Zoning Board

Page 1 of 6 Page 2 of 6 New Business: 2022-12 Upnorth Limited, Inc and Sonny Valley LLC c/o Anthony Copani A Special Permit for general motor vehicle repair and body repair in a Business Highway (BH) Zone at 18 Ayers Village Rd, Building 1, Units 2-4 (Parcel ID 702-72A-4C). Attorney Anthony Copani came forward representing the applicants, stating that they presented a letter requesting that the application be withdrawn without prejudice. Vice Chair Laura Walta entertained a motion from the Board to withdraw the application without prejudice. Philip Cultrera so moved. David DiNatale seconded. No discussion. Vote: Unanimous 2022-13 The Green Room Beauty Bar LLC and The Martin Family Realty Trust, c/o Anthony Copani A Special Permit is required under Section IX-B of the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance to alter the existing nonconforming use from a retail store to a Beauty Parlor in a Residential (RD) Zone at 500 Jackson Street (Parcel ID 814-41-23J). Attorney Anthony Copani came forward representing the applicants, and stated the manager, Belinda Wan, is in attendance. Mr. Copani stated that Belinda currently operates this same business on East Street, and is looking to relocate to 500 Jackson Street. Mr. Copani states they are seeking relief to change the use of this site from an existing non-conforming use of a florist, to a hair salon. Both types of businesses would be non-conforming to this site in a RD area, and the entranceway is right next to the entrance of Methuen High School. This operation is a hair salon and spa with hours from 9a-8pm, which shouldn’t affect traffic going into and out of the high school. There is a pool of approximately 20 employees, but there will be no more than 10 employees at any given time. There will be 12 work stations only, in the building, consisting of a chair and/or a table. Attorney Copani stated that the number of parking spaces required was based off the fact that there would be at the most 10 employees at one time. Services to be provided are hair, facial and massages, with the average time spent per customer of 1.5 hours, minimizing the traffic flow. There are no nails serviced at this site (which would be a quicker turnover time and more traffic). Attorney Copani shared his screen to show the plan to the Board. He pointed out that 19 spaces were required per building code for this business, and they will have 9 spaces available on one side of the building and 13 on the other side (with two of those being handicapped accessible). The entrance and exit to the site are one way, to help with the traffic flow on Jackson Street. Attorney Copani asked the Board if they have any questions about the plan. Laura Walta stated that it appeared at the southerly end of the building, there is another two-way entrance and exit on the plan, (shown with arrows) and she wanted clarification. Attorney Copani stated that it was a bit confusing on the plan, but there is only one exit and one entrance as one-way traffic, and the other arrows shown are not actual entrances and exits. Attorney Copani stated that if the Board wanted to condition the Special Permit that there is a one was entrance and a one-way exit, they will be happy to comply. Laura Walta asked if there was any intention for one lot to be for employees and one to be for customers, or if it will be open parking. Attorney Copani stated that parking was open to all. Nick Boucher commented on the turn radius of the first handicapped parking space, stating it seems too close. Attorney Copani stated that they can eliminate the first handicapped spot, moving all the spaces down and possibly adding one space at the end of the lot, making the first two spots handicapped accessible. He said that since they only need 19 spaces but have 22 on the plan, they have room to adjust should the Board choose to make a condition. Page 3 of 6 Felix Zemel stated that it doesn’t appear there would be space to add another spot on the opposite end of the parking lot, and they may need to remove one spot, having 21, instead of 22 spaces. Attorney Copani stated they were agreeable to that change. Mr. Zemel stated that they have not received any communications from the abutters in favor or opposition to this plan. Laura Walta asked about signage at the location, and if there were any proposals for it. Attorney Copani stated that he believes they are in the planning stages right now, and if they were able to use the existing signage location and comply with square footage, they would be. Attorney Copani stated if they were needing of any variances, they would come before the Board again. Nick Boucher asked if there were any additional parking lot lighting plan. Attorney Copani stated he isn’t aware of any additional lighting, but that they would need to comply with all codes should there be one down the road. Vice Chairman Walta opened public participation. No one came forward in favor or opposition to the petition. The Vice Chairman closed public participation. Felix Zemel stated only the Fire Department responded for internal departments, and stated they had no concerns. Philip Cultrera asked if there could be clear signage as to where employees park as opposed to customers. He stated that as a customer to the florist shop, the entrance/exit wasn’t clear and it was difficult for customers. He asked that as a recommendation, they look into it. Attorney Copani stated that they can certainly entertain any recommendations, and it seems that the Board is asking that the North lot be used for employees and the south lot for customers. Mr. Cultrera confirmed. Member Cultrera also