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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2009-06-18 Zoning Board of Appeals Minutes w Town of Reading ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS Minutes of June 18, 2009 Members Present: Paul Dustin John Jarema Robert Redfern John Miles Peter Tedesco Jeffrey Perkins Members Absent: Clark Petschek 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, at 7:00 P.M. Also in attendance was Ellen Doucette, Town Counsel. Case # 09-08 ` A Public Hearing on the petition of Jason P. Scholten who seeks an appeal from a decision of the Building Inspector under Section 7.4.2.1 of the Zoning By-laws in order to overturn the decision of the Building Inspector for issuing Building Permit # 108802 for a single family dwelling on the property located at 355 Franklin Street in Reading, MA. Jim Sopchak told the Board that if there are any specific legal questions he would like them to be submitted in writing to his attorney who could not attend this meeting. Mr. Sopchak reviewed what he had submitted to the Board and stated his objections to the issuance of the building permit. He reviewed objections that had been voiced previously by the neighborhood against the development of this property. Town Counsel reviewed the ANR that was approved for the division of these lots. The Chairman reviewed the setbacks and lot coverage for the proposed dwelling and read the memo submitted by the Building Inspector. The Board was in agreement that what the Board was there to discuss was whether the Building Inspector was correct in issuing the building permit for the proposed dwelling on this property. The Board was of the opinion that the proposed dwelling met all required setbacks and agreed with the Building Inspector in his issuing the building permit. Ron Weston of 63 Blueberry Lane voiced his objections to the issuing of this building permit. Jason Scholten of 349 Franklin Street voiced his objections to the issuing of this building permit. Town Counsel reviewed the objectives of Section 6.3 of the By-law referred to by Petitioner, and stated the objectives stated in Section 6.3 are not the criteria for a decision by the Board. The ZBA Meeting, June 18, 2009 1 I Board must strictly adhere to the parameters for which the building permit was issued and the Board's review is limited only to those parameters. Scott Deluca of 358 Franklin Street voiced his objections to the issuing of this building permit. Mr. Jarema stated that perhaps the circular sidewalk, that may or may not be an easement,was not considered in the lot coverage calculation. Attorney Richard O'Neill, representing the owner, Sandra Carter,read a letter from the Town Engineer stating in part that the engineering division approved the lot coverage for the proposed dwelling. Mr. Tedesco suggested the developer could just lop off part of the driveway if he needed to reduce the lot coverage to compensate for the circular sidewalk on the property. He also wondered if the Town Engineer had included the circular sidewalk on the property into his lot coverage calculations. On a motion by Robert Redfem, seconded by John Jarema, the Zoning Board of Appeals moved to uphold the decision of the Building Commissioner in issuing Building Permit# 108802 for the proposed addition to the single family dwelling at 355 Franklin Street, Reading. The motion was approved by a vote of 5-0-0 (Redfern,Miles, Dustin, Tedesco, Jarema). 6 Case# 09-09 A Public Hearing on the petition of Leslie McGonagle who seeks a Special Permit under Section 6.3.17 of the Zoning By-laws in order to construct a single family dwelling on a non-conforming lot on the property located at 26 Canterbury Drive in Reading, MA. *Special Permit ZBA Case # 07-07 dated April 19, 2007 has expired. Leslie McGonagle reviewed the history of this case and explained how a Special Permit had previously been granted but it had just expired. She now has a purchase and sale agreement with a builder who wants to buy the property and build a single family dwelling on the property. She said nothing has changed from the previous appeal in any way. Mr. Redfern requested a copy of the purchase and sales agreement and Ms. McGonagle said she would supply this. Mr. Redfem also requested plans of the proposed dwelling. Mr. Jarema said the Board does not have to extend the previous Special Permit and would like more information on what is being proposed this time. Tim Murphy of 25 Canterbury Drive said he was not notified when the hearing was held for the first appeal, Case# 07-07. He had questions about the proposed dwelling and voiced complaints about the Habitat Houses that were also built in the neighborhood. ZBA Meeting, June 18, 2009 2 Giuseppe Degirolamo of 20 Canterbury Drive wanted to know what is being built and how it may affect the water table in the area. The Board had considerable discussion that this was a new case because the previous Special Permit had expired. They wanted to see plans for the newly proposed house. Ms. McGonagle did not know what the builder was planning on building. All she knew was that it was supposed to be in the same footprint as the previous case, # 07-07. On a motion by John Jarema, seconded by John Miles, the Zoning Board of Appeals moved to continue the hearing to July 16, 2009 in order to allow the Petitioner time to obtain the plans for the proposed dwelling from the builder and to submit them along with a copy of the Purchase and Sales Agreement for the property to the Board. The motion was approved by a vote of 5-0-0 (Jarema, Miles, Redfem, Tedesco, Perkins). On a motion by Robert Redfem, seconded by Jeffrey Perkins,the Zoning Board of Appeals moved to adjourn the meeting. The motion was approved by a vote of 6-0-0(Jarema, Miles, Redfern, Tedesco, Perkins, Dustin). eJ�n MRe v ZBA Meeting, June 18,2009 3