HomeMy Public PortalAboutZoning Board of Appeals -- 2003-03-11 Minutes TOWN OF BREWSTER
PUBLIC MEETING
MINUTES OF ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS
Tuesday, March 11, 2003
7:00 P.M.
Brewster Town Office Building
Mr. Freeman called the meeting to order at 7:00 P.M. Mr. Nixon was excused.
Ms. McInerney reported on a March 5th housing conference in Hyannis. Mr.
Stewart reported on an affordable housing committee meeting at the Town
Offices on February 26th. The committee reviewed procedures for affordable
housing applications and began revision of guidelines for potential homeowners,
which are to be presented at the next meeting on March 12th. Guidelines for
Town boards will follow.
Mr. Jackson moved to approve the minutes of February 11th as corrected, 2"d by
Mr. Stewart, Board all in favor.
Jean-Paul Rutledge, Case #02-51, reported that his attorney was delayed and
asked that a copy of his revised plans be given to the abutters in attendance for
review. Mr. Freeman moved the case to the end of the agenda.
03-07. Christopher and Nancy Coburn, 37 Graham Rd., Map 3, Lot 89.
Request a special permit under Brewster Zoning Bylaw, Art. VIII, Sec. 179-25 B,
to construct a covered porch on three (3) sides of an existing dwelling.
Contractor John Lavendier represented the Coburns. Hearing this case were
Messrs. Freeman, Harrison, Jackson, MacGregor, and Stewart.
Mr. Lavendier described the project. The porch will replace an existing deck,
approx. 10' x 23', on the east side of the building and extend around the north
and south sides. The 23' x 23' house, built in the 1920's, is a typical Cape with
upstairs bedrooms in an open dormitory style. A Title V septic system was
installed in 1992.
The screened porch will greatly enhance the use of the house and is in keeping
with similar renovations in the neighborhood. It will be placed on sono tubes,
and the adjacent bearing wall will be rebuilt. The completed porch will be
approx. ten (10) feet in depth on the east side, slightly deeper than the existing
deck, and almost seven (7) feet in depth on the north and south sides.
Mr. Lavendier stated that the east side of the porch will extend only inches
farther than the existing deck; the site plan incorrectly shows a "Proposed Porch"
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line only 4.75 feet from the east side lot line. No further incursion into setbacks
will result on the north and south sides.
Discussion was opened to public input. Mr. Harrison was reassured by Mr.
Lavendier that there is no intention to glass in the proposed porch, and he had
no objection to that being stipulated in the special permit.
Fire department access was discussed. Mr. Freeman read the ten (10) conditions
set forth in the fire department's memo of April 1, 1993.
Mr. MacGregor inquired about the dimensions of the porch on the east side. Mr.
Lavendier stated that the porch will extend 10' 1/2" from the current footprint of
the house, only inches farther than the existing deck. The north side of the
proposed porch will be tweny-four (24) feet from Graham Rd.
Mr. Jackson moved to close discussion to public input, 2nd by Mr. Stewart, Board
all in favor.
Board opinions were polled. Mr. Harrison was in favor of granting the permit with
the following conditions: no use of glass windows, no sleeping accommodations
on the porch, and no further incursion into setbacks. Mr. Jackson said the
project conformed to the Goldhirsh decision and did not increase the non-
conformity.
Mr. Harrison moved to grant the special permit based on the plans presented
and with the conditions noted above, 2nd by Mr. MacGregor, Board all in favor.
03-08. Diana and Joseph Carty, 42 Konohasset Cartway, Map 41, Lot
11. Request amendment of Special Permit #02-09 under Brewster Zoning
Bylaw, Art. VIII, Sec. 179-25 (B), to widen a garage under renovation by twenty-
two (22) inches and extend its depth by nine (9) inches.
Mr. Carty was present. Hearing this case were Messrs. Harrison, Jackson, Lach,
MacGregor, and Ms. MacInerney.
Mr. Carty discovered after the original special permit was granted in 2002 that
his boat wouldn't fit into the garage and that the width of the building wouldn't
allow proper shingling or placement of fixtures away from the bay openings.
The Board reviewed the new site plan. Mr. Carty said that he had made the
same request for dimensional changes to the Conservation Commission. [A
letter of March 3rd from Mr. Carty to Seth Wilkinson, Conservation Agent, makes
no mention of dimensional changes and states only that construction will
proceed in two stages.]
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Discussion was opened to public input. Mr. MacGregor inquired about the
building height. The new structure will be 14" higher for a total height of 20 1/2
feet and have a new foundation. Discussion closed to public input.
Mr. Harrison said the dimensional changes were minimal increases and that there
appeared to be no setback issues. He moved to grant an amendment of Special
Permit #02-09 subject to approval by the Conservation Commission, 2nd by Mr.
MacGregor, Board all in favor.
03-09. The Captain's Golf Course, 1000 Freeman's Way, Map 52, Lot 6.
Request amendment of Special Permit #01-13 or a new special permit under
Brewster Zoning Bylaw, Art. VIII, Secs. 179-25 (B) and 179-28, to construct an
approx. 128 sq. ft. outdoor snack bar and restroom facility to be operated by the
restaurant concessionaire.