would prefer, as a customer, that the designated one-way exit, be an entrance and an exit, based on his personal experience with the site. Attorney Copani stated they were agreeable to that change. Felix Zemel stated that Chairman D’Agostino has been present through the presentation of Attorney Copani’s presentation. Chairman D’Agostino stated that he has heard 90% of the presentation and that if there are already 5 members available he will sit out this vote. Chairman D’Agostino stated that there have been some good key points brought up by the Board to this point. Laura Walta asked the Board if anyone wants to make a motion to add conditions, for the hours of operation 9a-8p, the number of chairs be 12, and for parking- 9 spaces to the north be employees only and the 13 spaces to the south have one spot eliminated and the spots shifted down for customers. (totaling 21 spaces). Anthony Copani asked that the verbiage be changed to “workstations” instead of chairs. Attorney Copani also stated that if it became an issue with parking, they have the ability to add more parking spaces, but they wanted to leave that space open. Felix Zemel stated that under our city ordinance, the closet two types of business to this one, indicates they have ample parking spaces. Philip Cultrera made a motion to accept the conditions of: 1. Hours of operation 9a-8p 2. The number of workstations to be 12 3. The north parking lot to be employees only, the south parking lot to be for customers with removal of one space and shift down the handicapped spaces. Vincenzo Pesce seconded the motion. Discussion: none. Vote: Unanimous Laura Walta called for a roll call vote to approve the Special Permit with conditions Page 4 of 6 Roll Call: David DiNatale- yes with conditions Philip Cultrera- yes with conditions Nicholas Boucher- yes with conditions Vincenzo Pesce- yes with conditions Ms. Laura Walta- yes with conditions Laura Walta turned over the floor to Chairman Matt D’Agostino for the remainder of the meeting. 2022-14 Raising Caine’s Chicken Fingers and Core Fund Loop Property LLC A Special Permit is required per Section V-D, of the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance for a restaurant in a Business Highway (BH) Zone at 90 Pleasant Valley Street, space 31 (Parcel ID 910-79-1). Brandon Barry with Boller came forward representing the applicant. His office is at 352 Turnpike Rd in Southborough MA and is a Civil Engineer for the project. He is accompanied by Adam Carache, construction Manager with Raising Canes. Mr. Barry states they area here looking for an approval of a Special Permit in BH Zone for a restaurant. Mr. Barry states that they are working with Community Development for the drive through Special permit and hours of operation and site plan review. They are also working with conservation for applicability. Mr. Carache shared his screen with the board to review their business plan. They are a chicken finger restaurant based out of Louisiana. The business started in 1996 and have 600 restaurants that are privately owned. They have a restaurant in MA at the BU campus in Boston that has been open in 2009. They are looking to expand into the Northeast. The restaurant only serves one thing, a chicken finger meal. They don’t have other options like other restaurants. They have a very quick turnaround due to this, with a 2.5-minute drive through time. They operate a dual drive through, which helps with stacking. Mr. Carache showed an architectural design of the building and commented on the patio as well, for indoor and outdoor seating. Mr. Carache states they employ a local marketing manager to promote entrepreneurship, animal welfare, education and active lifestyles in the community. The Chairman asked if there were catering services. Mr. Carache stated there is no catering offered and they don’t partner with uber eats or door dash. Any bulk orders would have to be picked up inside and not at the drive through. Mr. Barry brought up the site plan to show the location inside the loop, where the proposed location would be, noting it is a commercial area next to Margarita’s restaurant, and fits in with the area. The Chairman asked if they were purchasing the land, and Mr. Barry said they would be leasing that location from the current landowner. Mr. Barry also stated that they will be tying into existing utilizes that are available at that location, and will be providing a stormwater management system, with no increase to stormwater. Vincenzo Pesce asked if they will be removing parking for the location next door with Aspen Dental. Mr. Barry said that he has been working with the owner of the property and there are currently 600 spaces more than needed for the loop business. He said he can’t speak to each unit and individual needs, but that the owner didn’t have any concerns. They will be removing some existing spaces for that site, and stated that there is additional parking across the road that has a pedestrian walkway (he pointed that out on the site plan). Vincenzo Pesce asked if the majority are drive through orders. Mr. Barry stated that currently drive through orders are 80%. Mr. Carache further explained that there is a recent shift towards eat in, and they expect it to shift to a 75% drive through, 25% walk in. (pre-pandemic levels). They can fit 78 customers inside the building and a total of 102 with the patio. Page 5 of 6 Chairman D’Agostino asked Felix Zemel if he had any issues at this time with parking. Mr. Zemel stated that the police and fire departments were provided this plan and they had no issues with it. Chairman D’Agostino opened public participation. No one came