beagenda

MINUTES

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WATERTOWN ZON= ING BOARD OF APPEALS

PUBLIC HEARING

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WEDNESDA= Y, SEPTEMBER 26, 2007 - 7:30 P.M.

WATERTOWN HIGHSCHOOL TECHNOLOGY CENTER

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APPLICATION #858 – LONG HORI= ZON

DEVELOPMENT, LLC.

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PRESENT: &nb= sp;            =             <= span style=3D'mso-tab-count:2'>        &= nbsp;      Mr. Enrico Sarandrea, Chairman

            =             &nb= sp;            =             &nb= sp;          Mr. John Griffith, Vice Chairman=

            =             &nb= sp;            =             &nb= sp;          Mr. Bruno DiSisto, Secretary

            =             &nb= sp;            =             &nb= sp;          Mr. Roger Mitchell

            =             &nb= sp;            =             &nb= sp;          Mr. Phil Roger

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ABSENT:    &nbs= p;            &= nbsp;                  &= nbsp;      None

ALTERNATES PRESENT:            =             &= nbsp;       Mr. Gary Swingle

ALTERNAT= ES ABSENT:      =           Ms. Cynthia Tun

OTHERS PRESENT:      = ;            &n= bsp;     Moosa Rafey, Assistant Zoning Enforcement Officer

1.         = Call Meeting To Order

            Mr. Sarandrea, Chairman, Called the Public Hearing to Order at about 7:56 p.m. = due to sound system difficulties (no time given).

2.     &nb= sp;   Roll Call

            Mr. DiSisto, Secretary, executed the Roll Call.

            Mr. Sarandrea, Chairman, read aloud the Ground Rules as follows for the record:=

            =             &nb= sp;           R= 20;ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS GROUND RULES”

<= span style=3D'font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt'>1.      The applicant or his representative will make his formal presentation to the board stating his specific hardship and precisely why this merits a variance from the Zoning = Regulations of the Town of Watertown.

<= span style=3D'font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt'>2.      All comments, discussi= ons, and observations shall be made through the Chair after proper recognition by the Chairman. This is necessary to ensure that only one person at a time sp= eaks on any issue, thus making it easier for everyone to understand, and for cle= arer legal transcription.

WATERTOWN ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS

PUBLIC H= EARING

APPLICAT= ION #858 – LONG HORIZON DEVELOPMENT, LLC

SEPTEMBE= R 26, 2007

Page 2

<= span style=3D'font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt'>3.      All persons addressing= the Commission shall begin by first clearly stating their name and address for = the record. If necessary, the person may be asked to spell his or her name for = the record.

<= span style=3D'font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt'>4.      Following the presenta= tion of the application, the Zoning Board of Appeals will ask specific questions= of the applicant.

<= span style=3D'font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt'>5.      After the Board has as= ked its questions of the applicant, I shall then allow members of the public who wishes to speak either in favor of this application or against it to address the Board.

<= span style=3D'font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt'>6.      I shall then allow the applicant to respond to the comments of the members of the general public.<= o:p>

<= span style=3D'font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt'>7.      I shall then allow any members of the general public who wish to present any additional informatio= n or clarifying discussion to do so.

<= span style=3D'font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt'>8.      I shall then provide an opportunity for the applicant to respond to these additional remarks is he = or his representative so wishes.

<= span style=3D'font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt'>9.      The Zoning Board of Ap= peals has thirty-five (35) days from the date the Public Hearing commences to complete the Public Hearing. The Board may ask the applicant for a thirty-f= ive (35) day extension of the Public Hearing period if the Commission requires = any additional information or wishes to schedule a site walk to observe the situation for themselves.

<= span style=3D'font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt'>10. The Zoning Board of Ap= peals has sixty-five (65) days from the date when the Public Hearing is closed to render its decision. The Board may or may not make its decision tonight at = its Regular Meeting following the Public Hearing.

