beagenda

MINUTES

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WATERTOWN ZON= ING BOARD OF APPEALS

PUBLIC HEARING

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WEDNESDA= Y, SEPTEMBER 28, 2005 - 7:30 P.M.

WATERTOWN HIGH SCHOOL LIBRARY

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APPLICATION #806 – WEBSTER B= ANK

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PRESENT:            =             &nb= sp;            =     Mary Bisson, Acting Chairman & Secretary

  &nbs= p;            &= nbsp;           &nbs= p;            &= nbsp;                   Roger Mitchell

        &= nbsp;           &nbs= p;            &= nbsp;           &nbs= p;            &= nbsp; Phil Roger, Vice Chairman

      = ;            &n= bsp;            = ;            &n= bsp;            = ;    Enrico Sarandrea, Chai= rman

ABSENT:    &nbs= p;            &= nbsp;           &nbs= p;             = John Griffith

ALTERNATES PRESENT:            = Scott Stewart (arrived at 7:34 p.m.)

ALTERNATES ABSENT:            &= nbsp;   Chris Lafferty

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

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1.         = Call Meeting To Order

            Mr. Sarandrea, Chairman, Called the Public Hearing to Order at 7:30 p.m.

2.     &nb= sp;   Roll Call

            Ms. Bisson, Secretary, executed the Roll Call.

Mr. Sarandrea, Chairma= n, asked Mr. Stewart to sit in for Mr. Griffith, in his absence.

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

“Rules For Conduct of Public Hearing

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. All comments, discussions, 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 speaks on any issue, thus making it e= asier for everyone to understand for clear, legal transcription.

WATERTOWN ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS

PUBLIC H= EARING

APPLICAT= ION #806 – WEBSTER BANK

SEPTEMBE= R 28, 2005

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All persons addressing= the Board shall begin by first clearly stating their name and address for the record. If necessary, the per= son may be asked to spell his name for the record. Following the presentation of the application the Zoning Board of Appeals will ask specific questions of the applicant. After the Board has asked its questions of the applicant, the Chairman shall then allow any mem= bers of the public who wish to speak either for or against this application, to address the Board. The Chairm= an shall then allow the applicant to respond to the comments of the members of= the general public. The Chairman = shall then allow members of the general public who wish to discuss any additional information or clarifying discussions, to do so. The Chairman shall then provide an opportunity for the applicant to respond to these additional remarks if he = or his representative(s) so wish.

            The Zoning Board of Appeals has 35 days from the date the Public Hearing commen= ces to complete the Public Hearing. The Board may ask the applicant for a 35 day extension of the Public Hearing pe= riod if the Board requires any additional information or wishes to schedule a si= te walk to observe the situation for themselves. The Zoning Board of Appeals has 65= days from the date 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. You may stay for the Regular Meeti= ng if you wish or you may leave at the end of the Public Hearing and contact the Zoning Officer the following morning to determine the status of your application.”

3.         Hearing of Cases=

        &= nbsp;   A.        Application #806 of Webster Bank, 544 Straits Turnpike, Watertown, CT request for 3 variances of the Watertown Zoning Regulations concerning sign= s in a B-SC Shopping Center Business Zoning District.

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        &= nbsp;   Recess or Adjourn, the Public Hearing, must be Closed b= y November 2, 2005 unless applicant grants a time extension.

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 Wednesday, September 28, 2005 at= the Watertown High School Library, 324 French Street, Watertown, <= st1:State w:st=3D"on">CT to hear and act upon the following applications:

WATERTOWN ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS

PUBLIC H= EARING

APPLICAT= ION #806 – WEBSTER BANK

SEPTEMBE= R 28, 2005

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Application #806 of We= bster Bank, 544 Straits Turnpike, Wa= tertown, CT request for the followin= g 3 variances:

1.         = A variance of 86 square feet additional signage to replace two existing non-conforming signs 67 square feet each with two new 67 square foot wall signs.

2.         = A variance of Section 62.10.5 of the Watertown Zoning Regulations concerning replacement of existing non -conforming signs.

3.         = A variance of Section 62.7.6.c(3) of the Watertown= Zoning Regulations concerning wall signs on two sides of a building.

Section 62.7.6.c(3) of the Watertown Zoning Regulations permits maximum 48 square foot wall sig= n to be installed on one wall of a building in a B-SC Shopping Center Business 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.

Da= ted at Watertown, Connecticut, this 17th day of September, 2005.

Da= ted at Watertown, Connecticut, this 22nd day of September, 2005.

