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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1990-09-20 Zoning Board of Appeals MinutesTOWN 0-7 READING ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS MINUTES SEPTEMBER 20, 1990 =embers Present: Stephen Tucker, Chairman Ar d i to Wiewo rka John Coote A meeting of the coning Board of Appeals was held in the Selectmen's Meeting Room of the Town Hall, 16 Lowell Street, Reading, PL A at 6:30 P.M. The first hearing was the continuation of the public hearing on the petition of Donald F. Ellingwood. The hearing had been continued to allow for notification of abutters not previously notified. Ardith -7ieworka then read the conditions that needed to be met in order for Mr. Ellingwood to get relief. Mr. Ellingwood then stated that the lot w 1 0 was deeded in 1932 and sold to his grandfather in 1940. The lot was bought in conjunction with the adjoining lot (111) which was bought by fir. Ellingwoods mother and father. Lot 10 was then conveyed to his parents in 1965. Per. Ellingwood then stated that the Lot had 5902 square feet and 72.7 feet of frontage. He stated that most lots in the area had about 60 feet of frontage. The side, front, and back setbacks conform to the by-laws. He also stated that the house was a Dutch Gambrel and the house was 15% of the lot. Ear. E llingwood went on to say that the drainage would continue in the same way it did now. He would not be removing much ground and the grading vvould be sufficient to the adjoining lot. The Board then discussed the placement of the house on the lot. Mr. allingwood stated that he was paying in excess of $600.00 in taxes a year. He felt that he would not change the character of the neighborhood. Mary Valito asked why the house was being put so dose to her house. Mr. Elling~,7ood stated that the land was better suited there and the driveway would be on the other side. Phil LeBlanc asked if the Special Per=nit would go with the deed. He was concerned that another builder would be able to build on the lot if something happened to Mr. Ellingwood. 1 Mr. Coote asked if ter. Ellingwood would be willing to move the house 2 or 3 feet in order to maintain a 3-1 slope on the left side of the house. Mr. Ellingwood had no objection and stated that he would prefer to '-peep a natural slope. M r. Coote then stated that hot 11 did not have 5000 square feet of area and therefore, hot 10 did not meet the criteria for a Special Permit. Judy Smith brought up the concern of ledge on the property. Mr. Ellingwood stated that he could not dig until he had a permit. At 7:10 P.M. Ardith Wieworka moved to close the hearing. Mr. Coote seconded and the motion passed with a vote of 3-0. The Board was concerned that one of the criteria could not be met. The adjoining hots must have at least 5000 square feet of area. Lot 11 did not meet with this criteria. At 7:12 P.M. Ardith Wieworva moved to grant a Special Permit under Section 6,3.1.3 of the Reading Zoning By-haves to Donald F. Ellingwood to allow for the construction of a single family dwelling on the property located at Gardner Road, Map 77, Parcel 10, Reading, MA. Mr. Coote seconded and the motion failed with a vote of 0-3. Members Present: Stephen Tucker, Chairman Ardith Wieworka John Coote John Ja-rema* Carol Scott* *Indicates a non-voting member The next public hearing was on the petition of Jerry Q. Melconian who was seeking a Special ?eri,,iit Linder Section 4.3.2.8 of the Zoning; By-haws to allow for an Accessory Apartment on property located at 76 -Weaver Road, Reading, MA. Mr. Tucker stated that the Board had made a site inspection of the property. There had been some question of a kitchen in the lower level. Mr. Tucker stated that he had found the original buildine, permit 1,1977; which shows the second kitchen. He then stated that the kitchen exists and at this time is legal. Mr. Melconian stated that he wanted the garage to build sleeping quarters for his mother and mother-in-lacy so they could move in with him. 2 Mr. Tucker stated that as the kitchen was put in legally he did not see any reason for the granting of an accessory apartment. The Building inspector had no concerns with making rooms in the garage. His only concern had been that the builLng permit could not be found. Now that it had been found there would be not problem. Mr. Melconian then stated that he would be using the same entrances and had no intention of making this an accessory apartment. it would only be for family. Mr. Melconian then asked to withdraw his petition. At 7:30 P.M. Ardith Wieworka moved to accept the withdrawal of the application for a Special Permit by Jerry G. nelconi an for an accessory apartment under Section 4.3.2.8 of the Reading Zoning By--Laws for ;property located at 76 Beaver load, ?'reading, MA, and it is g therefore, not a rental unit. Mr. Coote seconded and the motion passed with a vote of 3-0. Members Present: Stephen Tucker, Chairman John Jarena Carol Scott Ardith Wieworka* John Coote* *Indicates a non-voting member The next public hearing was on the petition of Reading Gymnastics Academy who was seeking a modification and extension of existing Use-Variance under Section 7.4.2.2 of the Zoning By-Taws for the property located at 172 Woburn Street, Reading, MA. Said modification is to allow for the extension use to run concurrent with the term of the new 10 year lease for use of the entire premises as well as extension of hours of operation. Charles Arthur, representing Leslie McGonagle of Reading Gymnastics Academy, stated that they had recently signed a 10 year lease with the with the Arch Diocese of Boston for rental of the entire building. They now rent 40% of the building. Mr. Arthur stated that they would like to have the use of the whole building, expand the hours of operation, and also increase the number of pupils that will be attending. Leslie McGonagle then stated Variance to use the building used the school since then. floor and part