<= span style=3D'font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt'>11. You may stay for the R= egular Meeting if you wish or you may leave at the end of the Public Hearing and contact the Zoning Office the following morning to determine the status of = your application.

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3.         Hearing of Cases=

        &= nbsp;   A.        Application #858 of Long Horizon Develo= pment for a variance of 20 Ft to front yard property line setback to permit the construction of a new single family dwelling on Lot B Lilac Avenue, Oakvill= e, CT.

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        &= nbsp;   The Public Hearing must be closed by October 31, 2007 unless applicant grants a= n extension of time.

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WATERTOWN ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS

PUBLIC H= EARING

APPLICAT= ION #858 – LONG HORIZON DEVELOPMENT, LLC

SEPTEMBE= R 26, 2007

Page 3

      = ;

Mr. = Rafey: Mr. Chairman before the applicant starts talking about his application I just want to clarify as to why this application is still on the agenda. If you remember you approved this item on August 22, l= ast month. There was a mistake with the notification. The applicant didn’t send (inaudible). There was a mistake on the date on the notification that = was sent to the neighbors about the meeting time. They went on the wrong day and there was no meeting at that time. They missed the meeting and when I heard from the neighbors that they wanted to come to the public hearing and speak during the review process and they had missed it, I asked the applicant to = let us put this on the agenda again for this month to give the neighbors an opportunity to express their concern about this application. That is why th= is application is on again after you already approved it last month.

Mr. Sarandrea: But if it’s approved…

Mr. = Rafey: That is void because by statues the applicant h= as to notify the neighbors to come to the public hearing.

Mr. = Sarandrea: Ok so they weren’t notified?

Mr. = Rafey: Yes and that variance that you already granted = was voided. You can make a decision tonight based on the facts and the informat= ion you receive tonight.

Mr. = Sarandrea: Ok go ahead.

George Tuponts, Smiths Road, Thomaston CT

Mr. = Tuponts: The confusion with the notice… Last month= when I sent the notice out I sent it prior to Moosa drafting up the public notic= e. The date was confused with the closing date for the hearing. I believe there are some neighbors here tonight that want to speak on this. I know you̵= 7;ve all heard my presentation on this and a couple of you have actually visited= the property. We’re just seeking a variance from the zoning regulations t= o locate the new house 20 feet closer to the street line and the zoning setback currently allows most of the houses on this street were probably built pre-zoning. Most of the houses are built quite close to the road, some with= in inches from the street line. It’s a very simple request. I’m ju= st trying to move the house closer to the street so it conforms to the rest of= the neighborhood and gives us a little bit of an opportunity to have a backyard. That’s basically it.

Mr. Sarandrea: Anyone from the boar= d have any questions for the applicant?

WATERTOWN ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS

PUBLIC H= EARING

APPLICAT= ION #858 – LONG HORIZON DEVELOPMENT, LLC

SEPTEMBE= R 26, 2007

Page 4

Mr. = Rafey: I just want to mention that some board members = have a site walk on this property on August 22, and we will look at the property a= nd the location of the house.

Mr. = Sarandrea: Is there anyone from the public who wishes to s= peak for or against this application?

M= ary Ellen Baranowski, 24 Lilac= Avenue

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Ms. Baranowski: Mary Ellen Baranows= ki and I own the property at 24 L= ilac Avenue which is adjacent to the empty lot. Fir= st of all I acknowledge Mr. Tuponts for being here. My question is that is he = in fact the owner of the property now. On Sunday September 16, 2007 in the pap= er it said that the property on Lilac Avenue was sold from Steve Martino to Joe Roma= no. So I just bring that up because I’d like to verify who actually indeed owns the property?

Mr. = Rafey: Yes if Mr. Tupont is not the owner he should ha= ve an authorized agent from the actual owner of the property.

Mr. = Tuponts: I am the owner of the property. The property was purchased from Steven Martino and Joseph Romano. The paper incorrectly wrote the names down as buyer and seller. I was sent a copy of the deed form the = town clerk.