Mark O'Brien, Director of Operations for the golf course, was present. Hearing
this case were Messrs. Freeman, Jackson, Lach; Ms. MacInerney; and Mr.
Stewart.
The facility will be located adjacent to the loth tee of the Port Course. It is
intended to speed up play between the 9th green and the loth tee. Presently,
the nearest restrooms are in the club house, some distance away. Players now
interrupt their progress to use those restrooms and other restaurant facilities and
cause frequent backups for others on the course. The snack bar will sell
confections, drinks, and perhaps hot dogs. The Board of Health hearing on this
request is scheduled for April.
Discussion was opened to public input. One golf club member expressed
approval. Discussion closed to public input.
Mr. Jackson moved to amend Special Permit #01-13 to allow the golf course to
construct the restroom and snack bar facility with all previous conditions still in
effect, 2nd by Mr. Lach, Board all in favor.
02-51. Continuation of Jean-Paul Rutledge, Trustee, Partridge Realty
Trust, 29 Partridge Circle, Map 13, Lot 9. Request a special permit under
Brewster Zoning Bylaw, Art. VIII, Sec. 179-25 B, to remove four (4) existing
structures and construct a 3-bedroom, single family dwelling. Request a
variance under Brewster Zoning Bylaw, Art. X, Sec. 179-52, to allow the 3-
bedroom, single family dwelling to extend into the side yard setbacks.
Mr. Rutledge and his attorney Roger O'Day were present. Hearing this case
were Messrs. Freeman, Harrison, Lach, MacGregor, and Stewart.
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Mr. O'Day reported that the new plans reflected a 33% reduction in the
dwelling's size. It is located much closer to the front property line and 128 ft.
from the rear property line. No portion remains behind the Villandry home and
is now 11' from their property line. The setback for the South property line has
increased by three (3) feet to 13.6'. The outline of the house represents more of
a cottage now. Height is 24'. Mr. Ritchie added that the house is now quite
similar to several others in the area.
The Board asked why the house was not moved farther forward. Mr. Ritchie
chose the present location to save two tall Spruce trees that provide a natural
buffer for the dwelling and abutter Elizabeth Hardy's property. At the Board's
request, he drew in the trees' locations.
Mr. Freeman, the Chairman of the Board, pointed out that the north and south
setbacks are reversed on the data sheet. He also expressed his disappointment
that the house had not been moved closer to Partridge Circle. He approved of
the smaller house size.
Discussion was opened to public input. David Villandry, an abutter, was pleased
with the relocation and reduction in size of the house, but saiid that it was still
detrimental to the Hardy property. He also believed that it was still too big (over
2,000 sq. ft.) and too high for the neighborhood. Ms. Hardy thought it was still
too close to and directly in back of her property.
Mr. Freeman pointed out that there is presently no structure on the Hardy
property.
Mr. O'Day stated that the lot has 15,939 sq. ft. vs. 10,000-11,000 sq. ft. for most
properties in the area. Mr. Rutledge has an existing dwelling and other
structures that pre-existed the 1960 sub-division by several decades. The
proposed change is much better than what is there now.
Mr. Lach agreed that Mr. Rutledge could do this legally and read from a list of
conditions that might contain a compromise. He recommended planting new
foliage as screening, moving the easterly wall of the proposed dwelling to less
than 20' from the drive or not any farther than the existing shed, keeping the
collapsed building as a residence for a red fox, and retaining a maximum amount
of foliage on the east and south sides of the lot. The two Spruce trees would
have to be removed and a consultant hired by the applicant to recommend
measures to protect the red fox's habitat. A screening or landscaping plan would
have to be submitted. The existing shed and outhouse could be removed and
replaced with foliage.
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Mr. Freeman pointed out a discrepancy in the proposed house's square footage.
Mr. O'Day assumed that a porch was included in the architect's calculation and
reiterated that 1,280 sq. ft. was the size of the house footprint.
The Board offered its opinions. Mr. MacGregor thought Mr. Rutledge had tried to
fit the house within the setbacks. There was good mediation in the new plan.
Mr. Rutledge did a good job. Mr. Stewart liked it better because of the size
reduction and that it was moved 39' away from lot 46. He hoped that the house
could be moved nearer to the front lot line. Mr. Harrison wanted the rear portion
of the lot left in its natural state. The dwelling was a good size now. He agreed
with Mr. Stewart that it should be moved closer to Partridge Circle.
Mr. Rutledge pointed out the need for parking. He could move the replacement
dwelling to the back of the existing house and still park in the front.
The abutters, applicant, and Board conferred over the plans. All agreed on a
revision of plans to relocate the house farther forward, showing where foliage
and trees could be used as screening, indicating the location of the septic
system, and preserving the red fox's habitat.
The Board, Mr. Rutledge, and Mr. O'Day agreed that the plan would be revised
to include placing the eastern wail of the proposed house on a line with the
western wall of the existing house, retaining the setbacks of the February 24tn
plan, showing existing and proposed plantings, and adding the location of the
septic system and parking areas.
Mr. Harrison moved that the case be continued until the April meeting, 2nd by Mr.
Stewart, Board all in favor.
There being no further business to conduct, the Board adjourned at 9:30 P.M.
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