HomeMy WebLinkAbout2012-10-18 Zoning Board of Appeals MinutesKTtwA CLERK
Town of Reading
ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS
Minutes of October 18, 2012
Members Present: Damase Caouette, Chairman
John Jarema
Robert Redfern
Kathleen Hackett
David Traniello
Members Absent: John Miles
A meeting of the Zoning Board of Appeals was held in the Selectmen's Meeting Room of the
Town Hall, 16 Lowell Street, Reading, Massachusetts beginning at 7:00 P.M. Also in attendance
was Glen Redmond, Commissioner of Buildings.
Case # 12 -14
A Public Hearing on the petition of Pellegrino Realty Trust who seeks a Variance under Section
5.1.2 of the zoning bylaws in order to create 2 building lots for single family dwellings in an S-
20 District on the property located at 96 & 100 Van Norden Road in Reading, MA. The
frontage of both lots is less than the required 120.'
Attorney Brad Latham presented the proposal for the Applicant. The Pellegrino family has
owned the two lots since 1955. The dwellings were reportedly constructed before 1943 so they
predate the zoning. Two lots were purchased (Lots 7 & 8) and there is no other plan of record
since 1911 when the original subdivision plan was filed. The two lots were merged into one tax
bill by the Town in 1999. A single parcel made up of the two lots would be considered non-
conforming because there are 2 dwellings on one lot and this is not allowed by the Zoning By-
laws. The Applicants want to re- establish the original lot lines and each lot would have
approximately 100' frontage but both lots would then require a Variance because of less than
required frontage.
Attorney Latham reviewed the four criteria required for a Variance for the two proposed lots.
The Building Inspector said this is an unusual situation and he considers the property as one lot
but you cannot have 2 principal dwellings on one lot. There are no supporting documents on
record by the Town to support the property as either one lot or two lots. If relief were granted the
Applicants would have a non - conforming lot because of the two dwellings located thereon,
Ms. Hackett had questions about creating two lots where there are now one lot and what was the
hardship that would be on the Applicants if they just re -use the frontage that was on the two
original lots.
Mr. Jarema wanted to know who determines property lines and Attorney Latham said ownership
is in the form of deeds and there has been no changes to this deed property description since
ZBA Meeting, October 18, 2012
originally purchased. He said the property owner can not change the boundaries. An ANR would
have to be granted by the CPDC if the ZBA allows the lot to be divided.
Mr. Jarema asked in this situation if there is any Town authority capable of saying they are going
to wipe out a boundary line and change the configuration of a lot. The GIS administrator told
him it was easier to issue one bill for these two lots for tax purposes. He said if the two lots have
not been merged into one lot as thought then there is no need to request a division back to two
lots.
Mr. Redfern wanted to know if there were two deeds or one deed for the parcel and Attorney
Latham said there is one deed. Mr. Redfern said that it was really one lot with two structures on
it so it is now a non - conforming lot because there are two dwellings on it and that is not allowed
by the Town. Mr. Redfem also thought there would be a determination necessary from the
Conservation Commission and Attorney Latham agreed.
Ms. Hackett said her concerns were similar to Mr. Redfem's concerns.
Mr. Jarema said because there is a deed showing only one lot then an ANR would be required
from CPDC in order to divide into two lots. He said Town Engineering plans showed these as
two lots up until 1999 per the Town Engineer.
The Applicants' family has owned this land for approximately 55 years and they purchased it
from one property owner even though it consisted of two lots then. And the previous owner to
that owner also owned both lots.
Mr. Jarema said the cleanest solution was to re- establish the original lot lines for the two lots.
On a motion by Robert Redfern, seconded by John Jarema, the Zoning Board of Appeals moved
to grant the Applicant a Variance from Section 5.1.2 of the Zoning Bylaws in order to re-
establish the historical lots (lots 7 & 8) and lot frontage for No. 96 (97.95 feet) and No. 100
(100.00 feet) Van Norden Road as depicted on the Certified Plot Plan.
The motion was approved by a vote of 5 -0 -0 (Redfern, Hackett, Caouette, Jarema, Traniello).
Adjournment
On a motion by John Jarema, seconded by Robert Redfern, the Zoning Board of Appeals moved
to adjourn the meeting.
The motion was approved by a vote of 5 -0 -0 (Redfern, Hackett, Caouette, Jarema, Traniello).
Maureen Knight
Recording Secre
ZBA Meeting, October 18, 2012