forward in favor or opposition to the petition. The Chairman closed public participation. The Chairman opened up questions of the Board. Vincenzo Pesce asked for hours of operation. Mr. Barry stated that they plan for 9a-1am Sun-Thurs and 9a-2a Friday and Saturday. They are before the Board for Community Development, and if that does not get approved they would follow the guidelines of closing at 12p. David DiNatale asked for pay rate of staffing. Mr. Carache stated they would be following the current market rate for quick serve restaurant employees in this area, somewhere from 18-19 dollars/hr. Chairman D’Agostino asked for a timeline. They are hoping to be under construction by the fall. Philip Cultrera confirmed that it would be a double drive up lane. Laura Walta called the roll to vote to approve the Special Permit. Roll Call: David DiNatale- yes, per plan Philip Cultrera- yes, per plan Chairman Matt D’Agostino- yes, per plan Vincenzo Pesce- yes, per plan Ms. Laura Walta- yes, per plan 2022-15 Maxwell Trejo c/o Arthur Broadhurst (Law office of Arthur J. Broadhurst) A variance is required to construct an accessory garage in excel of 1,000 square feet and one story under Section V-M of the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance to build a 1,600 square foot garage that is 1-1/2 stories in height in a Residential (RA) Zone at 120 Druid Hill Ave (Parcel ID 810-77E-3T). Attorney Arthur Broadhurst came forward representing the home owner, Max Trejo, who is also present tonight. They are seeking relief of the 1,000 square foot restriction of a garage. The homeowner and his wife have a car each, as well as recreation vehicles and a boat that they don’t want to store outside. Attorney Broadhurst directed the Board members to the architectural drawing of the proposed structure. He stated the doors are standard garage door height, and it is situated in a position in the yard to preserve grassy areas for their children, set back on the lot. They are open to discuss the size. There is a second floor that will be used for storage only, and remain vacant. The Chairman states that they are asking for a 60% degradation from what is allowed. Attorney Broadhurst stated they are willing to work with the Board on a size that they may be more comfortable with, and to provide updated plans. Laura Walta asked if the current garage would remain attached to the house and if this would be on the left side of the property to the rear. Attorney Broadhurst confirmed that is correct. Laura Walta asked if the vehicles were registered and insured and Attorney Broadhurst stated that was correct. Laura Walta asked how often the vehicles are used and Mr. Trejo stated it depended on time of year and who he was with. Chairman D’Agostino opened public participation. No one came forward in favor or opposition to the petition. The Chairman closed public participation. Attorney Broadhurst stated the applicants get along with all the neighbors and that he is pretty sure they are aware of what he is proposing to do. Page 6 of 6 Philip Cultrera stated this is a beautiful area with well maintained yards. Member Cultrera stated that the size of the home and the garage are similar, and it looks like another home is being put in the backyard. Attorney Broadhurst stated they are willing to work on the size, and that they were unable to attach the structure to the house as an addition due to the land (with the turn). Laura Walta asked if there was plan to have electricity and plumbing going to the proposed garage. Mr. Trejo stated that they would bring electricity only. Laura Walta feels that this was exorbitantly out of spec with the ordinance, but can’t speak to the feelings of the Board in general. Vincenzo Pesce stated that he is not a big fan of 2nd floors on the garages. He said he has been consistent with his vote in past on this type of situation. Member Pesce further stated that he thinks the size is too big. Nick Boucher asked what the plan for the 2nd floor would be, and Attorney Broadhurst stated that this would be storage. Member Boucher stated that this seems like a lot of storage. Laura Walta stated that reducing the 2 nd floor height, would reduce the site line. The Chairman stated that they will recommend the applicant ask for a continuance and revisit the construction plan and size based on the feedback from the Board. Chairman D’Agostino also stated they have to consider the implications their vote would have down the road, with the approval of these types of variances. Mr. Trejo asked the Board what they recommend for size. Dave DiNatale asked the homeowner what his needs require. Mr. Trejo stated that a 40x40 space can fit 6 cars, and that he does not want to keep them in his current garage. David DiNatale also stated that one item they consider with voting is a hardship on the land. Member DiNatale stated he didn’t feel that having more cars than normal is a hardship for their land. Attorney Broadhurst stated that the hardship would be the narrowness of the lot. Vincenzo Pesce stated the original size of the home is 1800 square feet and he said this garage is “a beast”. The Chairman stated the owner may have to consider housing some vehicles off this site, and paying for storage. Attorney Broadhurst requested a continuance. Laura Walta made a motion to continue. Phil Cultrera seconded the motion. Vote: Unanimous ADJOURNMENT: There being no further business before the Board, Chairman D’Agostino made a motion to adjourn. Laura Walta seconded. Vote: Unanimous Discussion: None Chairman D’Agostino adjourned the meeting at 8:29 PM. Respectfully Submitted, Lori Moriarty HHSI Clerk III