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, June 11, 2025, 6:30 PM at the RiverMills Senior Center, Classroom 30, 5 West Main St., Chicopee, MA 01020 Meeting was brought to order by Anthony Gallant at 6:35 PM. Board of Appeals attendance: Member Name Present Absent Excused Regular Anthony Gallant, Chair X Regular Carissa Lisee, Vice Chair X Regular Katherine Baldiga, Clerk X Regular Gary Stamborski X Regular Julia Sudol X Assoc. Carlos Felix X Assoc. Theresa Devlin X Planning Department Staff Attendance Title Name Present Absent Excused Director Lee Pouliot X Development Manager James Dawson X Assistant Planner Patrick Collins X Item 1: Variance from Chapter 275-52 frontage from 100’ to 75’ and area from 10,000 SF to 8,250 SF to create a new single-family building lot and leave the existing house on an equal sized lot. Location: 34 Wildermere St., Chicopee, MA. Applicant: Jessica Picard, 32 Wildermere St, Chicopee, MA 01020. Notes: The Applicant presented her petition to the Board. She explained that her proposal was to subdivide the existing house lot into two equal sized lots, each containing 75’ of frontage. The Applicant explained that it was not her intention to build on the “new” undeveloped lot but to be able to sell it as a single-family building lot separate from the existing house. Staff reported there were no calls from any Abutters nor were there any attending the hearing via Zoom. Anthony Gallant was concerned about creating a precedent in the neighborhood if the Variance was granted. Approximately half of the lots in the “neighborhood” are equal to or smaller than the Applicant’s request. Staff explained the filing of the decision and the appeal process. Motion to approve was made by Anthony Gallant and seconded by Gary Stamborski. Vote was 4-0 to approve. Member Voting members Approve Deny Table Abstain Regular Anthony Gallant, Chair X Regular Katherine Baldiga, Clerk X Regular Gary Stamborski X Regular Julia Sudol X Item 2: Variance from Chapter 275-52 frontage from 100’ to 50’ to create a new single-family building lot from 45 Whitin Ave., Chicopee, MA 01013. Applicant: Donald Chapdelaine, same address. Notes: The Applicant was in attendance and presented his petition to the Board. The Applicant applied for and was granted the same Variance in 2006. However, no construction ever commenced on the property and the Variance expired after one year. Staff explained that since the Applicant was before the Board in 2006 there was now an Ordinance for the placement of new houses on lots. Since a proposed new house with frontage on 1 Whitin Avenue would be located behind other houses fronting on Whitin Avenue a Special Permit from the City Council would be required in addition to the Variance. The Applicant and the Board Members discussed the new State Law allowing ADUs on properties. One Abutter attending the meeting via Zoom questioned how the proposed house would be located relative to his house. Staff explained that the Applicant was required to meet minimum setback requirements and if the proposal met these requirements the house could be located anywhere within the building envelope of the property and the Special Permit requirement would have to be met. The Applicant noted that it was his intention to keep the existing sycamore trees on the property. The Board discussed the Variance request and noted they had approved the same Variance in 2006 and since nothing had changed with the proposal they voted to approve. Staff reminded the Applicant about the Special Permit requirement. Motion to approve was made by Anthony Gallant and seconded by Julia Sudol. Vote was 4-0 to approve. Member Voting members Approve Deny Table Abstain Regular Anthony Gallant, Chair X Regular Katherine Baldiga, Clerk X Regular Gary Stamborski X Regular Julia Sudol X Item 3: Variance from Chapter 275-40 C (10) driveway offset from 35’ to 9’ to allow for the creation of a one- way exit drive from a proposed self-storage facility. Location: Shawinigan Dr. Assessor Map 187, Parcel 1B. Applicant: Patriot Holdings, LLC., 4007 Dean Martin Dr., Las Vegas, NV 89103. Notes: A representative of the Applicant presented the petition to the Board. Staff explained the driveway offset ordinance to the Board and also noted that City Engineer had reviewed the proposal and he had no issues with it due to the infrequent use of the access to the cell tower parcel. The Board was satisfied with the presentation and the City Engineer’s feedback and voted to approve the Variance. Motion to approve was made by Gary Stamborski and seconded by Julia Sudol. Vote was 4-0 to approve. Member Voting members Approve Deny Table Abstain Regular Anthony Gallant, Chair X Regular Katherine Baldiga, Clerk X Regular Gary Stamborski X Regular Julia Sudol X Item 4: Minutes from May 14, 2025 Motion to approve was made by Anthony Gallant and seconded by Katherine Baldiga. Vote was 4-0 to approve. Member Voting members Approve Deny Table Abstain Regular Anthony Gallant, Chair X Regular Katherine Baldiga, Clerk X Regular Gary Stamborski X Regular Julia Sudol X Item 5: Discussion - Old/New Business Notes: Staff noted there were no new applications and therefore there would be no meeting on July 9, 2025. Also, Board members inquired if the filing fees being collected were sufficient to cover legal ad fees. Staff replied that they were adequate. 2 Item 6: Adjournment - next scheduled meeting is July 9, 2025 Motion to adjourn was made by Anthony Gallant and seconded by Julia Sudol. Vote was 4-0 to adjourn. Member Voting members Approve Deny Table Abstain Regular Anthony Gallant, Chair X Regular Katherine Baldiga, Clerk X Regular Gary Stamborski X Regular Julia Sudol X Meeting adjourned at 7:02 PM. 3