Zoning Board of Appeals

Zoning Board of Appeals Voting Record and Minutes The Zoning Board of Appeals of the City of Chicopee public hearing for Wednesday April 11, 2018, 6:30 PM in City Hall Annex, Fourth Floor, City Council Chambers, 274 Front Street, Chicopee, MA 01013. Meeting was brought to order by Roland Archambault. At 6:30 PM. Board of Appeals attendance: Member Name Present Absent Excused Regular Roland Archambault Chair X Regular Anthony Gallant, Vice Chair X Regular Carissa Lisee, Clerk X Regular Gary Stamborski X Assoc. Christina Loy X Assoc. Katherine Baldiga X Assoc. Matthew Bieda X Planning Staff attendance: Title Name Present Excused Planning Director Lee Pouliot X Asst. Planning Director Jack Benjamin X Development Manager Jim Dawson X *Note: Associate Member Christina Loy voted in place of a fifth Regular Member. **Note: The Board voted to take item #1 and #4 out of order. Motion to act on Item #1 at the end of the meeting was made by Anthony Gallant and seconded by Christina Loy. Vote was 5-0 to approve. Member Voting members Approve Deny Table Abstain Regular Roland Archambault X Chair Regular Anthony Gallant, Vice X Chair Regular Carissa Lisee, Clerk X Regular Gary Stamborski X Assoc. Christina Loy* X Assoc. Katherine Baldiga Assoc. Matthew Bieda Motion to act on Item #4 first was made by Anthony Gallant and seconded by Gary Stamborski. Vote was 5-0 to approve. Member Voting members Approve Deny Table Abstain Regular Roland Archambault X Chair Regular Anthony Gallant, Vice X Chair Regular Carissa Lisee, Clerk X Regular Gary Stamborski X Assoc. Christina Loy* X Assoc. Katherine Baldiga Assoc. Matthew Bieda 1 Item 1a: Board Elections** Chairperson Motion to nominate Roland Archambault as Chairperson was made by Anthony Gallant and seconded by Gary Stamborski. Vote was 4 in favor to 0 opposed with 1 abstention to reelect Roland as the Chairperson. (Roland Archambault abstained as he was the nominee) Member Voting members Approve Deny Table Abstain Regular Roland Archambault X Chair Regular Anthony Gallant, Vice X Chair Regular Carissa Lisee, Clerk X Regular Gary Stamborski X Assoc. Christina Loy* X Assoc. Katherine Baldiga Assoc. Matthew Bieda Item 1b: Board Elections** Vice Chairperson Motion to nominate Anthony Gallant as Vice Chairperson was made by Christina Loy and seconded by Gary Stamborski. Vote was 4 in favor to 0 opposed with 1 abstention to reelect Anthony Gallant as the Vice Chairperson. (Anthony Gallant abstained as he was the nominee) Member Voting members Approve Deny Table Abstain Regular Roland Archambault X Chair Regular Anthony Gallant, Vice X Chair Regular Carissa Lisee, Clerk X Regular Gary Stamborski X Assoc. Christina Loy* X Assoc. Katherine Baldiga Assoc. Matthew Bieda Item 1c: Board Elections** Clerk Motion to nominate Carissa Lisee as Clerk was made by Christina Loy and seconded by Anthony Gallant. Vote was 4 in favor to 0 opposed with 1 abstention to reelect Carissa Lisee as the Clerk. (Carissa Lisee abstained as she was the nominee) Member Voting members Approve Deny Table Abstain Regular Roland Archambault X Chair Regular Anthony Gallant, Vice X Chair Regular Carissa Lisee, Clerk X Regular Gary Stamborski X Assoc. Christina Loy* X Assoc. Katherine Baldiga Assoc. Matthew Bieda 2 Item 2: Variance from Chapter 275-58 front setback requirement from 25’ to 8’ to accommodate a new gas station canopy. Location: 1057 Montgomery St. Applicant: Albert A. Lafleur, Inc., 467 East Main St., Chicopee, MA 01020 Notes: It was the Board’s opinion that the location of the gas pumps was a hardship for the Applicant as they were located when the gas station was originally constructed many years in the past; relocating the pumps to meet current setback requirements would be a financial burden and based on the layout of the site would not be practical. At the time of construction the station was a full service station; self-service stations were not in existence at the time. There was no requirement for canopies over full service pumps. Motion to approve was made by Christina Loy and seconded by Anthony Gallant. Vote was 5-0 to approve. Member Voting members Approve Deny Table Abstain Regular Roland Archambault X Chair Regular Anthony Gallant, Vice X Chair Regular Carissa Lisee, Clerk X Regular Gary Stamborski X Assoc. Christina Loy* X Assoc. Katherine Baldiga Assoc. Matthew Bieda Item 3: Variance from 275-52 frontage reduction from 100’ to 60’ and area from 10,000 SF to 7,200 SF to create a new single- family building lot from 94 Lafayette St. and leave existing house on a lot with the same dimensions. Applicant: Alexander Titar, 320 East St., Chicopee, MA 01020 Notes: Several Abutters spoke (one sent an e-mail) against the petition citing traffic, speeding and drivers failing to stop at the stop sign at the corner of York St. as well as their opinion that the construction of a house on this property would overcrowd the neighborhood. Based on the number of Abutters opposed to the petition and the fact that no apparent hardship existed, the Board voted to deny the Variance request. Motion to approve for the sake of discussion was made by Gary Stamborski and seconded by