beagenda

MINUTES

&nb= sp;

WATERTOWN ZON= ING BOARD OF APPEALS

PUBLIC HEARING

&nb= sp;

WEDNESDA= Y, OCTOBER 25, 2006 - 7:30 P.M.

WATERTOW= N HIGH SCHOOL TECHNOLOGY CENTER

&nb= sp;

APPLICATION #839 - ALFRED AND ZHUL= JETA XHUTI

&nb= sp;

&nb= sp;

PRESENT:        &= nbsp;           &nbs= p;            &= nbsp;       Bruno DiSisto

            =             &nb= sp;            =             &nb= sp;          John Griffith, Vice Ch= airman

            =             &nb= sp;            =             &nb= sp;          Roger Mitchell

        &= nbsp;           &nbs= p;            &= nbsp;           &nbs= p;            &= nbsp; Phil Roger, Acting Secretary

  &nbs= p;            &= nbsp;           &nbs= p;            &= nbsp;       Enrico Sarandrea, Chai= rman

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

ALTERNATES PRESENT:<= span style=3D'mso-tab-count:2'>        &= nbsp;     Gary Swingle

ALTERNATES ABSENT:            &= nbsp;   None

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

&nb= sp;

1.         = Call Meeting To Order

            Mr. Sarandrea, Chairman, Called the Public Hearing to Order at 7:40 p.m.

2.     &nb= sp;   Roll Call

            Mr. Roger, Acting Secretary, executed the Roll Call.

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

1.      =             The applicant or his representative will make his formal presentati= on to the Board stating his specific hardship and precisely why this merits a variance from the Zoning Regulations of the Town of = Watertown.

2.      =             All comments, discussions, and observations shall be made through t= he Chair after proper recognition by the Chairman. This is necessary to ensure that o= nly one person at a time speaks on any issue, thus making it easier for everyon= e to understand, and for clearer legal transcription.

WATERTOWN ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS

PUBLIC H= EARING

APPLICAT= ION #839 - ALFRED AND ZHULJETA XHUTI

OCTOBER = 25, 2006

Page 2

&nb= sp;

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 as= ked to spell his or her name for the record.

4.      =             Following the presentation of the application, the Zoning Board of Appeals will ask specific questions of the applicant.

5.      =             After the Board has asked its questions of the applicant, I shall t= hen allow members of the public who wishes to speak either in favor of this app= lication or against it to address the Board.

6.      =             I shall then allow the applicant to respond to the comments of the members of the general public.

7.      =             I shall then allow any members of the general public who wish to present any additional information or clarifying discussion to do so.<= /o:p>

8.      =             I shall then provide an opportunity for the applicant to respond to these additional remarks if he or his representative so wishes.<= /span>

9.      =             The Zoning Board of Appeals has thirty-five (35) days from the date= the Public Hearing commences to complete the Public Hearing. The Board may ask the applicant fo= r a thirty-five (35) day extension of the Public Hearing period if the Commissi= on requires any additional information or wishes to schedule a site walk to observe the situation for themselves.=

10.      =         The Zoning Board of Appeals 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.<= /o:p>

11.       You may stay for the Regular 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.

            Mr. Roger, Acting Secretary, read aloud the Legal Notice for the record as foll= ows:

"Legal Notice

            The Zoning Board of Appeals of the Town of Watertown will hold a Public Hearing at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, October 25, 2006 at the Watertown High School Technology Center, 324 French Street, Watertow= n, CT to hear and act upon t= he following application:

WATERTOWN ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS

PUBLIC H= EARING

APPLICAT= ION #839 - ALFRED AND ZHULJETA XHUTI

OCTOBER = 25, 2006

Page 3

            Application #839 of Alfred Xhuti of 35 Wheeler Farm Road, Watertown, CT request for two variances of 10 feet each to a side and rear yard property line setback to permit the construction of an in ground pool to be located 10 feet from side and rear yard property lines; and a variance of 7 feet to a rear yard prope= rty line setback to permit an existing deck located 43 feet from a rear yard property line to remain on site at 35 Wheeler Farm Road, Watertown, CT in an R-70 Residential Zoning District.

            Sections 22.5.4.b and 22.5.4.c of the Watertown Zoning Regulations requires minimum = 20 feet side and rear yard property line setback for an accessory structure and Section 22.5.3.b of the Zoning Regulations requires 50 feet rear yard prope= rty line setback for a principal building in an R-70 Residential Zoning Distric= t.

            At this Hearing interested 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, CT.

            Dated at Waterto= wn, CT this 12th day of October, 2006.

            Dated at Waterto= wn, CT this 19th day of October, 2006.

