Zoning Board of Appeals

ZONING Board of APPEALS 166 Boulder Drive Fitchburg, MA 01420 NOVEMBER 22, 2016 Senior Center, 14 Wallace Av MINUTES OF THE MEETING 1. Call to Order LM PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE ALL 2. Communications LM ATTENDANCE: LM, MM, JB 3. Hearings 6:00PM ZBA-2015-01 Michael Karras/AKS Recycling & Charles George Co. 15 COBBLER DR & 41 BLUEBERRY LN CONTINUANCE: Petitioner not present for this hearing. At the prior hearing he was out of the country. The Board is in agreement that another notice should be sent to the business reminding them of their review and the Board’s request for a new plan of the property. Councilor Paul Beauchemin spoke to the on-going problem of trash along Airport Rd/Crawford St from the AKS’s customers. He would like to see the Board put a condition on the business that they be responsible for cleaning up the street from Benson St to the city line. Waste Management and Harvey’s does this in other areas of the city on a weekly basis and it works well. Using the City’s resources to monitor their customer vehicles and cleaning up the street drains time away from other areas that need attention. The clean-up should be the responsibility of AKS. MM – The Board has the ability to place reasonable conditions on Special Permits. We could also ask that a sign be placed at their business stating they will Not accept uncovered loads. MM – Motion on ZBA-2015-01 to Continue the Review to December 13, 2016 at 6:30PM AZ – Motion Seconded VOTE: 5-0 GRANT of a Continuance 6:15PM ZBA-2014-09 Raul Lopez 19 DWIGHT ST CONTINUANCE: Joseph Brogna stated that his bank is in the process of getting them a closing date and the IRS will be represented at the closing. This will then put the building in Mr. Lopez’s name. The new parking plan was submitted at this time (Exhibiat 1) as requested. The Board and petitioners reviewed the plan and made revisions. MM – How many vehicles do you want for the business? I would not be in favor of 50 cars and this is a capacity parking plan. Don’t want this business to turn into a junk yard. The Special Permit is for auto repair and towing, not auto body of junks. LM – How many cars do you have on the lot at one time? Mr. Lopez – 30 -35 cars. MM – Do not want to see vehicles parked along the railway side. After you have been operating with 30 cars for a time and your business grows you can request a change in the number of vehicles from us. The revised plan now shows a total of 47 parking spaces: 6 Customer spaces, 6 Employee spaces and 35 spaces for repair vehicles. JB – Review in 8 months – July 2017 LM – Change condition # 10 to reflect the changes stated. MM – Motion on ZBA 0214-09 to Approve the Review with the following conditions: 1. No vehicles for sale 2. No dismantled, inoperable, junk or parts vehicles 3. No auto body repairs 4. No vehicles for sale on property 5. No outside storage of auto parts/tires 6. No plastic and or vinyl banners/Professional signage only 7. 8 month Review – July 11, 2017 8. Hours of Operation: Monday-Friday 8:00AM-6:00PM Saturday 8:00AM-2:00PM Closed Sunday 9. Per parking plan submitted and revised 11/22/2016 10. Parking for 47 vehicles – 6 Customer spaces, 6 Employee spaces and 35 spaces for repair vehicles 11. Not to be operated as a nuisance 12. Sunset Clause – Special Permit to terminate/expire upon the sale/transfer of the business from Raul Lopez at 19 Dwight Street AZ – Motion Seconded VOTE: 5-0 Approve the Review with Conditions 6:30PM ZBA-2014-26 Paul Amanatidis 1109-1151 MAIN ST CONTINUANCE: LM – Letter from Pavlos Amanatidis was received in the Building Department 11/02/2016 stating that he is no longer interested in obtaining a Special Permit for the auto repair business at this location (Exhibit 2). JB – At the last hearing his attorney had stated that he had worked on his vehicle at this location. The Board will be writing to city departments in regard to doing auto repair in the building without an active Special Permit. MM – Motion on ZBA-2014-26 to Approve the Review of the Special Permit to operate an Automobile Repair Service business AZ – Motion Seconded VOTE: 0-5 Deny the Review Special Permit REVOKED 2 6:45PM ZBA-2016-23 Marcus Moran/JMAC Distribution LLC 135 CRAWFORD ST CONTINUANCE: Marcus Moran/JMAC Distribution LLC was not in attendance at this hearing. He has moved to this new location from 134A Crawford St. In order to give him every opportunity to attend his review the Board will continue the hearing to the January meeting. MM – Motion on ZBA-2016-23 to Grant a Continuance of the Review to January 10, 2017 AZ – Motion Seconded VOTE: 5-0 Grant a Continuance of the Review 7:00PM ZBA-2014-04 Twin Cities Community Dev. Corp. 4 LEIGHTON ST CONTINUANCE: The CDC called this afternoon to the Building Department stating that their representative had a family emergency and that Mark Dohan will be attending the hearing. Mr. Dohan stated that they are almost finished with the project except for an interior punch list and obtaining the final sing-off from the Building Inspector. The Board will continue the Review hearing in order for