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Home My Public Portal About20091209 - Zoning Advisory Committee - Meeting Minutes PRESEN Gary Har Elaine La 1. Adm The Com 2. Dow The Com McGuire 4 seats, f Altamura parking r would ha She state suggested most des encourag it is unlik suggested Wayne D parking r Mr. Cout if possibl stated she concerns do it is ba The Com 4 seats ev uses in th The Com Concerns Boards u NT: Ken We roian, Rober azarus, Plann ministrative mmittee set m wntown Park mmittee revie e stated he w from the curr a stated the d requirements ave to meet t ed she would d no parking irable thing ged. Mr. Har kely that any d 1 for every Davies, 3 Sto requirement tinho stated h le. Ms. Alta e would con relative to h ad for busin mmittee discu verywhere in he Downtow mmittee discu s were raised using differen ZO Wedn Tow eismantel, Ch rt McGuire, ning Directo Business meeting dates king ewed propos would like to rent requirem downtown is s for that are the requirem d be in favor g requiremen to have peop roian stated y will be in a y 4 seats wit oney Brook R is a good id he is in favo amura stated nsider the sug having two b ess. ussed the res n Town, and wn Business D ussed allowi d with respec nt standards, ONING ADV nesday, Dec wn Hall, 18 M M hairman, San Mavis O’Le or s for January sed bylaw rev relax the req ment of 1 for s unique and ea, but she w ments. She st of 1 for eve nt for restaur ple parking o it is likely th a freestandin h a 50% red Rd., stated th ea, but the B or of avoidin the member ggestion, but boards issue staurant issu d there shoul District by r ing a reducti ct to how an , administrat 1 VISORY CO cember 9, 20 Main St., Ho MINUTES ndy Altamur eary, Michae y 6 and Janu visions as di quirement fo r every 2 sea d she would b wants to make tated she wa ery 3 seats el rants downto on the side s hat any resta ng building w duction for do he proposal t Board of App ng special per rs represent t is not comf the same pe e further, de d be a 50% r ight. on in parkin n applicant w tive issues an OMMITTEE 009 7:00 PM opkinton MA ra, David Au el Peirce uary 20, 2010 iscussed at a or restaurant ats plus empl be in favor o e sure that n ants a vibrant lsewhere in T own. Mr. W streets, and r aurant will b with no other owntown. to have the P peals should rmits and ha Town reside fortable with ermit. Mr. D eciding that i reduction in ng requireme would select nd appeals. M A uslander, Joh 0. a previous m s more, to 1 loyee parkin of eliminatin new developm t downtown Town. Mr. M Weismantel st redevelopme e in an exist r tenants. M Planning Bo d be allowed aving things ents, not dev h it. Ms. Laz Davies stated it should be all parking ents by speci which Board It was move hn Coutinho meeting. Mr. space for ev ng. Ms. ng most of th ment elsewh with growth McGuire tated it isn’t ent should be ting building Mr. Coutinho ard reduce t to do it too. by right inst velopers. Sh zarus expres d not having 1 space for e requirement ial permit. d to apply to ed and secon o, very he here h. the e g, and he tead e ssed both every ts for o, the nded 2 to propose a modification allowing both boards to issue the special permits. The vote on the motion was 3 in favor (Weismantel, McGuire, Coutinho) and 4 opposed (Altamura, Haroian, Auslander, O’Leary). Mr. Weismantel suggested having the Board of Appeals issue the special permit. It was noted that there are circumstances where an applicant would end up going to both boards for the same project approvals, which should be avoided. It was decided that Ms. Lazarus should draft language for the next meeting stating that if the use is by right, then the Planning Board would issue the special permit, but if the use requires a special permit, then the Board of Appeals should issue the special permit. 3. Administrative Business The Committee approved the Minutes of the November 23, 2009 meeting by unanimous vote. Ms. Altamura left the Board at this time. Mr. Peirce arrived at this time. 4. Proposed Zoning Change – West Main St. and Rural Business District Wayne Davies, Kerry Kunst and Larry Kunst, representing Golden Pond Resident Care Center, appeared before the Committee. Mr. Davies stated that they are requesting the rezoning of 9 lots from Residence B to Rural Business (BR) on the north side of West Main St., consisting of even house numbers 50 – 72 and the Town property that contains the old railroad depot. He stated that the Golden Pond facility at 50 West Main St. is a business use in a residential district and more appropriately located in a BR district. He stated they have approached the other owners and have received their comments, which have been provided to the Board. He noted that the land abuts a BR district to the west. He stated the residential uses would become pre-existing nonconforming and would be grandfathered. He stated one owner who has not provided a letter has stated to them that she doesn’t want to be involved but is not opposed to the change. Mr. Weismantel asked if the issue has been discussed with the Historical Commission relative to the Depot parcel, and Mr. Davies stated they have not yet, but will if it goes forward. Mr. Weismantel suggested that the lot may be better left as a buffer to the residential uses on the other side since it is not useable for residential or commercial uses. Mr. Davies noted that the Town could have a business use there if it was rezoned. Mr. Haroian asked for a description of the proposed expansion of the Golden Pond facility, which Mr. Davies provided. Mr. Haroian asked if the owner plans to expand onto the lots in other ownership if the rezoning is approved, and Mr. Davies stated there are no current plans to do so. Sandy Altamura, 33 Elm St., speaking as an individual and not as a member of the Committee, stated the Town needs a vision for the major entrance to Town, and she doesn’t want to make a mistake by diverting downtown development to the Rt. 495 interchange. She stated that the area is already congested with traffic. She noted that she is a direct abutter and does not want business behind her house. She suggested that making the proposed area to be rezoned smaller by not including Ice House Pond might be an improvement. Mr. Davies stated that the problem with dividing the lot is that it already has a business use on it. 3 Mr. Peirce stated the more options the Town has for a varied tax base the better. He stated the options for downtown are limited, and he is not sure that any potential uses will be drawn away. He stated he would welcome more high end medical office space near Rt. 495, and it would increase revenue. Jennifer Levy, 21 Hillcrest Dr., stated that she does not think that traffic issues will be an issue with this small change. Mr. Haroian stated he agrees with Mr. Peirce and it is a sensible proposal. The Committee voted unanimously to recommend to the Planning Board that it sponsor the zone change. Mr. Davies addressed the proposed definition of the use: medical centers and continuing care retirement communities which include one or more components of independent living residences, assisted living residences, and nursing home residences. He stated that medical centers are allowed in the BR district at the present time and the existing definitions for that and for continuing care retirement communities/assisted living facilities aren’t good enough because they do not address recent changes in the industry and there is an age limit. The Committee reviewed the proposed definition. In response to a question, Ms. Lazarus stated the proposed definition is fine, as long as the Town would like to accommodate the uses it describes. The Committee voted unanimously to recommend that the bylaw be modified to include the new definition in Section 210-4 and make the modifications necessary so that it applies to the BR and Office Park districts. Adjourned: 9:15 PM Elaine C. Lazarus, Planning Director Approved: January 6, 2010