MINUTES<= o:p>
WATERTOWN
ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS
PUBLIC H=
EARING
WEDNESDA=
Y,
APRIL 13, 2005 - 7:30 P.M.
WATERTOW=
N HIGH
SCHOOL LIBRARY
APPLICAT=
ION
#795 – GRIFFIN SCHOOL, LLC
PRESENT:
&nbs=
p; John Griffith
&=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; &=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; &=
nbsp; Roger
Mitchell
=
; &n=
bsp; =
; &n=
bsp; =
; Enrico Sarandrea, Chai=
rman
ABSENT: =
&nb=
sp; =
Phil
Roger, Vice Chairman
ALTERNATES PRESENT: Chris
Lafferty
ALTERNATES ABSENT: &=
nbsp; Scott
Stewart
OTHERS PRESENT: &n=
bsp; =
; Mary
Barton, Zoning Enforcement Officer
=
; &n=
bsp; =
; &n=
bsp; =
; Moosa Rafey, Assistant
Zoning Enforcement Officer
MR. SARANDREA RECUSED HIMSELF FROM THIS APPLICATION<= /p>
1. =
Call
Meeting To Order
Ms.
Bisson, Vice Chairman, Called the Public Hearing to Order at 7:41 p.m.
2. &nb=
sp; Roll
Call
Ms.
Bisson, Secretary, executed the Roll Call.
Ms. Bisson, Vice Chair=
man,
asked Mr. Lafferty to sit in for Mr. Roger, in his absence.
Ms. Bisson, Secretary,=
read
aloud the Legal Notice for the Record:
“Legal Notice
The Zoning Board of Ap=
peals
of the Town of Watertown will hold a Public Hearing at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesd=
ay,
April 13, 2005 at the Watertown High School Library, 324 French Street,
Watertown, CT to hear and act upon the following applications:
WATERTOWN
ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS
PUBLIC H=
EARING
APPLICAT=
ION
#795 – GRIFFIN SCHOOL, =
LLC
APRIL 13=
, 2005
Page 2
Application #794 of Gr=
iffin
School LLC c/o Attorney Joseph Yamin, 12 Grant Street, Suite 417, Waterbury=
, CT
on a request for the following variances from the Zoning Regulations of the
Town of Watertown:
All requested variance=
s are
located at 26 Davis Street, Oakville, CT the former Griffin Elementary Scho=
ol,
in an R-G General Residential Zoning District.
At this Hearing intere=
sted
persons and written communications will be heard. A copy of the application is on fi=
le in
the Planning and Zoning Office, 51 Depot Street, Suite 502, Watertown,
Connecticut for public review Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00
p.m. and from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. or by appointment.
Dated at Watertown,
Connecticut, this 2nd day of April, 2005.
Dated at Watertown,
Connecticut, this 7th day of April, 2005.
Mary Bisson, Secretary=
Zoning Board of
Appeals”
WATERTOWN
ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS
PUBLIC H=
EARING
APPLICAT=
ION
#795 – GRIFFIN SCHOOL, =
LLC
APRIL 13=
, 2005
Page 3
3. Hearing of Cases=
&=
nbsp; B. =
Application
#795 of Griffin School, LLC request for 4 variances from the Zoning Regulat=
ions
of the Town of Watertown to permit the construction of access driveways and
parking spaces on former Griffin School property located at 26 Davis Street,
Oakville, CT.
&=
nbsp; Recess
or Adjourn, the Public Hearing must be Closed by May 18, 2005 unless applic=
ant
grants a time extension.
&=
nbsp; Joseph
Yamin, Attorney Representing Griffin School, LLC
=
; Atty.
Yamin: I think the Chair has
adequately described the variances.
The reason for the variances is a unique (inaudible) situation are
twofold. The first situation =
is
that this project is going to be constructed without modifying the structure
itself, and that was at the request of the Town Council when the project we=
nt
out to bid. In normal situati=
ons
you would try to avoid the need for a variance by either modifying the
structure itself, or there would be a demolition and therefore you might be=
able
to get around some of the variances that we’re requesting in this
application. The other issue =
is
when we talk about a front yard, it’s a little deceiving because the
front of the school faces Davis Street, but because it’s located on a
corner, the determination has been made that the side faces Jeffrey Place is
also going to be categorized as a front yard, as well as the side, the rear,
which faces Yale Street, is being treated as a front yard. Otherwise if you were just having =
the
side and rear yards, we really wouldn’t require these variances, but
because of the inability to change the building and because the determinati=
on
has been made that there are 3 front yards essentially, that’s why
I’m before this Board.