the conditions of their Special Permit to all be met. MM – Motion on ZBA-2014-04 to Continue the Review to December 13, 2016 at 6:45PM AZ – Motion Seconded VOTE: 5-0 Grant of a Continuance 7:15PM ZBA-2016-05 Boris Sapozhnikov 265 SUMMER ST CONTINUANCE: LM – Letter from Martin Choma (Exhibit III), Manager was read into the minutes stating that their business has moved from this location. MM – Motion on ZBA-2016-05 to Approve the Review AZ – Motion Seconded VOTE: 0-5 Review Denied Special Permit Revoked 3 7:30PM ZBA-2016-24 Hannah Wanjiku & Timothy Kihiko 160 PLYMOUTH ST CONTINUANCE: LM - Petitioner’s original request was to reinstate the property as a 4 unit. At the last hearing the petitioner amended his petition to 3 units and was requested by the Board to submit the new floor plans and the new parking plan for the property. Each floor will have the same layout with 3 bedrooms and will be the same square footage. Councilor Beauchemin has concerns for the upkeep of the property. Petitioner did not bring the revised parking plan with him this evening and requested a continuance to the December meeting. The Board did review his floor plan and he will have the correct plans with any revisions to present at the next meeting. MM – What is the time frame for completion? Mr. Kihiko – 3 to 4 months. MM – Project needs to be completed before occupancy is issued. Mr. Kihiko – There will be off-street parking for 6 vehicles. MM – Would also like to see a condition in regard to landscaping. MM – Motion on ZBA-2016-24 to Grant a Continuance to December 13, 2016 at 7:00PM AZ – Motion Seconded VOTE: 5-0 GRANT a Continuance 7:45PM ZBA-2016-30 50 FRANKFORT ST Dr. Rev. Dennis A Bradley Presentation given by Attorney Mark Bradley, Dr. Rev. Dennis A Bradley and Charles Darling, Architect, stating that this project will bring jobs to Fitchburg and hope to children in need. Those Opposed: John Benson of 22 A Street, a resident of Fitchburg for 70 years, does not think this is the right site for the intended use. The street is narrow and will not support any more traffic. There has been a problem on the street since the Busy Bee Day Care opened. The roads can’t be made wider, there are no sidewalks and there should be a concern for public safety. The site was a manufacturing business, not a good location for children. Councilor Beauchemin – Spoke with some of the neighbors and the majority were against this petition. There is no where for children to play. The front of the building is parking and the rest of the small lot is also paved. If this request does pass, I believe the Board should number the limit of residents allowed. Also, the building should be brought up to current Building Code Standards for an Institutional Use. Also, I am not seeing a benefit to the neighborhood and the City for this particular building to be reinstated. Rev. Dr. Bradley spoke to Councilor Beauchemin’s concerns stating that he has spoken to most of the neighbors and has answered their questions. They are not present at this hearing, therefore, their concerns were answered. The facility will house children associated with DCF from 0 – 12 years old. Attorney Bradley stated that there is plenty of room within the building to accommodate and entertain children. The project will create jobs. Kristen Tabron of 46 Frankfort St. is concerned about having this facility right next door. The building is only 20’ away from her property. She believes her property value will go down. There is no safe place for children to play outside and it is not good for children to be confined in doors all the time. The people that have been working on the property have been 4 discourteous in regards to going over her property without permission while they are working. They just walk on her property with no concern and do not seem to take her boundaries seriously and or in a safe manner. Those In Support: Mr. Hughes – I cannot say enough about the need for this. The traffic concern is valid. Parents visiting have to go through proper procedure by appointment and would not just randomly be showing up on the property. He is working closely with Dr. Bradley and they do not want to see any children on the street. They want to make a safe environment for these children in need. MM – I would like to see more clarification from the Building Commissioner in regard to the path we must take. He was unable to make a definitive determination due to a lack of information. You will also need to show us how this building meets the requirements to grant a special permit under §181.3561. AZ – The Board is not allowed to give a Use Variance in a residential neighborhood. The use you are proposing is not in our table of principal uses. AP – This is a pre-existing non-conforming structure and the use by not being expressly stated is prohibited under §181.3. LM – Unitil we get a determination on the use I am not comfortable moving forward. MM – Motion on ZBA-2016-30 to Grant a Continuance to the December 13, 2016 Meeting at 7:00PM for further information. AZ – Motion Seconded VOTE: GRANT of a Continuance 4. MISCELLANEOUS Discussion 5. ADJOURNMENT 5