Commission on the City Plan

LAST REVISED 11/27/12 9:45 AM MINUTES COMMISSION ON THE CITY PLAN Tuesday, November 20, 2012 – 7:00 P.M. 100 BROADWAY, NORWICH CONNECTICUT COUNCIL CHAMBERS REGULAR MEETING AGENDA ITEMS A, B & C – CALL TO ORDER, ROLL CALL, DETERMINATION OF QUORUM: Ralph Page called the meeting to order at 7:00 pm. Commission Members Present: Ralph Page, Arthur Sharron, P. Michael Lahan, Frank Manfredi, & John Mathieu. A quorum was present. Absent: Les King (recused – due to absence at last months meeting) Also Present: Peter Davis, Director and Jacquie Barbarossa, Recording Secretary D. APPROVAL OF MEETING MINUTES: Upon motion by Art Sharron and second by John Mathieu, the Commission voted unanimously to APPROVE the minutes of the October 16, 2012 Regular Meeting E. COMMUNICATIONS: Mr. Davis stated he had received 5 items after last months hearing and will enter them as exhibits. F. PUBLIC HEARINGS: 1. SP #12-03 - Clairmont Ave. – Assessor’s Map 102, Block 5, Lot 74 . Application of Jillian Corbin for St. Joseph’s Polish Roman Catholic Congregation –- under Sec. 8.1.2 (b) religious and eleemosynary use by non-profit. Site is located in MF Zone and owned by St. Joseph’s Polish Roman Catholic Congregation. Ralph page opened the hearing for rebuttal and Mr. Davis entered the following exhibits: BB - Letter/Case Law Packet from Attorney McCoy received 11-6-12 CC - Letter/Case Law Packet from Attorney Bates received 11-15-12 DD - Legal Opinion from Attorney Zizka received 11-19-12 EE - Comments from Mark Gagne received 11-20-12 FF - Comments from Brian Kobylarz received 11-20-12 Mr. Davis stated that staff was charged with obtaining legal opinion regarding the special permit application and had received hard copy on Monday (November 19, 2012) which was forwarded to the Commission members. He gave a brief synopsis stating that in the opinion of Attorney Zizka, the Commission does have the right to review the religious use in accordance with special permit criteria under section 17.2.3, character, traffic and future development. 1 LAST REVISED 11/27/12 9:45 AM Ralph Page stated rebuttal representation would be allowed for applicant then for opposition. Attorney Timothy Bates from Robinson Cole spoke on behalf of St. Vincent de Paul Place handed out exhibit “GG” Memo Regarding Temporary Permit allowing use of 1st floor and basement area. He stated he wanted to address the use of the upper floor for the Food Pantry. Attorney Bates stated that a zoning permit had been issued for the basement area and that St. Vincent De Paul had appealed to the State (Persons with Disabilities) for a waiver to use the 1st floor for food pantry. He stated they had received a temporary waiver from the State for the use of the 1st floor. Attorney Bates handed out exhibit “HH” – Memo re: Neighborhood Complaints which contained minutes from the Public Safety Commission stating the complaints were anecdotal in nature and there was no evidence of an increase in police call rates for the area. Attorney Bates handed out exhibit “II” Memo re: Plan of Conservation and Development. He stated that 2 witnesses had referred to the land use objective and that relocation violated the POCD. Attorney Bates stated that the relocation advances the objective of the POCD by lessening the non-commercial use in the Chelsea Central District. Jillian Corbin, Executive Director of St. Vincent De Paul Place handed out exhibit “JJ” which was published in the Norwich Bulletin stating they would work with the community allowing parish events to continue at the site. She also stated they were committed to working with the neighbors regarding their complaints and would remain active with the Police and Public Safety Commission. Attorney Bates referred to Attorney Zizka’s letter regarding imposing substantial burden on a religious entity and asked Bill Russell the Diocese’s CFO to speak on behalf of the applicant. Mr. Russell handed out exhibit “KK” - Statement on Real Estate Activities which gave a history of other locations and feasibility of current site concluding the site was based more on circumstance than preference. Attorney Bates handed out exhibit “LL” regarding religious use under the First Amendment stating this is a religious use in a former religious school. Father Nicholas Delemond spoke on behalf of the applicant. Father Tadeusz Zadorozny submitted exhibit “MM” stating the mission of St. Vincent De Paul Place. Attorney Bates summarized the special permit criteria stating there was no change to the physical character, there would be less traffic and it is a permitted use established by the church and part of its mission. There were no questions from the Commission. Brian Kobylarz, resident of 16 Hobart Ave. spoke on behalf of opposition entering exhibit “”NN”. He asked that misrepresented and false testimony be stricken from the record. He stated he was not prepared to comment on alternative locations as entered by Bill Russell. He referred to map included in exhibit which showed a 2/10’s of a mile radius versus the map 2 LAST REVISED 11/27/12 9:45 AM presented by Robert Mercer last month. Mr. Kobylarz stated there are 300 properties in the radius, 250 which are residential which would be affected by traffic to the location. He also cited FOI information he had received contradicting statements made by the applicant. Mr. Kobylarz also stated that Police Chief Fusaro is a board member of St. Vincent de Paul Place and should have separated himself as a City Employee when giving an opinion letter to the Commission. He claimed the actions and plans of the church are destroying the quality of life in the neighborhood. There were no other speakers and no questions from the Commission. Motion by John Mathieu to close the hearing, second by Frank Manfredi – unanimous - HEARING CLOSED. Peter Davis clarified last month’s agenda due to the fact that an audience member miss- spoke when stating an error was made. Mr. Davis stated that the applicant requested a waiver of site plan review under 17.1.11 which is why it was on the agenda. G: OLD BUSINESS: 1. SP #12-03 - Clairmont Ave. – Assessor’s Map 102, Block 5, Lot 74. Appli cation of Jillian Corbin for St. Joseph’s Polish Roman Catholic Congregation– under Sec. 8.1.2 (b) religious and eleemosynary use by non-profit. Site is located in MF Zone and owned by St. Joseph’s Polish Roman Catholic Congregation. Includes waiver of site plan review under Sec. 17.1.11 Michael Lahan stated that due to the number of legal opinions handed out at the Meeting the Commission should have a chance to review it. Motion by Frank Manfredi to table the decision until the information could be reviewed by the Commission, seconded by Michael Lahan – unanimous - TABLED H: NEW BUSINESS: NONE I: EXTENSIONS: NONE J: BOND RELEASES: NONE K: ZONING MATTERS: NONE M. ADJOURNMENT: Upon motion by Michael Lahan, and second by Art Sharron, the Commission voted unanimously to adjourn the meeting at 8:24 pm. Respectfully submitted, Jacquie Barbarossa, Recording Secretary 3