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ALSO PRESENT: John Birmingham, Alternate
Bob Bulmer, Alternate
William Dwyer, Alternate
Rose Ann Hardy, Ex-Officio
William Mulholland, Zoning Official
ABSENT: No One
Mr. Nickerson welcomed the new members; Mr. Birmingham and Mr.
Carpenteri to the Commission.
Public Delegations
Mr. Nickerson called for anyone from the public who wished to
address the Commission on subject matters not on the Agenda.
There were none.
Regular Meeting
1.
Application of Richard McFadden d/b/a The Eclectic Chef for a
Special Permit to operate a fast food restaurant at property
identified in the application as 281 Main Street, Niantic, CT.
Mr. Nickerson called for a motion and/or discussion.
**MOTION (1)
Mr. Salerno moved to approve the application of Richard McFadden
d/b/a The Eclectic Chef for a Special Permit to operate a fast food
restaurant at property identified in the Application as 291 Main
Street, Niantic, CT with the following exceptions:
¨
Application exempt from complying with Sections
24.6 E-2 front landscaping and 24.6 E-3 six foot (6’) buffer along
side and rear property lines.
Mr. Carpenteri seconded the motion.
Ms. Carabelas asked if it is impossible to put in something
regarding the landscaping.
Mr. Mulholland said that the area is mostly paved and that it is a
pre-existing area. However, that would be something that they could
address on the patio portion and perhaps suggest planters.
Vote: 6 – 0 – 0. Motion passed.
2.
Request of Gerwick-Mereen LLC for a waiver of Section 24.6-C
“Sidewalks” for a property identified in the Application as 279
Boston Post Road, East Lyme, CT
Mr. Peck recused himself from discussion on this application and sat
in the audience.
Mr. Nickerson seated Mr. Bulmer, Alternate at the table for this
discussion.
Donald Gerwick, PE, place of business 1020 Hartford Turnpike,
Waterford said that this is the site of a new dental office for Dr.
Robson. The site is very tight and is only 80’ wide. It is located
to the west of Islanda Court on Boston Post Road. The site plan was
approved by Mr. Mulholland and they have all of the elements except
the sidewalk. There is a telephone pole that would fall partially
where the sidewalk would be constructed. The site is 1000’ west of
any existing sidewalks on Boston Post Road so this would be a
section of sidewalk that begins nowhere and ends nowhere. Dr. Robson
has made a significant investment in this Town and has indicated
that if sidewalks were to come to this area that he would be willing
to put them in at that time.
Mr. Nickerson said that the issue from Mill Road is that there is a
tractor facility without a sidewalk and that there are many
properties that have dirt paths that people utilize all the time.
The dirt path ends at the boat launch and while this would, no
doubt, create a sidewalk to nowhere, they need to decide how they
are going to handle this regulation as they have it on the books and
it cannot just continually be waived.
Mr. Gerwick asked that they consider that the dental office is not
the type of facility that will generate a lot of foot traffic and
the fact that Dr. Robson has agreed to put in sidewalks should they
get down to that area.
Mr. Nickerson asked Mr. Mulholland if that was something that could
be done that way.
Mr. Mulholland said that they are not sure how long it would be
before sidewalks will get to that area and that long ago the
determination was made that they did not want sidewalks to nowhere
so there comes a time where they have to start doing sidewalks and
stop waiving them.
Mr. Salerno, Ms. Carabelas and Mr. Nickerson agreed that they need
to do this.
Mr. Bulmer said that he has been by that area quite frequently and
that the students go to the lake and that as part of their crew
training they have to run back to the school and without sidewalks
there, they run in the road. Traffic has increased there and people
walk all the time. He said that he feels that there should be a
sidewalk there and that they should just get the ball rolling on
putting them in.
Mr. Gerwick said that their points are well taken but said that he
wished to note that most runners use the road even when there is a
sidewalk available.
Mr. Gada asked where the on-site parking is located.
Mr. Gerwick pointed it out on the landscape plan for the site.
Mr. Gada asked if a sidewalk in the front would interfere with the
handicap parking.
Mr. Gerwick said no.
Mr. Salerno asked about the anticipated opening date for this office
and if it was a new business.
Dr. Robson said that he expected to open in the summer and that he
was moving from Flanders Four Corners to this location.