=
; Ms.
Barton: The Zoning Regulations=
do
not differentiate any time you have frontage on the street, it’s a fr=
ont
yard setback, so this is a parcel that has a side yard and 3 street lines, =
so
it’s the way the regulations are written, and I think in part,
unfortunately we don’t have an easel, so I don’t know how you w=
ant
to show the Board where the variances are, so the public can see, cause the=
re
are members of the public here and we lent our easel out, we don’t ha=
ve
it.
=
; Atty.
Yamin: Essentially the varian=
ces .
. . . .
=
; Ms.
Barton: Maybe come up here.
WATERTOWN
ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS
PUBLIC H=
EARING
APPLICAT=
ION
#795 – GRIFFIN SCHOOL, =
LLC
APRIL 13=
, 2005
Page 4
=
; Atty.
Yamin: If you first of all look at the zo=
ning
information, the 3 stars denote the variance required from Zoning Board of
Appeals. So if you take a loo=
k here
at the area bordering Jeffrey Place, because of the need to construct a lane
that will allow cars and emergency vehicles to circulate the property actua=
lly
goes in reverse, you get within 14 feet of Jeffrey Place here. You run into a similar situation to
maintain parking at the rear the way this jogs down, you’re within 10
feet of this front yard here. Here
I believe we have 6 foot, this is only 1.8 feet off of the side yard and th=
at
would be this third variance identified in Ms. Barton’s memorandum so=
you
can’t get this 8 feet here, you wouldn’t be able to get this la=
ne
come around the building. And=
then
again a variance to construct a driveway within 6 feet of an existing build=
ing,
obviously you have this driveway that’s entirely within 6 feet of the
building and again what we’re faced with here is the building cannot =
be
modified, the structure is to remain as is, the exterior, and you have your
front yards per the zoning regulations.
=
; Ms.
Barton: What the Zoning Regs r=
equire
over here is 10 feet from the side line.&n=
bsp;
What happens is the initial site plan shows that, but the Fire Marsh=
all
and the Fire Chief looked at it and they couldn’t make the swing with=
the
vehicles, and the same thing with the 6 feet, within 6 feet of the
building. Jeffrey Place, it d=
oes
say (inaudible) but it’s a street, it’s not, I don’t think
it’s (inaudible) 50 foot right of way but we still have to meet, and
according to (inaudible) supposed to be 25 feet, that’s the front yar=
d,
the same thing here.
=
; Atty.
Yamin: You can see the 25 yar=
ds.
=
; Ms.
Barton: Yea, he’s got a
property line, his parcel . . . . .
=
; Atty.
Yamin: So you can see this da=
sh in
here, would technically be, if I was trying to do this without a variance,
it’s an impossibility.
=
; Ms.
Barton: Yea, he wouldn’t=
be
able to swing around the building.
I didn’t get anything, the Fire Marshall was going to provide =
us
with a letter, but apparently he didn’t get to it in time.
=
; Atty.
Yamin: So that’s what t=
his
project is faced with. Without
variances we would be unable to proceed.
=
; Ms.
Barton: I don’t know if =
the
Board members want to go take a look at it or . . . . did you want to state
your hardship for the record, so it’s clear?
=
; Atty.
Yamin: Yea, I believe the har=
dship
exists because of the inability to demolish the existing structure as well =
as
the inability to have the necessary parking on site and the emergency
vehicle’s ability to swing around the building would require these
variances.
WATERTOWN
ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS
PUBLIC H=
EARING
APPLICAT=
ION
#795 – GRIFFIN SCHOOL, =
LLC
APRIL 13=
, 2005
Page 5
=
; Ms.
Barton: Does anybody else have=
any
questions?
=
; Ms.
Bisson: I fully understand what
they’re up against. Is =
there
anyone in the public who wishes to speak either For or Against this
Application?