Mary Bisson, Secretary=

Zoning Board of Appeals”

        &= nbsp;   Hazel Wood Hopkins, Webster Bank

      = ;      Ms. Wood-Hopkins: As the notice reads, t= his bank at 544 Straits Turnpike currently has 2 wall signs, they are both 67 square feet each, they say Webster Bank. Webster Bank has undergone a logo change, a color change, that you may have noticed at some other branches in other towns, that the signs have been updated, a= nd for this particular address the bank is asking to update the 2 existing signs by removing them and replacing them with 2 signs of the same size in the same location. The variance request would be for a second wall sign where one is allowed and to exceed the maxi= mum 48 square foot wall sign allowance. Do you all have a color?

      = ;      Mr. Rafey: Yes. There is a letter in the packet fr= om Citizen's Bank. Is that a mis= take?

WATERTOWN ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS

PUBLIC H= EARING

APPLICAT= ION #806 – WEBSTER BANK

SEPTEMBE= R 28, 2005

Page 4

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      = ;      Ms. Wood Hopkins: Yes, I bet it is a mis= take, may I see it? Yes, we submitt= ed that. I have to apologize, we're working for Citizen's Bank as well.&= nbsp; My business is to pull sign permits for various sign users. Citizen's is another one of our customers, so I apologize for that. I may or may not have a letter from Webster Bank with me.

      = ;      Mr. Sarandrea: There is a letter in t= here from Webster.

      = ;      Ms. Wood Hopkins: So I'll have to ask yo= u to disregard the Citizen's letter and I do apologize.

      = ;      Mr. Sarandrea: Does anyone from the B= oard have any questions? Okay, wha= t is your hardship on this?

      = ;      Ms. Wood Hopkins: Well I would maintain = that the hardship is that the bank has these 2 active elevations, and they need a sign on each elevation. One i= s in the parking lot and one is along Straits Turnpike. In fact they're on Bunker Hill, which is their second elevation. To not be able to change these sig= ns would also be a financial hardship to the bank, they would have minimal identification with one small sign and not be able to be as competitive with other banks in the area.

      = ;      Mr. Sarandrea: Just for the record, in case you're going to sell any other = signs, financial is not a hardship. Monetary is not a hardship.

      = ;      Ms. Wood Hopkins: Then I would like to s= tate that it's practical hardship to function at this address with a small allow= able wall sign.

      = ;      Mr. Stewart: Presently you have 2 s= igns on both of those elevations at 67 square feet?

      = ;      Ms. Wood Hopkins: That's correct.

      = ;      Mr. Stewart: So you're really not changing that, you're just . . . . .

      = ;      Ms. Wood Hopkins: Correct, we're not ask= ing for anything that isn't already there.&nbs= p; The 2 new signs would be the same size as the existing and they woul= d be placed in the same location. = The 2 old signs would come down, the 2 new signs would= go up. As you can see from the photographs it's a logo change for Webster Bank and it is a letter style change. In fact the new sign,= even though it measures the same square footage, appears a little smaller becaus= e of the letter style, it takes up a little less mass= .

WATERTOWN ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS

PUBLIC H= EARING

APPLICAT= ION #806 – WEBSTER BANK

SEPTEMBE= R 28, 2005

Page 5

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      = ;      Mr. Roger: Moosa, the signage tha= t's on the building, it's non-conforming. This was put up before the existing sign regulations?

      = ;      Mr. Rafey: Probably. I checked with Mary today and she = said there was no variance given for this plaza in the past. The only variance that they got wa= s for parking spaces, not for signs.

      = ;      Mr. Mitchell: How long has that bank= been there?

      = ;      Ms. Wood Hopkins: I actually don't know = that, I'm sorry.

      = ;      Mr. Rafey: They are larger than w= hat is allowed, they are 67 square feet.

      = ;      Mr. Sarandrea: How many years has (inaudible)?

      = ;      Harold Epstein, General Partner, Pioneer Plaza=

      = ;      Mr. Epstein: 20 years.

      = ;      Mr. Sarandrea: Does anyone else have = any questions? Is there anyone fr= om the Public who wishes to speak either For or Against= this Application?

      = ;      MOTION:       (Mr. = Stewart, sec. Mr. Roger) to Close the Public Hearing for Application #806 of Webster Bank, 544 Straits Turnpike, Watertown, CT request for 3 variances of the Watertown Zoning Regulations concerning signs in a B-SC Shopping Center Business Zoning District.

        &= nbsp;   Discussion:       None<= o:p>

        &= nbsp;   MOTION PASSED UNANIMOUSLY

Public Hearing Closed at 7:42 p.m.

Respect= fully submitted,

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Enrico Sarandrea, Chairman

Zoning = Board of Appeals

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  &nbs= p;         Lynn M. LaForme, Minutes Secretary