Mr. Gerwick showed the Commissioners the architecture of the new
building.
The Commissioners were quite impressed with the design elevations.
**MOTION (2)
Mr. Salerno moved to deny the request of Gerwick-Mereen LLC for a
waiver of Section 24.6-C “Sidewalks” for a property identified in
the application as 279 Boston Post Road, East Lyme, CT.
Mr. Bulmer seconded the motion.
Vote: 5 – 0 – 1. Motion passed.
Abstained: Mr. Gada
Mr. Peck returned to the table and was seated and Mr. Bulmer
returned to the audience.
3.
CAM Application of Bernstingle for 20 Atlantic Street,
Niantic, CT - (Crescent Beach) Repair of a Seawall
Mr. Nickerson called upon the applicant or their representative to
present this –
Kenneth Petrini, Engineer with DiCesare-Bentley Engineers, Inc. said
that he is representing the applicant. He submitted a site plan of
the area dated 12/7/07 which was entered as Exhibit A and
five (5) photos of the site taken in November 2007 which were
entered as Exhibit B.
Mr. Mulholland noted to the Commission that the property is located
in Crescent Beach and that they have their own Zoning so what they
are looking at here is strictly the soil & erosion for the seawall
repair.
Mr. Petrini explained that this parcel and the seawall are located
between Crescent Beach and McCook’s Point and that it is a
one-quarter acre site. They are here for the seawall as there was
damage to it. The house predates 1938 and the seawall was there in
1942. The CAM report shows that there is no impact as there is an
existing structure there and they are just repairing it. He said
that they have also submitted the application information to the DEP
for their input. He asked if they had any questions.
Mr. Salerno asked when this project is done how they will prevent
the soil from getting onto the beach.
Mr. Petrini said that there is very little excavation to the wall as
this is only a repair.
**MOTION (3)
Mr. Salerno moved to approve the CAM Application of Bernstingle
for repair of an existing seawall at 20 Atlantic Street, Niantic, CT
(Crescent Beach).
Ms. Carabelas seconded the motion.
Vote: 6 – 0 – 0. Motion passed.
Mr. Salerno said that this was approved because it is consistent
with all of the applicable rules and measures will be taken to
mitigate any adverse impacts.
4.
Zoning Commission Budget 2008/2009 and Zoning Commission Fee
Schedule
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Zoning Commission Budget for 2008-2009
Mr. Mulholland explained the budget noting that it is the same as it
has been and that the salary increases would be determined by the
Board of Selectmen at a later time.
Mr. Peck noted that he would not feel comfortable discussing a
salary increase in front of the person that it was meant for.
Mr. Mulholland explained that ultimately it is the Board of
Selectmen who determines the increase.
**MOTION (4)
Ms. Carabelas moved to approve the Zoning Commission budget for
2008-2009 in the amount of $77,850 as proposed.
Mr. Carpenteri seconded the motion.
Vote: 5 – 0 – 1. Motion passed.
Abstained: Mr. Peck
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Zoning Commission Fee Schedule
Mr. Mulholland passed out a copy of the fee schedule for Zoning with
some proposed changes. He explained that he was asked by the First
Selectman to review the fees that are being charged as they were
last changed three to four years ago.
Mr. Salerno said that his concern is that to build a tool shed that
it might cost $1000 with a $117 cost for permits which he finds
outrageous because they want people to pull permits and to do things
correctly and this type of fee for such a small item discourages
them. He noted for instance that to do a large addition to a house
of $20,000 that it would only cost $140 in permit fees versus the
$117 for a $1000 tool shed.
Mr. Mulholland cautioned that they are only discussing the Zoning
permit fee and not the Building permit fees which are a lot higher
and figured in a different way. Plus, there is also the $30 State
fee that does not go away and gets charged on top of their local
fee. He said that he looked at other Towns in the area and has found
that they are fairly comparable in their fee structure. They could
further break down their fees by size although the current structure
seems to be pretty straightforward to follow and implement.
Mr. Carpenteri noted that in Section 3.9 that the $100 going to $400
seems a bit high.
Mr. Salerno and Ms. Carabelas suggested keeping the fees at the low
end for the small businesses versus the large type chain businesses.
Mr. Peck suggested that some research be done by obtaining the 2007
figures for each category so that they can look at it in that way to
see what has been happening and how the income from the past year
was distributed.