=
; Paul
Rinaldi, 53 Saunders Avenue, Oakville, CT&=
nbsp;
06779
=
; Mr.
Rinaldi: I’ve come here t=
onight
just to forward a couple of concerns I think, for your deliberation as
you’re going through this.
I’m not in a position to say you should approve or not approve,
that’s your job. I̵=
7;m
just going to give you some stuff to think about and carry it along as you =
go
along. At the Council level a=
few
people came to speak about this project, as they kept asking for
extensions. And one gentleman=
came,
I don’t know if you know him, Ron Russo from the Parks and Recreation
Commission, and he brought up some very viable concerns, relative to liabil=
ity,
snow removal, I’m talking about the parking spots across the street n=
ow,
some very real concerns about things that are going to go on over there,
I’m not going to bother to list them. My best suggestion would be to con=
tact
the Town Manager’s office and see if he can get a coy of the public
participation when he spoke and reviewed it for yourselves, it’s pret=
ty
self explanatory.
&=
nbsp; The
problem I’m having is defining the hardship. It seems to me, and I know they wa=
nt to
develop the land, but I’m just having a problem with putting this thi=
ng
in perspective for myself. I =
was of
the impression from the beginning that this was going to be contained on the
site, whatever was to be done there.
We had hoped for a long time that it would be elderly housing and
obviously this is what came out of it.&nbs=
p;
We were hoping that the parking spaces, all things inclusive would s=
tay
on the site itself. Apparentl=
y it
didn’t, which leaves me to believe that everything we’re
considering here tonight or you’re considering here tonight is for
accommodation and the benefit of the developer. I don’t think we’re be=
ing
quite fair to the Town with some of the proposals, or some of the
variances. The thing that rea=
lly
upset me is what I heard at the last Town Council meeting, there’s a
driveway that’s supposed to admit part of that property, am I correct=
or
am I not correct?
=
; Ms.
Barton: There is a driveway th=
at
goes along the property line.
=
; Mr.
Rinaldi: No, from the bank. Is there a driveway from the bank?=
WATERTOWN
ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS
PUBLIC H=
EARING
APPLICAT=
ION
#795 – GRIFFIN SCHOOL, =
LLC
APRIL 13=
, 2005
Page 6
=
; Ms.
Barton: Well what was in my me=
mo is
that on this plan, that has not yet been approved for a site plan by the
Planning and Zoning Commission, there is a portion of acreage which is inte=
nded
to be conveyed to the property owned by the Litchfield Bancorp. As I stated in my memo it hasnR=
17;t
been approved one way or the other, but what would happen is if that was
conveyed to the bank, then the bank would still need to get a variance and a
zone change in order to move the drive through. Their goal is they would like to m=
ove
the drive through further away from the intersection of Davis and Main. As I stated in my memo, the Planni=
ng and
Zoning Commission, as part of their special permit, approved 5 additional
parking spaces to be placed on site with 9 spaces across the street. That was part of special permit #2=
09,
but the variances requested, it was in an area adjacent to the where the
property would be conveyed to the bank, but the applicant has not submitted=
a
variance request for those additional 5 parking spaces that would be within=
25
feet of the street line of Davis Street.&n=
bsp;
That has not been submitted as a request for a variance.
=
; Mr.
Rinaldi: Not yet.
=
; Ms.
Barton: Not yet.
=
; Mr.
Rinaldi: But it will take off p=
art of
the South School parking lot?
=
; Ms.
Barton: Well the intention of =
the
applicant is once he gets all of his approvals, my understanding is he want=
s to
convey that property to the bank property which is owned by LOJAC, LLC.
=
; Mr.
Rinaldi: So we’re giving
parking across the street, because it won’t fit on site, we’re
giving part of the site to the bank eventually, right?
=
; Ms.
Barton: Well that’s some=
thing
that would have to be finally approved in the site plan by the Planning and
Zoning Commission. Nothing is
engraved in stone right now. =
Nothing
is set, that’s a proposal right now, that will be reviewed when it go=
es
to site plan approval by the Planning and Zoning Commission.
=
; Mr.
Rinaldi: I also think that perh=
aps
one solution was from the beginning was to reduce the number of units,
therefore the site will accommodate the developer’s needs, rather than
going across the street or whatever.
