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Home My Public Portal AboutZoning Board of Appeals -- 2022-02-08 Minutes TOWN OF BREWSTER ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS L . r, VF ;;: ; ip; E,; E; MEETING MINUTES Tuesday, February 8th, 2022, at 7PM Virtual Meeting Brian Harrison, Chairman , convened the Brewster Zoning Board of Appeals via remote participation with members : Art Stewart, Jeff Carter, Patricia Eggers, Jeannie Kampas . Bruce MacGregor was absent . A quorum was determined . Also present : Applicants : Attorney David Banash , Sean Darcy, Attorney John Kanaga , Attorney James Norcross, Jon and Ellen Gezotis, Amy Chesnut and Ellen Murphy ( Department Assistant) . The Chair read the Recording or Taping Notification : This meeting will be conducted by remote participation pursuant to Governor Baker' s March 2020 orders suspending certain Open Meeting Law provisions and imposing limits on public gatherings . No in - person meeting attendance will be permitted . If the Town is unable to live broadcast this meeting, a record of the proceedings will be provided on the Town website as soon as possible . The Town has established specific email addresses for each board and committee so the public can submit comments either before or during the meeting . To submit public comment or questions to the Zoning Board of Appeals, please email : zbameeting@brewster- ma . gov . • Review and Approval of January 11th meeting minutes Brian asked the Board if there were any changes to the minutes . There being none, a motion was made by Art to approve the January 11th meeting minutes, Pat second the motion , a vote was taken, and the minutes were unanimously approved . Continued Applications : • Application Review of #21- 23 Applicant : Sean and Ellen Darcy, ( Represented by Attorney David M . Banash ) , 61 Consodine Road . Members present and voting : Art Stewart, Pat Eggers, Bruce MacGregor, Jeanne Kampas and Brian Harrison Brian turned the meeting over to Attorney David Banash , representing the applicant . Attorney Banash informed the Board that the applicant has come to an agreement with the abutting neighbors and will be filing an application for a special permit or in the alternative a variance . Attorney Banash indicated he sent an email with a copy of the application to Ellen Murphy before the meeting and apologized for the lateness understanding the Board would not have time to review it . Brian Harrison informed Attorney Banash he has not seen the application . He stated that there are five voting members present, however one member will have to leave by 8 : 00 pm . Attorney Banash stated as part of the agreement with the abutting neighbors they are seeking the approval of the appeal only for purposes of establishing that it is a prior non - conforming use in order to grant a special permit . He asked the Board how they would like to proceed . He can present the request for special permit, but the request assumes no opposition to the appeal of Building Commissioner' s decision . Brian stated that the applicant would have to meet the statute of limitations in order to be granted a special permit . Attorney Banash indicated that they have submitted an extensive list of findings consistent with the memorandum that was submitted previously . Brian addressed the Board asking if they preferred to discuss the statute of limitations for a special permit or wait and review the request with the application for the special permit . Jeannie Kampas suggested the Board wait until they can address the merits of the application . Pat Eggers stated she was comfortable addressing the statute of limitations prior to reviewing the special permit application if that is a perquisite . Attorney Banash confirmed the statute of limitations is part of the request for special permit . The Board agreed to review the request all together . It was decided by the Board that the request for special permit will be addressed as a new application . Attorney Kanaga representing the abutting neighbors agreed ZBA case # 21 -23 and the new application for the special permit should be heard together because if the special permit is granted the findings would render the appeal moot . He expressed a desire for the Board to review at the March meeting and not prolong if possible . Ellen Murphy checked the schedule and although the filing deadline for the March 8th meeting was January 29th the abutter' s notice and the legal notice have not yet been submitted . If it is the pleasure of the Board ZBA case #21 -23 and the new application for the special permit could be included for the March 81h meeting . Page 1 of 2 Brian Harrison made a motion to continue until the March 8th meeting, Pat second the motion , a vote was taken , and the Board unanimously voted to continue ZBA case # 21- 23 until the March 8th meeting . New Applications : • #22 -01 Applicant : Jon and Ellen Gezotis, ( Represented by Attorney James Norcross ) 89 Byfield Cartway . Members present and voting : Brian Harrison , Art Stewart, Pat Eggers and Jeff Carter . Brian informed the applicants that the Board currently has a quorum but after 8 : 00 they will only have 4 voting members . Jeannie Kampas requested to abstain from participating in hearing 22-01, she informed the Board she is representing neighbors for a different matter. Therefore, Brian asked the applicants if they wanted to go forward with only 4 voting members or to continue until the March 8th meeting . Attorney Norcross informed the Board they would like to move forward to hear case #22 -01 . The Chair, Brian Harrison will poll the Board at 8 : 00 to get the Board ' s thoughts . Brian turned the meeting over to Attorney James Norcross who outlined the request for special permit . He informed the Board that the current dwelling needs a lot of repairs and therefore the applicants are requesting a tear down of the existing structure and a rebuild . The location of the new structure will be slightly different, it will be pulled back from the coastal bank about 5 ft . He indicated the project has been through review by the Conservation Commission and approved with an order of conditions . The structure will remain non -conforming as it will be 5 ft from the east sideline where a 10 ft setback is required , however the structure will meet all other sideline setbacks . The building coverage will increase from 6 . 4% to 9 . 9 %, which is still below the 25 % permitted . Along with the new dwelling a new Title 5 septic system will be installed , which has been reviewed and approved by the Health Department , Attorney Norcross informed the Board the applicants have been communicating with the neighbors and the project is keeping up with the design of the neighborhood . Overall, the Board indicated the application was very thorough . Pat made a motion to open to public input, Art second the motion a vote was taken , and the Board unanimously voted to open to public input . There being no public input a motion was made by Pat to close to public input, Art second the motion , a vote was taken , and the Board unanimously voted to close to public input . The Chair addressed the Board asking if they needed more information prior to a vote . The Board agreed to move forward , and a motion was made by Art to grant the special permit request for ZBA case #22 -01, Pat second the motion a vote was taken and the Board unanimously granted special permit ZBA case #22 -01 . Brian asked Attorney Norcross to draft the decision . • #22 -02 Applicant : Amy Chesnut, 716 Main Street . Members present and voting : Brian Harrison , Art Stewart, Pat Eggers, Jeannie Kampas and Jeff Carter . Amy Chesnut, the applicant is requesting to add an ADU and modify a special permit . She informed the Board that she is the current owner of Brewster by the Sea Inn , currently approved for 9 guest rooms, she would like to modify the special permit to reduce the number of guest rooms to 6, by creating an ADU for her son and spouse . She indicated that this would allow her son and spouse to live in the community where they work . The Board discussed the number of ADU ' s currently allocated and questioned if the number was under the limit of 20 . This being the beginning of the year it was not a concern . Brian suggested if approved it would be subject to the ADU limit of 20 . Pat made a motion to open to public input, Jeannie second the motion a vote was taken , and the Board unanimously voted to open to public input . There being no public input a motion was made by Pat to close to public input, Jeannie second the motion, a vote was taken, and the Board unanimously voted to close to public input . Pat made a motion to approve ZBA case # 22 -02 to modify the current special permit and add an ADU as stated in the application submitted , Jeff second the motion , a vote was taken and the Board unanimously approved ZBA case # 22 -02 . • Matters Not Reasonably Anticipated by the Chair : None The next meeting of the Brewster Zoning Board of Appeals is scheduled for March 8th , 2022 . Pat made a motion to adjourn the meeting, Jeannie second the motion, the vote was taken , and the Board unanimously voted to adjourn . Vote : 5 -0-0 . Meeting adjourned at 7 : 35 pm . Page 2 of 2