of the second. -1z.r had been looking for a large no luck. She has now signed that in 1981 she had sought a Use- as a Gymnastics Academy. She has She stated that she uses the first floor. She also staters that she r building in the area but has had a 10 year lease with two five year 3 options. Ms. McGonagle then discussed some of the n, be offering. Some of them were health and programs, physical therapy, cardiovascular and dunce. She stated that they would not and she would not be charging membership. n-w programs she would fitness related exercise, seminars, be a health club Mr. Arthur then stated that the use of the building would be essentially the same. It is not going to be a health club. The present hours of operation are Monday through Friday 9 AM to 9 -P.M. Saturday 9 AM to 3 P.M. There are no Sunday classes. The modified hours of operation would be Monday through Friday 7 AM to 9 PM and Saturday S A.I. to 9 P.M. There would be no Sunday classes. Fps. McGonagle then stated that they had 1050 children per week presently. She wanted to expand for the children and also have something for adults and families. She stated that she was not looking to attract singles. She would have lode-class ratio. She stated that presently she had 40 pupils corning and 40 pupils going at a time. She would like to double that. The Board discussed the parking. Ms. McGonagle stated that they had approximately 65 Parking spaces. She also stated that she had 26 employees but only 5 or 6 were there at a time. It was discussed that Reading Gymnastics would have to pay the taxes on the building,. Dan Fnsrninger, representing St. Agnes Church, then stated that the Church felt that the parking would not be a problem during Mass on Saturdays. Mr. Jarerna was concerned that in 1981 the Use-Variance was limited and was temporary. He questioned whether there should be a new Use-Variance and advertised as such. He felt this is a matter of procedure and conformance with the Icy-Laws. The Board discussed this at length. Ardith Wieworka stated that the Board of Appeals has the right to modify a Variance. Mr. Tucker also felt that a new hearing was not essential. Mr. Jarema stated that he would withdraw his concern if the other Board members were not concerned. The Board decided to proceed. Ms. McGonagle stated that renovations would cost roughly $10,000. to bring the plurmbing on line and connect heaters on the third floor. She also stated that the Building Inspector had looked all through the building. 4 Mr. Arthur then stated that the building was unirue. It is adjoined to the Catholic Church. It is a school in a residential area. Mr. Arthur then discussed what they were proposing. They wanted to expand hours of operation, expand the number of students per hour, and have use of the entire building. The Board then discussed the Restrictions as the Use of the Area .,eased:: (included in packet). Ms. McGonagle stated that they would like to change their name to "Reading Gymnastics Health and :fitness Academy. The Board was not too happy with the name stating that it sounded like a health club. The Board then discussed the scheduling and amount of students that would be in each class. Ms. McGonagle stated that this would not be like a health spa where a person could "drop in" at any time. Each student would have a scheduled time for their class. Mr. Arthur then stated that they would like to modify the students allowed in the building at one time from 80 to 200. Therefore, changing the class size from 40 to 100. It was discussed that the Use Variance shall be reviewed each year by the Board of Appeals on or before October 1 to determine continuing compliance with the conditions of approval. It was decided that Reading Gymnastics would send a copy of the Certificate of Compliance to the Board each year. The traffic was then discussed. Ives. McGonagle stated that they would be painting arrows on the pavement to help the traffic flora. A stop sign will be installed at the end of the exitway at the intersection with Woburn Street. It was also discussed that there should not be parking in the fire lane. The public was then as=ked for their comments. Jean Tamaro was very concerned with the parkins,. Joe Tamaro stated that there has been a car parked in the lot overnight on numerous occasions. He also asked about the new windows that are being installed on some parts of the building. She also mentioned that there had been a sleepover one night and it was very noisy. Joe Sears stated that his house was affected by headlight glare and asked if some type of barriers could be installed. Judy Sears stated that beeping horns are very annoying and also stated that she had found: trash in her yard. Jim Valentine was concerned with the parking. He was also concerned with the substantial change in hours and number of students. He stated that this would be a major impact on the neighborhood and was definitely against the modification. 5 Dee Birch was concerned about careless driving by some of the teen-age students at the school. She was also concerned about the number of people corning and going. The Board was also concerned with the traffic impact. Ms. mcgonagle stated that she would send a newsletter home with her students hoping to mitigate some of the concerns. It was discussed that the entrance could be enlarged and speed bumps added to help with the traffic flow. Mr. Tucker felt that Town Council and the Building Inspector should be contacted for their comments. At 10:40 P.M. Mr. Jarema moved to continue the matter of this hearing to 7000 P.M. on October 13, 1990 to allow the petitioner addition time to compile traffic flow information as well as redesigning traffic flood to the rear and lighting, and also to allow the Board to do its homework. Carol Scott seconded and the motion passed with a vote of 3-0. Respectfully submitted by Karen to the Zoning- Board of Appeals. Signed: Date: Saporito, Recording Secretary Approved: , 6 ,j