I think we’re giving away the ranch. My boss says at work, if you mix a=
pples
and oranges, if you mix the bank with the proposal, you get kumquats, so I
don’t see any good coming out of this, so again it’s something =
for
you to think about.
&=
nbsp; One
other thing I want to throw out, again being on the Council, there were oth=
er
bids on this property so I never (inaudible) considering this one. It’s not like this is the la=
st
resort.
WATERTOWN
ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS
PUBLIC H=
EARING
APPLICAT=
ION
#795 – GRIFFIN SCHOOL, =
LLC
APRIL 13=
, 2005
Page 7
&=
nbsp; One
final thought, maybe Mary has the answer, I don’t known. I understand that there is a tree =
on
that property, towards the street, that was planted in memory of a girl that
died. It’s near the
playscape.
=
; Ms.
Barton: Correct. Well there is one tree on the site=
plan
which has been proposed to be protected.&n=
bsp;
It’s a centennial tree which is adjacent to the side property
line.
=
; Mr.
Rinaldi: Is that the little one
there?
=
; Ms.
Barton: You know I’ve be=
en to
the site so many times, it’s between the property line of the bank and
the school side, it’s a centennial tree. That was the only tree cause I ask=
ed the
question (inaudible) is there any other, I guess it’s behind where the
playscape was, is there any other significant trees on site that had to be
protected, and that was the only one that was called out was the centennial
tree.
=
; Mr.
Rinaldi: I’d appreciate i=
t if
you would check on the other one too.
I’m not sure.
I’ve gotten comments from people relative to that tree, and I
don’t really know the answer to that.
=
; Ms.
Barton: I’ll find out.
=
; Mr.
Rinaldi: I’d hate to wait=
until
after the fact and then have a public uprising. Thank you very much.
=
; Robert
LeBlanc, 78 Highland Avenue, Watertown, CT=
06795
=
; Mr.
LeBlanc: I’m against this
project altogether. It seems =
like
every time they turn around they need some kind of a variance, they need so=
me
kind of parking places across the street, in what I’ll call the Little
League parking lot, and now they’re asking for 4 more variances. I think this whole thing is made on
variances. Secondly I’d=
like
to have more information on what somebody just mentioned about conveying a
portion of the property to LOJAC, LLC.&nbs=
p;
Who is LOJAC, LLC? Can=
I
find that out?
=
; Ms.
Barton: You can probably find =
out in
the land records. Or maybe Mr.
Yamin could tell you who LOJAC, LLC is.&nb=
sp;
I don’t know off the top of my head who it is.
WATERTOWN
ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS
PUBLIC H=
EARING
APPLICAT=
ION
#795 – GRIFFIN SCHOOL, =
LLC
APRIL 13=
, 2005
Page 8
=
; Mr.
LeBlanc: I would like to know w=
ho or
what that is. I think it̵=
7;s
kind of ridiculous that they’re talking about they need space across =
the
street, and now they’re going to give away some of the land. That seems like a no win siltation=
for
the Town. We had 1,400 signat=
ures
to turn that thing into a community center without any variances. All of a sudden they want all these
variances and I’m strictly against it and most of the people I talk to
are, and I thank you for listening.
=
; John
Deary, 53 Yale Street, Oakville, CT
-06779
=
; Mr.
Deary: I live directly behind
Griffin School. From what I c=
an see
based on the plan, you know I live immediately behind the school. What happened to the school is jus=
t a
shame, broken windows, I mean it’s just a real eyesore, so for somebo=
dy
to come in and develop this land I think is a great thing. Looking at some of the variances a=
nd the
plan, the blueprint that’s out there for us, you know in the back the=
re
on Yale Street where one of the variances is being requested, it’s qu=
ite
a slope to Yale Street, it’s got to be 20 feet, so to go into that a
little bit, I mean I can’t see how that’s going to bother Yale
Street at all. I don’t =
even
think you’ll be able to see it.
As far as the driveway around the building getting widened up,
it’s pavement now. I me=
an
it’s not like there’s lush grassy fields around the school. I mean it’s pavement now so
you’re just going to put a little less bark mulch off to the side so a
fire truck can get around, so be it.