Ms. Baranowski: Ok I just didn̵= 7;t want any confusion. The lot is there and first of all I’d like to com= ment that personally I don’t understand how this property has been allowed= to be sold several times without having to conform to the zoning regulations w= hich I believe had previously merged all non- conforming lots into one parcel. At least that’s what happened at 24 Lilac Avenue. In fact = 14 Lilac Avenue where the house is = on that lot, that and the single lot have continuously been passed as one parc= el, not 2. If it’s not considered as two parcels, is someone not responsi= ble for the taxes that were not paid on that separate lot for all these years. = Now in the request for variance on this new building lot, I don’t believe that there is a legal hardship. At the time of purchase, a developer or any owner buyer should have been aware of the current zoning regulations. From = the notice I received in the mail from Mr. Tuponts of the Long Horizon Developm= ent Company no legal hardship is being claimed. Rather it seems that the varian= ce is being asked simply for esthetic reasons some of which I believe are not even valid. Do you have a copy of that letter with you?

Mr. = Rafey: Which letter are you talking about?<= /span>

Ms. Baranowski: It was one that was= sent out and what it said was “(inaudible) adjacent to the street line or within a small distance. This is an older neighborhood with houses likely b= eing constructed prior to zoning implementation”. They then go on to speak about what the zoning requirement for

WATERTOWN ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS

PUBLIC H= EARING

APPLICAT= ION #858 – LONG HORIZON DEVELOPMENT, LLC

SEPTEMBE= R 26, 2007

Page 5

25 feet is, however they’re asking “(inaudible) when they exit the front of our home we are not directly viewing the rear of the adjacent houses”. That is esthetics, purely esthetics. What I’d like to = do is show you one of the newest houses on this street that was built by Larry Butler and it’s now owned by Lenny, and I’m sorry I don’t have Lenny’s last name, but it’s the house on the other side of= 24 Lilac Avenue. Can I show you the pictures?

Mr. Sarandrea: Yes.

Ms. Baranowski: One of the things t= hat I say as far as conforming to adjacent houses, from my point of view, it woul= d be better to have a new house adhered to the setback regulation. The house that you’re looking at is set back off the road. His front door does not l= ook at the back of my house at 24 Lilac Avenue. Nor does it look at the back of = the house further down. So I don’t find that the argument is valid. I bel= ieve that a new home would better balance the look of the adjacent older homes by being set back. Rather than all in line, you’re never going to make a= new house look like an old one. Rather than trying to bring the discrepancies of the older houses and make it all one row of houses, it would look much bett= er and set the balance off for the street if it was set back as Lenny’s house is, the one that you’re looking at which is very nice. Personal= ly I believe that adhering to the setback regulation of 35 feet a new home would better balance the look of the other adjacent older homes. I believe that h= ouse conforms to the regulations. It’s wonderfully landscaped as you can s= ee. The front entrance does not look at the rear of houses on either side. So if it’s just from an esthetic point of view, the esthetics are better se= rved if the house is set back. The two houses that I believe that have been mentioned would be ours at 24 Lilac and the house at 14 Lilac which literal= ly sits at the road. Our house is approximately 15 feet back. If I had my drut= hers that house would be set back further. But the house was built when there was nothing but a dirt road there. My mother in law is 89 and she could not be = here tonight to explain the dirt road that she went to that house when she was married to my father in law and they moved into that house. So in conclusio= n I respectfully request that the board members deny the request for variance a= s I do not see a legal hardship indicated or claimed for this. Thank you.<= /o:p>

Mr. Sarandrea: Is there anyone else= from the public who wishes to speak for or against?