Mr. Nickerson asked if the consensus is to get more information on
this and to revisit it.
Ms. Hardy, Ex-Officio noted that there seems to be a big discrepancy
between single family and mega commercial in that they have only a
$50 difference and that this does not seem fair.
Mr. Mulholland said that he could break this down further based upon
square footage.
Mr. Nickerson said that they would take this up at their next
meeting when they had more information to review.
5.
Approval of Minutes – Regular Meeting of December 6, 2007
Mr. Nickerson called for discussion on, or corrections to the
Regular Meeting Minutes of December 6, 2007.
Mr. Peck moved to approve the Regular Meeting Minutes of December
6, 2007 of the Commission as presented.
Ms. Carabelas seconded the motion.
Ms. Carabelas asked as a general note that Ms. Byrnes name be
removed as she is no longer on the Commission.
Vote: 5 – 0 – 1. Motion passed.
Abstained: Mr. Gada
Old Business
1.
Stormwater
There was nothing new to report.
2.
Subcommittee – Niantic Village – CB Zones (Mark Nickerson,
Marc Salerno & Norm Peck)
Mr. Nickerson said that they are working on this.
3.
By-Laws Subcommittee (Mark Nickerson & Pamela Byrnes)
Mr. Nickerson asked if they were ready to vote on these.
Mr. Carpenteri said that he has reviewed them and that he did not
have any issues with them.
**MOTION (6)
Mr. Peck moved to adopt the Zoning Commission Bylaws as amended.
Ms. Carabelas seconded the motion.
Vote: 6 – 0 - 0. Motion passed.
4. Subcommittee – Adult Uses (Rosanna Carabelas)
Ms. Carabelas said that they were waiting on the Attorney for his
review.
Mr. Mulholland said that it would be a two-pronged attack – by Town
Ordinance and a Zoning Regulation so that they are compatible and
enforceable.
5. Transitional Zones Subcommittee – (Marc Salerno & Norm Peck)
Mr. Salerno asked that this be added to the agenda.
New Business
1.
Application of Harry & Trifonas Loginidis d/b/a Family Pizza
for the renewal of a Special Permit for Outdoor Dining at 233 Main
Street, Niantic.
Mr. Nickerson asked Mr. Mulholland to schedule this for Public
Hearing.
2.
Application of Kim Burrows, for Broadway Kids and Co., for a
Special Permit to operate a private training facility, trade or
technical school at 5 Freedom Way, Units D1-D4, Niantic.
Mr. Nickerson asked Mr. Mulholland to schedule this for Public
Hearing.
3.
Any other business on the floor, if any, by the majority vote
of the Commission.
Mr. Mulholland passed out information on Mixed Use Development CA
and CB zones suggesting a modification of the controls governing
this in Section 25.5 by elimination of the restrictions to office
and retail use. He noted that it has been talked about many times.
Mr. Salerno suggested pushing forward with it noting that they
already have a lot of apartments over retail established within the
Town. He cited Midway Mall as an example.
Mr. Mulholland concurred and added that the units tend to be more
affordable and with this change the marketplace would dictate and
they might see more housing above retail.
**MOTION (7)
Mr. Peck moved that they schedule the Mixed Use Development CA
and CB zones change for public hearing.
Mr. Salerno seconded the motion.
Vote: 6 – 0 – 0. Motion passed.
4.
Zoning Official
Mr. Mulholland reminded the Commission that they have the Gateway
application coming up and that they have an aggressive schedule.
Mr. Nickerson asked that they also have the person who will do a
presentation on the economic impact of the Gateway at that meeting
so that the information can all be presented the same evening.
Mr. Mulholland said that a person has been engaged to do this and
that he is not sure if he can get this done in the two weeks time
however he is in discussion with them.
Mr. Nickerson and Mr. Mulholland said that they would work together
on the scheduling.
5.
Comments from Ex-Officio
Ms. Hardy said that the Board of Selectmen has been busy with
appointments and that she did not have anything to report.
6.
Comments from Zoning Commission liaison to Planning
Commission
Mr. Bowers was present. There were no comments.
7.
Comments from Chairman
Mr. Nickerson said that he did not have anything further to report.
8.
Adjournment
**MOTION (8)
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