As far as Jeffrey Place goes, that’s a tight corner anyway,
we’re not spilling out into the street, there’s a fence there t=
hat
separates the property from the road, I don’t see any problem with it=
, so
I’ve lived at 53 Yale Street for 30 years, so if somebody is going to
come in and develop the school into something that looks decent, it serves =
the
community, I’m all for it.
Thanks.
=
; Ms.
Bisson: Anyone else from the
public? Mr. Yamin?
=
; Atty.
Yamin: Although a lot of Mr.
Rinaldi’s comments are not really appropriate for what we’re
discussing tonight, I do feel obligated to address them because there is a =
lot
of factual inaccuracies in what he said.&n=
bsp;
From the onset the project was dictated that this had to be elderly
apartments. From the onset in=
the
contract we agreed, it was not subject to, there was nothing that was not in
the out in the open that would require not less than 40 elderly units. We are doing it. We’re still moving forward w=
ith
the project, even though we cannot put 40 elderly units in that building,
we’re only going to have 38 units, so the actual number of units has
shrunk and we’re still moving forward with the project. From the onset I was told that the=
re was
a centennial tree that needed to be protected, it’s clearly identifie=
d on
that map as the centennial tree. In
fact after staff meeting with Chuck Berger and Mary, we added construction
details to the drawings that identified the manner in which that tree was g=
oing
to be protected. I don’=
t know
about any other tree, I’ve never been told about any other tree.
PUBLIC H=
EARING
APPLICAT=
ION
#795 – GRIFFIN SCHOOL, =
LLC
APRIL 13=
, 2005
Page 9
&=
nbsp; The
parcel at issue, it’s not even fair to call it a parcel, it’s 1=
,800
square feet of property so it’s not as if there’s some major
portion for this land that’s being taken away. It’s in a corner, in an area=
that
does not require parking because from the beginning, from the very beginnin=
g we
met and made what I thought was a very advantageous proposal to the Town
whereby the Town would allow 9 guest parking spots to be identified as guest
parking spots a the little league field in return for, and this is what a l=
ot
of people seem to forget, in return for reclaiming the entire parking lot,
repaving the entire parking lot, striping the parking lot, adding a brand n=
ew
fence similar in design to the fences that were installed at Veteran’s
Park, and tearing up the sidewalk and putting in a brand new concrete sidew=
alk
with curbing to really improve that parking lot. Additionally the agreement require=
s the
owner of Griffin School to be responsible for all snow plowing and sanding =
of
that parking lot during the Winter, is required to post adequate insurance
certificates identifying the Town of Watertown as an additional insured, an=
d on
needs to be provided to the Town in advance of any work being performed at =
the
site, so the reason why the parking spaces were not added to the Davis Stre=
et
front (Tape #1, Side A ended – may have missed some) so we didn’=
;t
need the variance. These vari=
ances
have popped up after the fact, upon an analysis of what the Town of
&=
nbsp; Now
maybe this would be a great site for a community center, but I know this, a=
t the
end, when this project is completed, its fair market value is going to be in
excess of $2,000,000, that is going to go on the Grand List, and the varian=
ces
are variances that anyone who develops this piece are going to require beca=
use
of the need for emergency vehicles to get around the site, and the need to
create more on site parking. =
So I
think that’s why we’re here today and I apologize for having to
address these other issues, but I felt that they could not go unrebutted.
=
; Ms.
Bisson: What is the age limit =
on
your elderly apartments?
=
; Atty.
Yamin: 55 and older. And the reason why it took some ti=
me to
do this was because the Regulations do not allow for this type of a project=
in
this zone so we had to really start from the beginning, create a zone, crea=
te
regulations that would allow this project in an RG zone because the Zoning
Regulations that were done for age restricted housing required parcels of 3
acres or more, and this doesn’t have 3 acres, so this has not moved s=
lowly,
there’s been a lot of time, a lot of money spent on this project, and=
no
one, no developer in their right mind is going to invest, commit themselves
without knowing that they can do the project, that the entire deal is premi=
sed
upon, and the other thing is, there were other bids on the project, they we=
re
all lower than ours.