= Regina = Thomson, 25 Lilac Avenue

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  &nbs= p;         Ms. Thomson: My name is Regina Th= omson and I live 25 Lilac Avenue= . I received the prior notice via certified mail with the false date on the certified mail which I find troubling. I’m against the zoning varianc= e. We are the parents of a 13 year old girl that has other friends in the neighborhood. They ride their bicycles up and down the road. Fourteen Lilac Avenue has residents= in it for approximately the

WATERTOWN ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS

PUBLIC H= EARING

APPLICAT= ION #858 – LONG HORIZON DEVELOPMENT, LLC

SEPTEMBE= R 26, 2007

Page 6

last year. They’ve used that extra lot for= the past year to park their vehicles. There are photographs of the unsafe traff= ic conditions and unsafe parking on the road if you’d like to see these pictures I’ll show you. I purchased the home I live in, in 1992. It w= as a subdivision of the house next door to us. It has been setback 52 feet from = the road. I want to know how the esthetics are being translated that the back o= f a property is more important to preserve the nature of the hedges at the back yard of the house than there is to preserve the integrity of the front of t= he house. Also since your last hearing and I don’t know if this is the r= ight place to be saying this but there was several hours of excavation work done= on that lot when I know from Ruth Mulcahey that there was to be no work done on that lot. I called the zoning office several times during that day. The pol= ice of this town seem to have a problem with answering calls for traffic and for illegal parking and for illegal matters that happen on Lilac Avenue. They are phoned routi= nely to report such issues and I respectfully request that the request for a variance be denied in this particular case.

  &nbs= p;      Mr. Sarandrea: Anyone else from t= he public wish to speak for or against this application? State your name and address for the record.

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S= ean Michael Baranowski, 24 Lil= ac Avenue

  &nbs= p;      Mr. Baranowski: The parking on Lilac Avenue is horrendous. People are driving up and down there and flying up and down. Pe= ople are parking up and down the street all the way up to my driveway. I’m staying at my mother’s house with my new wife which we’re going= to be purchasing the house from her. With the new house being put in there and= the people that are living at 14 Lilac Avenue right now, I would not trust havi= ng any kids ride there bikes on the street the way that the kids drive and par= ty. They have outrageous fires at night. I’ve called the cops plenty of t= imes on these people. They’re using drugs. My house fills up with the smok= e of it. To have another house next door set up close further back, I’d mu= ch rather have it set further back. There is no other house that is new built = on this road that has had a variance. Every other house has been set to the regulation.

  &nbs= p;      Mr. Sarandrea: I wasn’t goi= ng to answer till the end. The only reason why we gave them it the 20 foot is to = kind of balance it in between because it’s not that house, with the contou= r of the ground and everything, we didn’t want the house to actually be looking at the back of other houses. To try to make a balance there to conf= orm, that’s the reason why we gave him the 20 foot variance. It is suppose= d to be 35, if it was 35, it wouldn’t look good at all. It not conforms at all. I’m glad you people came tonight because we may be able to do something about the safety of that road.

  &nbs= p;      Mr. Baranowski: Ok say it’s= your house right next door. How would you feel about it?

WATERTOWN ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS

PUBLIC H= EARING

APPLICAT= ION #858 – LONG HORIZON DEVELOPMENT, LLC

SEPTEMBE= R 26, 2007

Page 7

  &nbs= p;      Mr. Sarandrea: I would probably g= o with the 20, myself, because like I’m saying because when you come out you don’t want to be looking at the front of someone’s house from y= our house.

  &nbs= p;      Mr. Baranowski: So you wouldnR= 17;t mind someone being 5 to 10 feet from the edge of your house.

         = Mr. Sarandrea: What we’re try= ing to do is conform to what was here. The other house you showed us a picture of,= we saw that, that’s sitting on a different lot and it is further back, b= ut the lot is a lot different and I think it’s a bigger lot. We saw that= , we looked at the neighborhood itself. It looks bigger; it looks like a bigger = lot.

  &nbs= p;      Mr. Baranowski: but the side of t= he house that is going to be built is going to be no more than 10 feet from my garage.

  &nbs= p;      Mr. Sarandrea: Well there is a 10= n foot side yard setback.

