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 July 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 X Chair Regular Anthony Gallant, Vice X Chair Regular Carissa Lisee, Clerk X Regular Gary Stamborski X Regular 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 Item 1: Variance from Chapter 275-58D side yard setback from 15’ to 6.4’+/- on south side of proposed addition and 15’ to 8.7’+/- on the north side of the proposed addition. Location: 873 Grattan St. Applicant: Pynchon Press CO. Inc., same address. Notes: Jon Goddard of R. Levesque Associates, Inc. presented the petition to the Board. Mr. Goddard explained the limitations of the site and that the project was before the Conservation Commission. Staff confirmed the project was before the Conservation Commission on June 20, 2018 but was continued pending more information. Staff also recommended the Board table the petition on the Variance until the Conservation Commission made its determination on the building location. If the Conservation Commission is satisfied with the proposed addition location then the Variance can proceed with the proposed dimensional requests. The Board agreed and voted to table the petition to August 8, 2018. Motion to table was made by Anthony Gallant and seconded by Christina Loy. Vote was 4-0 to table the petition to August 8, 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 Christina Loy X 1 Item 2: Variance from Chapter 275-52 frontage from 100’ to 50’; area from 10,000 SF to 3,736 SF and depth from 100’ to 74.5’ +/- to allow for the construction of a new single-family house to replace existing unsalvageable house. Location: 43 Grace St. Applicant: Student Builders, Inc., 863 Montgomery St., Chicopee, MA 01013. Notes: The Applicant presented the project to the Board. The property is vacant and in a substantial state of deterioration. It was taken by Wells Fargo several years ago and was disposed of to the City for rehabilitation and or redevelopment. Based on a determination from the City Building Commissioner, the house foundation is too severely compromised therefore the building must be demolished and redeveloped. The City solicited RFPs for the redevelopment of the property; the Applicant was awarded the contract. The lot on which the house sits is significantly smaller than current zoning allows. The lot with the existing house has existed since approximately 1920 thus preexisting the City’s zoning and is therefore legally non- conforming. The Board felt that a new single-family house could be constructed on the lot and not exceed the current legally nonconforming density that has been on the property since 1920. The Board’s opinion is that a new house would serve the City and the neighborhood significantly better than a vacant lot. Motion to approve was made by Christina Loy and seconded by Anthony Gallant. Vote was 4-0 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 Christina Loy X Item 3: Variance from Chapter 275-52 frontage from 100’ to 60’ and area from 10,000 SF to 7,200 SF to create a new single-family building lot from 60 Trilby Ave. and leave existing two-family house on a lot with the same dimensions. Applicant: Nicholas Riley, 77 Massachusetts Ave., Chicopee, MA 01013 Notes: Applicant Nicholas Riley presented the petition to the Board starting his intention to subdivide the property to create a new single-family building lot and leave the existing two-family house on a reduced size lot. Mr. Riley explained he was before the Board for a Variance in 2015 and was denied. Staff confirmed this and noted Mr. Riley had been granted a Waiver of Frontage from the Planning Board but was denied the variance from the ZBA. Denied Variances can be reapplied for once two years have elapsed from the date of denial. A couple of Abutters spoke in opposition to the request stating traffic in the area was very heavy especially during the school year as St. Joan of Arc School is a short distance away. It was the Board’s opinion that no hardship existed, the two-family house already exceeded the density requirement in a Residential A zone and the petition was not in the interest of the neighborhood. The Board voted to deny the Variance. Motion to approve for the sake of discussion was made by Roland Archambault and seconded by Anthony Gallant. Vote was 4-0 to deny. Member Voting members Approve Deny Table Abstain Regular Roland Archambault X Chair Regular Anthony Gallant, Vice X Chair Regular Carissa Lisee, Clerk X Regular Christina Loy X 2 Item 4: Variance from Chapter 275-52 frontage from 100’ to 90’; area from 10,000 SF to 8,100 SF and depth from 100’ to 90’ to create a new single-family building lot from 180 Rolf Ave. and leave existing house on a lot with reduced frontage. Location: 180 Rolf Ave. Applicant: Laurent & Lucille Chartier, same address. Notes: The Applicant’s explained their petition stating they acquired the additional property from the City at auction in 2004. Prior to acquiring the additional lot, the Applicant’s lot at 190 Rolf Avenue contained a legally nonconforming 90’ of frontage and exceeded the depth and area requirement for a legal lot in a Residential A zone. It was the Board’s opinion that the additional property that the Applicant acquired was a legally nonconforming single-family building lot prior to them acquiring it and therefore saw no reason to penalize the Applicant for buying the property. Board voted to approve the request. Motion to approve was made by Christina Loy and seconded by Roland Archambault. Vote was 4-0 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 Christina Loy X Item 5: Minutes from June 13, 2018 Motion to approve was made by Christina Loy and seconded by Anthony Gallant. Vote was 4-0 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 Christina Loy X Item 6: Discussion Old/New Business Notes: Staff noted there was no new business or discussion. Item 7: Adjournment Motion to adjourn was made by Christina Loy and seconded by Anthony Gallant. Vote was 4-0 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 Christina Loy X Meeting adjourned at 7:53 PM. 3