PUBLIC H=
EARING
APPLICAT=
ION
#795 –
APRIL 13=
, 2005
Page 10<= o:p>
&=
nbsp; The
Town was asking, I think $400,000 or $405,000 for the piece, that’s w=
hat
they asked, we offered $410,000, $5,000 more than the asking price, so I
don’t care if people don’t like this plan, and this deal goes
south, the next developer is going to be in there looking to protect his
investment, it’s just common sense and it’s good business. The Town doesn’t want to buy=
this
and have this project lay fallow and not used. That’s not going to benefit =
the
Town either. So for all those
reasons it’s a great project.
=
; Ms.
Bisson: Can you also the one
question of who LOJAC is?
=
; Atty.
Yamin: LOJAC is a limited liability compan=
y,
it’s the owner of that parcel.
I don’t know who the members are, but I believe John Lombard is
one of the members, but I can’t comment, I have no interest in that
company so I don’t know, but I’m sure it’s on record with=
the
Connecticut Secretary of the State, you can just go on the computer, but
that’s all I know.
&=
nbsp; And
I don’t even know if the bank is going to extend the drive through, t=
hat
was something that was discussed early on, we thought that was also somethi=
ng
that was going to be good for the Town because the curb cut as it presently
exists, the cars get caught right on the corner because if 3 cars are lined=
up
at the light, you can’t get out of that bank and into that lane,
that’s a problem. If yo=
u move
that curb cut farther down, or up Davis Street towards the library there wo=
uld
be room for cars to swing out of that parking lot and into the lane, but
that’s for another day.
I’m not involved in that and it must make some sense.
=
; Ms.
Bisson: (Inaudible) I thought I
would ask.
=
; Atty.
Yamin: I understand that.
=
; Ms.
Bisson: Any other comments fro=
m the
public?
&=
nbsp; Paul
Rinaldi, 53 Saunders Avenue, Oakville, CT&=
nbsp;
06779
=
; Mr.
Rinaldi: When I was up here I t=
hought
I made it very clear that what I offered you people was my opinion, stop ri=
ght
there. I also said it’s=
your
decision to decide what’s right and wrong here. I’m not making that decision=
for
you. I’m not even going=
to
suggest what direction that decision should go in. So as far as inaccurate informatio=
n,
those are my opinions. I was =
on the
Council when they said the façade of that school wasn’t to be
changed. The people who bough=
t that
building knew full well what the condition was at that time.
PUBLIC H=
EARING
APPLICAT=
ION
#795 –
APRIL 13=
, 2005
Page 11<= o:p>
&=
nbsp; I
also said I believe there’s a tree on that property for a girl that
died. I’m not even sure=
, so
that’s not misinformation, I said the first time I’m not sure, I
suggest that you check on it though, because guaranteed I’ve been aro=
und
for a long time, on the Council and boards, and I know, no one is going to =
say
anything until after the fact and then you’re going to hear about it,=
so
maybe if necessary, (inaudible) just check into it and see what the story
is. Thank you.
&=
nbsp; John
Deary,
=
; Mr.
Deary: For the last piece of
business where the person was moving the house and putting up a second stor=
y,
he made a good point that the variance on the property is actually going to=
be
less because it’s moving back.
I’m just curious, in this plan, like I said earlier, there is a
driveway that wraps all the way around the school now. Are there zoning variances on this
already?
=
; Ms.
Bisson: No, the building was
constructed in 1909 and then there was an addition put on in 1926, so Zoning
came in effect April 5, 1955 so this building predated Zoning. It doesn’t apply as long as
it’s used as the intentional use was as a school was the original use,
but once you change the use then you have to comply with the current
regulations. I agree. The existing site is pretty much p=
aved,
but now they’re coming in, cause actually in the front, what the
applicant has proposed is to put some greenery and some plantings, actually=
on
the Yale side there will be some buffering to try as much as possible to ke=
ep
the existing tree line, there will be some grass along the front cause right
now if you’re familiar with the school site, there’s pavement r=
ight
up to the sidewalk. And that =
will
be changed to grass with some plantings.
=
; Mr.
Deary: So I guess that’s
just, the crux of my question is . . . . . it looks like it’s going to
create more greenery and more buffer than currently exists because all of t=
hat
was grandfathered in . . . . .
=
; Ms.