  &nbs= p;      Mr. Baranowski: Ok well…

  &nbs= p;      Mr. Roger: but the side is not wh= at they’re going for a variance on they’re going for a front. This particular house is going to have a driveway which is parking behind the ho= use. The houses that you’re concerned about are houses with no driveways a= nd people parking everywhere else. But there is nothing we can do about that. These problems that you have on Lilac Avenue are not something we can solve. He can before us with a good plan with off street parking with a house that is goi= ng to conform to the neighborhood. The 20 foot setback conforms more to the ho= uses that are in the neighborhood and he’s going to have off street parkin= g. The houses that you’re having problems with are houses that exist tha= t we can’t do anything about.

  &nbs= p;      Mr. Sarandrea: It might even elim= inate your problem with him putting in his driveway because they wouldn’t be able to park there anymore. If they’re using that property, once that house is built and he has a driveway there they’re not going to park there anymore, it may stop it, but we’ll see if we can look into what they’re doing over there. That’s something that you have to tak= e up with the zoning officer and the police department, probably the police department. You can’t talk back there if you want you can come back u= p.

  &nbs= p;      Ms. Baranowski: Mary Ellen Barano= wski, owner of the property of 2= 4 Lilac Avenue. You brought up the fact that house doesn’t have the same size lots. They are 25 by 100 lots. So it turns= out is that they were originally 25 by 100, they’re 4 actual lots so that= is 50 by 100 is the lot, there were 4 originally.

WATERTOWN ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS

PUBLIC H= EARING

APPLICAT= ION #858 – LONG HORIZON DEVELOPMENT, LLC

SEPTEMBE= R 26, 2007

Page 8

  &nbs= p;      Mr. Sarandrea: I don’t beli= eve this lot is as big as that lot. The new lot, I don’t think it’s= as big as that lot. This lot that he’s building on is a non-conforming l= ot.

  &nbs= p;      Ms. Baranowski: Right but its 2 l= ots. It originally was 2 lots and where that other house is 2 lots. His driveway abuts the old Butler house, the blue house over. Where that stand of trees is, right off of Lenny’s deck, if you look at it that’s the beginning of our property, we have 4 old lots that were merged and had to be considered as o= ne. That’s what I’m trying to say. So the size of the lot that Lenny’s house is on and the size of the lot where this house is shoul= d be identical. The gradient is same in all those backyards. You have their lot,= 24 Lilac Avenue, and then Lenny’s house. I apologize I don’t know what LennyR= 17;s last name is. Those lots have all the same gradients they have all the same size, and right now ours is probably the biggest lot on that side of the street. That’s why I don’t understand. If you want to make a variance and have the new house setback to equal what Lenny’s house i= s, I have no problem with that because I think that would be nice for everyone a= nd I think esthetically if we are looking at esthetics that it would be a nice balance to the rest of the houses. I can’t tell you how far LennyR= 17;s house is setback I was not going to go over there, I didn’t see him, = and I’m not going to go measure his front yard without his permission.

  &nbs= p;      Mr. Swingle: I think what we̵= 7;re concerned with is the parking in the front…

  &nbs= p;      Ms. Baranowski: No because Lenny = has a driveway that goes down with the garage underneath in the back, and there is parking there it is paved.

  &nbs= p;      Mr. Sarandrea: That lot doesnR= 17;t have the same topography either. We looked at all that, this lot that this development is going to be built on is very steep. It’s a whole diffe= rent lot it’s smaller too.

  &nbs= p;      Ms. Baranowski: Well I would ask = you to take a look at that because I really think they are the same size and that = lot was steeper, they filled it in. We saw that house being built. I’m not going to argue with you sir, but from the point of view of being in that ho= use and knowing the land…

  &nbs= p;      Mr. Sarandrea: We looked at that = too about filling it but were afraid the neighbors in back of that would have a problem. I mean how much filling do you think can be done?

  &nbs= p;      Ms. Baranowski: Well they did it = on the other one.

  &nbs= p;      Mr. Sarandrea: I understand your concern and what you’re trying to say but we looked at all that too. = Ok is there anything else ma’am?

