City Council - Zoning Committee

City of Chicopee City Council Zoning Committee Approved 8-24-2017 Members Shane Brooks, Chair Timothy McLellan, Vice Chair Fred Krampits Frank Laflamme Jerry Roy James Tillotson William Zaskey MINUTES June 29, 2017 The following are the minutes of a public hearing held Thursday, June 29, 2017 at 6:30 PM in the City Council Chambers, Fourth Floor, City Hall Annex, 274 Front Street, Chicopee, MA 01013. Members Present Brooks, McLellan, Krampits, Laflamme, Roy, Tillotson, Zaskey Also Present Dan Garvey (City Solicitor), Lee Pouliot (Planning Director) The meeting was called to order at 6:30 PM In compliance with the Open Meeting Law the Chairman asked if anyone in the audience was recording the meeting. Hearing none the meeting continued. Councilor Laflamme motion to put Item #1 back in order – Councilor Brooks 2nd the motion – motion passed. ITEM #1 Zone Change from Residential B to Business A for 3.7 +/- acres of property located at 110 Church Street to eliminate a spot zone and establish a more compatible relationship between the underlying zoning and the current use of the property as an institutional facility. Applicant: Chicopee Planning Board, City Hall Annex, 274 Front St., 4th floor, Chicopee, MA 01013 Lee Pouliot stated this is a spot zone and it’s actually an easy one to fix and it takes care of a number of issues by fixing it. He stated the Public Safety Complex property is currently zoned residential B and the city has no intensions of abandoning that use. Changing the zone to business B is more consistent and allows for the new telecommunications tower with Verizon to move forward without complications from the variance on a use side based on our zoning laws. Councilor McLellan motion to approve – Councilor Laflamme 2nd the motion – motion passed. Committee vote 7 – 0 favorable. 1 Councilor McLellan motion to make item #2 out of order – Councilor Brooks 2nd the motion – motion passed ITEM #2 Application for a Special Permit under section 275-53 for the purpose of parking lot for use for businesses and residents of 333 Front Street located at 28 Grape Street. Applicant: Bodgan & Konarzewski, 333 Front Street, Suite 5, Chicopee MA 01013 Applicants were present. They stated the ownership was changed about ten years ago. Councilor Zaskey stated the original part of the building was supposed to have parking underneath. When Mr. Kulig built the building he put office space underneath and therefore he just had a small parking space in the back. He purchased a home, tore it down and extended the parking. Councilor Brooks stated that there is now a church up front and a women doing podiatry in the back. We’ve had to do some parking signs to alleviate the congestion when they pile snow along there, so I know the parking is important for the tenants of the building. The building and parking area is always very well maintained. He stated that he is in favor of this. Lee Pouliot stated that this is just a case for special permit to use the space for parking. There was an addition placed on the special permit when it was originally granted that required new owners to come back to the City Council for approval of transferring ownership. Councilor Laflamme motion to approve – Councilor Brooks 2nd the motion – motion passed Committee vote 7 – 0 favorable ITEM #3 Minutes – May 11, 2017 - Motion made by Councilor McLellan and second by Councilor Brooks to approve. Motion passed. Meeting adjourned at 6:45 PM. 2