Barton: In some respects it wi=
ll,
but it will create some non-conformance, which the goal and intent of Zonin=
g is
not to create non-conformance, but it’s up to the Board to decide if =
they
feel the hardship is valid and if this is compliance with the Plan of
Development, is it in character with the neighbors, in harmony, those kinds=
of
things, all those items when they look at it (inaudible) variance.
=
; Mr.
Deary: Okay, so I was just cu=
rious
how it compared to what exists there.
Thank you.
PUBLIC H=
EARING
APPLICAT=
ION
#795 –
APRIL 13=
, 2005
Page 12<= o:p>
=
; Atty.
Yamin: I would just like to a=
dd one
other important issue that the site presently drains, all of the site drains
into one catch basin located on Davis Street. The new parking lot is adding catch
basins and improving drainage off the roof, so the storm water runoff would=
be
less, not only because we’re adding more greenery where the soil would
absorb some of the water, but we’re also improving all of the undergr=
ound
drainage and the storm water drainage off the roof, so all told it’s a
much, much better looking project than is there now, and the functionality =
of
the drainage will be much better.
We also have trees that are identified, not just grass, but different
sorts of trees, there’s a courtyard that’s going to be construc=
ted
in the middle and there’s a detailed landscape plan in there that you=
can
see, brick pavers, adding steps, it will be a wonderful looking project if =
we
can move forward and start doing it.
=
; Ms.
Barton: It’s your choice=
if
you want to Close the Public Hearing or if you w=
ant to
Continue it. I don’t kn=
ow if
you want a site visit; it’s your call. We’re meeting again on the 2=
7th
so that’s only 2 weeks away, so I’m not sure what you want to d=
o.
=
; MOTION: (Mr.
Griffith, sec. No One) to Close the Public Hearing for Application #795 of
Griffin School, LLC request for 4 variances from the Zoning Regulations of =
the
Town of Watertown to permit the construction of access driveways and parking
spaces on former Griffin School property located at 26 Davis Street, Oakvil=
le,
CT.
&= nbsp; Discussion: None<= o:p>
&=
nbsp; MOTION
FAILED – NO SECOND
&=
nbsp; Mr.
Mitchell: I’d like =
to see
it.
&=
nbsp; Ms.
Barton: You don’t w=
ant to
close it, you want to keep it open and go look at it.
&=
nbsp; Mr.
Griffith Withdrew His Motion.
=
; Ms.
Barton: Do you want to go look at it?
&=
nbsp; Ms.
Bisson: Roger wants to lo=
ok at
it. Do you want to look at it,
Chris?
&=
nbsp; Mr.
Lafferty: Sure, you’=
;ll
get a better understanding.
PUBLIC H=
EARING
APPLICAT=
ION
#795 –
APRIL 13=
, 2005
Page 13<= o:p>
&=
nbsp; Mr.
Rafey: Do you want us to =
get
the Minutes of the Town Council meeting that Mr. Rinaldi mentioned? And also the tree that was mention=
ed?
&=
nbsp; Ms.
Bisson: Yes.
=
; Ms.
Barton: So you can Recess the meeting and
schedule a field trip. You are
meeting on the 27th, so you can do the field trip before that or=
on
that evening. The applicant is
anxious for a decision one way or the other because he has to go back to the
Planning and Zoning Commission for site plan approval and I believe his
agreement with the Town expires on May 4th, and that’s the
next date for the Planning and Zoning Commission meeting. When do you want to schedule your =
field
trip?
&=
nbsp; Mr.
Griffith: The same day.
&=
nbsp; MOTION: (Mr.
Mitchell, sec. Mr. Griffith) to Recess the Public Hearing until April 27, 2=
005
and Schedule a Field Walk for App. #795 of Griffin School, LLC request for 4
variances from the Zoning Regulations of the Town of Watertown to permit the
construction of access driveways and parking spaces on former Griffin School
property located at 26 Davis Street, Oakville, CT.
Public
Hearing Recessed at 8:15 p.m.
Respect=
fully
submitted,
Enrico
Sarandrea, Chairman
Zoning =
Board
of Appeals
&nbs=
p; _________________=
_________________
&nbs=
p; Lynn
M. LaForme, Minutes Secretary