Anthony Gallant. Vote was 5-0 to deny the petition. Member Voting members Approve Deny Table Abstain Regular Roland Archambault X Chair Regular Anthony Gallant, Vice X Chair Regular Carissa Lisee, Clerk X Regular Gary Stamborski X Assoc. Christina Loy* X Assoc. Katherine Baldiga Assoc. Matthew Bieda Item 4: Variance** from Chapter 275-52 to create a new single-family building lot with frontage reduction from 100’ to 50’ and area from 10,000 SF to 5,598 +/- SF. Location: Dresser Ave. Assessor Map 50, Parcel 70. Applicant: James A Kumiega, 55 Van Horn St., Chicopee, MA 01013 Notes: A Variance was grated for this property in 2004 but since no construction commenced the Variance expired after one year from the date of issuance. It was the Board’s opinion that no hardship as defined by State Law exists to warrant the granting of the Variance nor is it the Board’s opinion that the expanded local definition of hardship could be applied to this petition. Motion to approve for the sake of discussion was made by Christina Loy and seconded by Anthony Gallant. Vote was 1 in favor to 4 opposed. Petition was denied. 3 Member Voting members Approve Deny Table Abstain Regular Roland Archambault X Chair Regular Anthony Gallant, Vice X Chair Regular Carissa Lisee, Clerk X Regular Gary Stamborski X Assoc. Christina Loy* X Assoc. Katherine Baldiga Assoc. Matthew Bieda Item 5: Variance from Chapter 275-54 rear yard setback requirement from 30’ to 24’ and setback between buildings from 25’ to 19’ +/- to convert an existing apartment unit to a fully ADA accessible unit. Location: Kida Apartments, Assessor Map 81, Parcel 27. Applicant: Timothy Murphy Architects, 380 High St., Holyoke, MA 01040 Notes: The Applicant did not attend the meeting therefore the Board voted to table the petition to their next regularly scheduled meeting on Wednesday, May 9, 2018. Motion to table was made by Anthony Gallant and seconded by Christina Loy. Vote was 5-0 to table the petition to May 9, 2018. Member Voting members Approve Deny Table Abstain Regular Roland Archambault X Chair Regular Anthony Gallant, Vice X Chair Regular Carissa Lisee, Clerk X Regular Gary Stamborski X Assoc. Christina Loy* X Assoc. Katherine Baldiga Assoc. Matthew Bieda Item 6: Variance from Chapter 275-52 for side yard setback from 6’ to 3’ to construct an attached carport. Location 107 Chapel St. Chicopee, MA. Applicant: Joan Boutin, same address. Notes: It was the Board’s opinion that the Applicant’s petition would cause no detriment to the neighborhood or neighbor’s property and voted to approve the petition with a condition to direct all stormwater runoff away from the neighboring property. The Board noted that a detached carport could legally be constructed 3’ from the property line without a Variance. Motion to approve with noted condition (see above) was made by Gary Stamborski and seconded by Anthony Gallant. Vote was 5-0 to approve with the noted condition. Member Voting members Approve Deny Table Abstain Regular Roland Archambault X Chair Regular Anthony Gallant, Vice X Chair Regular Carissa Lisee, Clerk X Regular Gary Stamborski X Assoc. Christina Loy* X Assoc. Katherine Baldiga Assoc. Matthew Bieda Item 7: Variance from 275-40 C (16) for dead end parking access driveway length from 150’ to 200’ +/-. Location 760 Memorial Dr. Chicopee, MA. Applicant: Mark Mushenko, 78 Parker St., East Longmeadow, MA 01028 Notes: It was the Board’s opinion that the Applicant’s petition would cause no detriment to the neighborhood or any neighboring property. The Board accepted the Fire Department’s opinion regarding the Applicant’s proposed access drive length, and voted to approve the petition. 4 Motion to approve was made by Christina Loy and seconded by Anthony Gallant. Vote was 5-0 to approve. Member Voting members Approve Deny Table Abstain Regular Roland Archambault X Chair Regular Anthony Gallant, Vice X Chair Regular Carissa Lisee, Clerk X Regular Gary Stamborski X Assoc. Christina Loy* X Assoc. Katherine Baldiga Assoc. Matthew Bieda Item 8: Minutes from February 14 and March 14, 2018 Motion to approve both sets of minutes was made by Anthony Gallant and seconded by Gary Stamborski. Vote was 5-0 to approve both sets of minutes. Member Voting members Approve Deny Table Abstain Regular Roland Archambault X Chair Regular Anthony Gallant, Vice X Chair Regular Carissa Lisee, Clerk X Regular Gary Stamborski X Assoc. Christina Loy* X Assoc. Katherine Baldiga Assoc. Matthew Bieda Item 9: Discussion Old/New Business Notes: Associate Member Christina Loy questioned the dates of the terms of the Board Members on the contact sheet of the packet. Planning Staff noted the issue would be researched and the Board would receive an explanation at their next meeting. Item 10: Adjournment – Next Meeting May 9, 2018 Motion to adjourn was made by Anthony Gallant and seconded by Christina Loy. Vote was 5-0 to adjourn. Member Voting members Approve Deny Table Abstain Regular Roland Archambault X Chair Regular Anthony Gallant, Vice X Chair Regular Carissa Lisee, Clerk X Regular Gary Stamborski X Assoc. Christina Loy* X Assoc. Katherine Baldiga Assoc. Matthew Bieda Meeting adjourned at 7:28 PM. 5