1") Ms Wood stated that the DAC is urging them to reduce the sign to 36" A Board Member, Mr Ralph D Clifford, stated that if the height of the sign was adjusted, the width would also be drastically reduced A Board Member, Ms Jeanne K Krieger, stated that she agrees with Mr Williams The sign fits appropriately and she doesn't have any issues with it. Mr Williams stated that the sign just faces 128 and doesn't face any neighborhoods Mr Nolt stated that it faces the old post facility Mr Clifford asked the applicant if it faces an industrial area or residential (Mr Nolt responded that it faces an industrial area) The Chairwoman closed the hearing at 7 59 pm On a motion by Jeanne K. Krieger, and seconded by Ralph D Clifford, the Board voted 5-0 to grant a waiver to the requirement of a certified plot plan On a motion by Ralph D Clifford and seconded by Jeanne K. Krieger, the Board voted 5-0, to grant a SPECIAL PERMIT, from Ch 135 of the Code of the Town of Lexington (Zoning By-Law) in accordance with § 5 2 4 1, 5 2 10, and 9 4 , to allow one internally illuminated wall sign October 12, 2017 ZBA Meeting Page 5 Minutes of the Lexington Zoning Board of Appeals Selectmen's Meeting Room October 12 2017 Board Members Present. Chairwoman, Martha C Wood, Jeanne K. Krieger, Edward D McCarthy, David G Williams, and Ralph D Clifford Alternate Present. Nyles N Barnert Administrative Staff Jennifer Gingras, Administrative Clerk and David George, Zoning Administrator Address 0, 191 and 201 Spring Street The petitioner submitted the following information with the application Nature and Justification, and Floor Plans Also received were comments from the Design Advisory Committee (DAC), received October 12, 2017 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, Engineering Department, Planning Office, and Zoning Administrator The petitioner is requesting a SPECIAL PERMIT in accordance with the Zoning By- Law (Chapter 135 of the Code of Lexington) sections 135-9 4, 135-5 2 4 1 and 135- 5 2 10 for one internally illuminated standing sign larger than otherwise allowed The applicant submitted a Request for Withdrawal without Prejudice, dated October 12, 2017 On a motion by Jeanne K. Krieger, and seconded by Ralph D Clifford, the Board voted 5-0 to grant a Request for Withdrawal without Prejudice for a SPECIAL PERMIT in accordance with the Zoning By-Law (Chapter 135 of the Code of Lexington) sections 135-9 4, 135-5 2 4 1 and 135-5 2 10 to allow one internally illuminated standing Page 6 Minutes of the Lexington Zoning Board of Appeals Selectmen's Meeting Room October 12 2017 Board Members Present. Chairwoman, Martha C Wood, Jeanne K. Krieger, Edward D McCarthy, David G Williams, and Associate Member Nyles N Barnert Administrative Staff Jennifer Gingras, Administrative Clerk and David George, Zoning Administrator Address 65 Hayden Avenue The petitioner submitted the following information with the application Nature and Justification, and Drawings Also received was a letter from the Lexington Communications Advisory Committee, dated September 28, 2017, a Letter of Authorization, Structural Analysis, Specifications, RF Report, Radio Frequency Emissions Report, Sound Impact Assessment Study, and Comments from the Design Advisory Committee, received October 12, 2017 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, Health 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) sections 135-9 4 and 135-6 4 5, and 135- 3 4, Table 1, Schedule of Permitted Uses and Developmental Standards, Line 0 1 08, to allow a wireless communication facility The Chairwoman opened the hearing at 8 03 pm Mr Earl Duval presented the petition He introduced Ally Black, who is the Project Manager for Verizon Wireless, Oscar Suarez, the Project Engineer, and Vic Duno, the Radio Frequency Engineer with Verizon Wireless Mr Duval handed out 3 exhibits to the Board Attachment A (Existing LTE Coverage), Attachment B (Proposed LTE Coverage), and drawing Z-3, entitled, "Detailed Penthouse Plan" Mr Duval stated that Verizon Wireless has a gap in coverage in the Southern area of Lexington The service in that area is deficient and they need to maintain coverage in order to operate Attachment A shows the existing coverage in Lexington and the existing cell sites Verizon has The green box and everything shown in green have a strong level of coverage, the orange has minimum level of coverage in more residential area, and the white and yellow areas have deficient coverage Attachment B shows the proposed coverage, with a stronger level of coverage for Lexington 6 The additional amount of coverage from this site would provide service to an additional 1300 — 1550 residents Exhibit 4 in the application package has photos of the proposed structure They took 3 photos with a simulation showing what the screen house would look like on the top of the penthouse Drawing Z-3 shows the layout of the structures on the top of the Page 7 building The screen walls will be on the top of the existing penthouse The steel frame will be fastened to the frame of the penthouse They will be using the same contractor to do the work that the other tenants have used The equipment cabinets and back up emergency powered generator and gas all come from existing sources in the building Exhibit 8 is the radiofrequency emissions report, which states that the RF levels are far below what is considered safe under the regulatory guidelines for exposure No one will be able to gain access to the roof except for qualified employees There will only be 2 sources of sound — the fan for one of the equipment centers that will come on during the summer months and the sound of the backup generator that will only run when it's tested for 30 min each week or in the case of an emergency The sound from the generator and fan running together is significantly below the ambient sound The site will also be compliant with all FCC regulations A Board Member Associate, Mr Nyles N Barnert, asked what the length of the lease with Verizon Wireless will be (25 years) A Board Member, Ms Jeanne K. Krieger, asked what the height of the screen wall will be (The equipment is 3ft in height and the screen that sits on top of that is 10ft, so there is an added height of 13ft to the building) A Board Member, Mr