         = Ms. Baranowski: No I think I made m= yself known.

WATERTOWN ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS

PUBLIC H= EARING

APPLICAT= ION #858 – LONG HORIZON DEVELOPMENT, LLC

SEPTEMBE= R 26, 2007

Page 9

  &nbs= p;      Mr. Sarandrea: I’m going to= let him respond, he’s the applicant.

  &nbs= p;      Mr. Tuponts: Mr. Chairman I think= the commission has very good handle on what we’re trying to do here. I kn= ow it’s been a long beginning to the evening, so I don’t want to t= ake up anymore of your time. I do have both site plans showing if we set the ho= use back 35 feet and if we move it ahead 20 and like you said we were just tryi= ng to reach some type of a balance. If we leave the house back 35 feet we are behind the garage of the Baranowski’s house, their house is only abou= t 7 or 8 feet, I don’t have a scale but it’s only about 7 or 8 feet= off of the town street line. So we were just trying to reach a balance .If ther= e is more information or argument you need from me to support our cause I’= ll be happy to give it to you, but I think you’ve probably heard enough = and like I said I’m happy to give it to you.

  &nbs= p;      Ms. Thomson: Regina Thomson = 25 Lilac Avenue. The letter also st= ates the houses in the area are close to the road. If you count down the first 16 houses on Lilac Avenue, 2 are close to the road, the Baranowski house and <= st1:address w:st=3D"on">14 Lilac Avenue. The rest are back further than the 15 feet.

  &nbs= p;      Mr. Tuponts: George Tuponts again= . The letter they are referring to was a copy of item 4 of your application that I sent. I sent them a copy of that so they had the same language that you had= to look at. We have the survey from the surveyor showing the houses on each si= de of the street.

  &nbs= p;      Mr. Sarandrea: Is there anyone el= se who wishes to speak for or against this application? Members of the board? (Everyone speaking).

  &nbs= p;      Mr. Rafey: It’s up to you i= f you want to table it and do another site walk?

  &nbs= p;      *(Sound System stopped briefly)

  &nbs= p;      Mr. Sarandrea: Please state your = name and address for the record.

  &nbs= p;      Mr. Tuponts: George Tuponts, Long Horizon Development. Yes, the lot is 5,000 square feet and again we donR= 17;t know what the other lot size is. The only argument I’ve heard is a ma= tter of opinion, whether the residents or a couple of the neighbors think that t= he house would look better further back. I think we all feel that it would look better if we reached some type of a balance so we requested to move the hou= se 20 feet as to closer or adjacent to the other houses which are within inche= s on one side of the street to the street line in the 35 foot setback. We’= re just trying to reach a balance.

  &nbs= p;      Mr. Sarandrea: Do we have a motio= n to close?

  &nbs= p;      Mr. DiSisto: So Move.<= /span>

WATERTOWN ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS

PUBLIC H= EARING

APPLICAT= ION #858 – LONG HORIZON DEVELOPMENT, LLC

SEPTEMBE= R 26, 2007

Page 10<= o:p>

  &nbs= p;      Mr. Sarandrea: Second?=

  &nbs= p;      Dr. Griffith: Second.<= /span>

  &nbs= p;      Mr. Sarandrea: All in favor?=

  &nbs= p;      Everyone: I

         = Mr. Sarandrea: Ok, thank you. =

MOTION: =      (Mr. DiSisto, sec. Dr. Griffith) to Close Application #858 of Long Horizon Development for a variance of 20 Ft to front yard prop= erty line setback to permit the construction of a new single family dwelling on Lot B Lilac Avenue, Oakvill= e, CT.

Discussion:       None<= o:p>

MOTION PASSED UNANIMOU= SLY

Public Hearing Closed at about 8:25 p.m. (no time given).

Respect= fully submitted,

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Enrico Sarandrea, Chairman

Zoning = Board of Appeals

  &nbs= p;         _________________= _________________

  &nbs= p;         Jennifer Guerrera, Minutes Secretary