David G Williams, asked why the coverage won't be improved in other areas such as in the neighborhood around Shire and Fairfield Drive and if there are any plans to improve those areas (Ms Ally Black responded that Verizon is still looking into those areas This specific site is taking over for the previous site at 191 Spring Street, where their lease ended Verizon is looking into small cells, which would fit better into small neighborhoods They are also still in a site acquisition stage) A Board Member, Mr Edward D McCarthy, asked Mr Duval if the coverage area is related to the height of the cell tower (yes) Mr McCarthy asked if the area above the antenna is open (yes) Mr McCarthy asked if Verizon has to make the facility open to other carriers (the location of their 2 screen wall facilities would not accommodate any other carrier The landowner may be able to locate another carrier on top of the facility) There were no further questions from the Board There were no comments or questions from the audience The Chairwoman closed the hearing at 8 39 pm On a motion by Nyles N Barnert, and seconded by Jeanne K. Krieger, the Board voted 5-0 to grant a SPECIAL PERMIT in accordance with the Zoning By-Law (Chapter 135 of the Code of Lexington) sections 135-9 4 and 135-6 4 5, and 135-3 4, Table 1, Schedule of Permitted Uses and Developmental Standards, Line 0 1 08, to allow a wireless communication facility October 12, 2017 ZBA Meeting Page 8 Minutes of the Lexington Zoning Board of Appeals Selectmen's Meeting Room October 12 2017 Board Members Present. Chairwoman, Martha C Wood, Jeanne K. Krieger, Edward D McCarthy, David G Williams, and Ralph D Clifford Associate Present. Nyles N Barnert Administrative Staff Jennifer Gingras, Administrative Clerk and David George, Zoning Administrator Address 1646 Massachusetts Avenue The petitioner submitted the following information with the application Nature and Justification, Floor Plans, and Photographs 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 Planning Office, Historic Districts Commission, and Zoning Administrator The petitioner is requesting TWO (2) SPECIAL PERMITS in accordance with the Zoning By-Law (Chapter 135 of the Code of Lexington), 135-9 4 and sections 135-3 4, Table of Permitted Uses and Development Standards, Line G 2 01 to allow an office located on street floor level that is not a center store front, and 135-5 1 14 to allow one (1) parking space instead of the required two (2) parking spaces The Chairwoman opened the hearing at 8 41 pm The applicant, Mr Howard Levin, and Sharon Spaulding, the owner of the property, presented the petition They are requesting 2 Special Permits to allow an 1800 sqft space to be used as a business and professional office in a CD zone, allow an office located on a street lower level that is not a storefront, and allow 1 parking space instead of 2 This space is located at the rear of 1646 Mass Ave The space used to be a residential structure and isn't a store front directly Massachusetts Ave The visibility of the location is poor They would anticipate it to be used as an accounting office There would be no impact of traffic, safety, and current uses The space is adjacent to other properties on Wallis Ct. The space currently has 1 parking space, so it's non-conforming The space is currently vacant and has been difficult to rent out because of its visibility A Board Member, Mr Ralph D Clifford, stated that he is in favor of it being used as an office space but he is worried about parking Ms Spaulding stated that they used to be part of the Town Center Parking program but it was eliminated with the parking sticker program October 12, 2017 ZBA Meeting Page 9 A Board Member, Mr Edward D McCarthy, asked where the parking spots are for the building (there's 4 tandem spots for the whole building next door) A Board Member, Mr David G Williams, stated it's an appropriate use but if a bank or real estate office were to go there, he may not feel the same way (Mr Levin responded that there is a bylaw that restricts the space to be used for a bank or real estate office, and if the space were to be used for that purpose, they would need a Special Permit) Mr Williams asked if there will be signage in the back (Currently there is a sign that was approved by Haven, the previous tenant, and to change the sign they would have to go before the Design Advisory Committee (DAC) and the Historic District Commission (HDC)) The Chairwoman closed the hearing at 8 50 pm On a motion by Ralph D Clifford, and seconded by Jeanne K. Krieger, the Board voted 5-0 to grant a waiver to the requirement of a certified plot plan On a motion by Jeanne K. Krieger, and seconded by Edward D McCarthy, the Board voted 5-0 to grant TWO (2) SPECIAL PERMITS in accordance with the Zoning By-Law (Chapter 135 of the Code of Lexington), 135-9 4 and sections 135-3 4, Table of Permitted Uses and Development Standards, Line G 2 01 to allow an office located on street floor level that is not a center store front, and 135-5 1 14 to allow one (1) parking space instead of the required two (2) parking spaces October 12, 2017 ZBA Meeting Page 10 Minutes of the Lexington Zoning Board of Appeals Selectmen's Meeting Room October 12 2017 Board Members Present. Chairwoman, Martha C Wood, Jeanne K. Krieger, Edward D McCarthy, David G Williams, and Ralph D Clifford Alternate Present. Nyles N Barnert Administrative Staff Jennifer Gingras, Administrative Clerk and David George, Zoning Administrator Other Business 1) Minutes of Meetings from September 28, 2017 Hearing On a motion by Ralph D Clifford and seconded by Jeanne K Krieger, the Board voted 5-0 to approve the minutes of September 28, 2017 2) Review of 2018 ZBA Calendar The Board found no issues with the calendar dates for 2018 Mr Clifford proposed a time change of the meetings to begin at 7 00pm instead of 7 30pm, to begin on January 11, 2018 On a motion by Ralph D Clifford and seconded by Jeanne K Krieger, the Board voted 5-0 to approve the 2018 Zoning Board of Appeals Calendar and to change the meeting time from 7 30pm to 7 OOpm, to be effective January 11, 2018 3) CPTC 2017 Workshops The Board was made aware of the availability of the workshops On a motion made and seconded, the meeting was adjourned Page 11