            Rick Sarandrea, Chairman

            Zoning Board of Appeals"

3.         Hearing of Cases=

        &= nbsp;   A.        Application #839 of Alfred and Zhuljeta Xhuti request for three variances of the Watert= own Zoning Regulations to permit the construction of an in ground pool and an existing deck to remain on site at = 35 Wheeler Farm Road, Watertown, CT.

&nb= sp;

        &= nbsp;   Recess or Adjourn, the Public Hearing must be Closed by= November 29, 2006 unless applicant grants an extension of time.

Mr. Sarandrea: = You want to build a swimming pool a= nd you want to keep your deck up?

<= span style=3D'font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt'>Alfred Xhuti, 35 Wheeler Farm Road, Watertown, CT 06795=

Mr. Xhuti: Yes.

&nb= sp;

Mr. Griffith: Is it a deck, or a pat= io?

Mr. Zhuti: I have a picture. It's a patio with interlock blocks= and I don't know . . . .

WATERTOWN ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS

PUBLIC H= EARING

APPLICAT= ION #839 - ALFRED AND ZHULJETA XHUTI

OCTOBER = 25, 2006

Page 4

&nb= sp;

Mr. Sarandrea: Says it right in there, done without the permit. I me= an it was built by permit but . . . . .

Mr. Zhuti: It was supposed to be a wood deck but I made it = an interlocking block patio. It's 6 feet farther than it is supposed to be.

&nb= sp;

Mr. Sarandrea: You didn't take out a permit for this?

Mr. Zhuti: We got the permit for = the first (inaudible) and we built the patio later and even I don't know so I d= id that.

Mr. Roger: There's other letters = in the packet.

Mr. Griffith: And you want to add the pool onto this?

Mr. Zhuti: No, the pool is going to be (inaudible), it's go= ing to be 25 feet (inaudible) and 25 feet from the back.

&nb= sp;

Mr. Roger: (Inaudible?)

Mr. Zhuti: No, it's not over there (inaudible).

Mr. Rafey: I made a copy of the plot plan for your packet a= nd I think that you have just one page, the second page is missing. Something happened. I have been there many times. There is another drawing in the pa= cket with the approval and that gives you an idea. This patio was built and because t= he height of the patio was over 8 inches, (inaudible) this other deck, if it w= as only 8 inches from the ground it's a patio and they don't need a zoning per= mit, it's only 43 feet from the rear property line and the setback requirement f= or this zone, which is an R-70 zone is 50 feet. They are asking for a variance of = 7 feet in order to keep this patio where it is.&n= bsp; The two other variances they're asking for is for a future swimming pool, which will be 10 feet from the side property line and 10 feet from the rear property line and about 15 feet from the house. The Zoning Regulations require 20 = feet side yard property line and 20 feet rear yard property line for an accessory structure on this site. They'= re asking for 2 variances of 10 feet from the side and rear property line for = the swimming pool.

&nb= sp;

Mr. Sarandrea: There's no other place= to put this pool? How much land = do you have there?

Mr. Zhuti: We have land, but the problem is (inaudible) and the side is the well and the driveway and the on= ly spot is in that corner over there.

WATERTOWN ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS

PUBLIC H= EARING

APPLICAT= ION #839 - ALFRED AND ZHULJETA XHUTI

OCTOBER = 25, 2006

Page 5

Mr. DiSisto: How big is your pool?

Mr. Xhuti:<= span style=3D'font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-weight:bo= ld'> 40 x 20.

Mr. DiSisto: Why don’t you put a smaller = pool?

Mr. Zhuti:<= span style=3D'font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-weight:bo= ld'> We like it bigger.

Mr. Rafey:<= span style=3D'font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-weight:bo= ld'> They have over 73,000 square feet = of land, but when they built this house, the house was close to the back and i= t's very close to the setback line. In the front of this lot there are some wetlands and the septic area is in the front, that's why they pushed the house to the back. Any reasonable deck size in the bac= k may require a variance. But the pool is proposed to be in this corner here, 10 feet from each line.

Mr. Sarandrea:<= /b> (Inaudible) the right hand corner?=

Mr. Rafey:<= span style=3D'font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-weight:bo= ld'> On this side they have the well and= the driveway here. The Torrington= Area Health District did approve this location for the pool.

Mr. Griffith: On this drawing the po= ol is in this direct6ion; can you turn the pool this way?

Mr. Zhuti:<= span style=3D'font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-weight:bo= ld'> The patio.

Mr. Rafey: The drawing doesn't sh= ow the patio. Something happened= to the second page.

Mr. Griffith: Why couldn't they put = it the long way?

Mr. Rafey:<= span style=3D'font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-weight:bo= ld'> Can you put it the other way?=

Mr. Xhuti:<= span style=3D'font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-weight:bo= ld'> The problem is I have some trees o= ver there, if I put it that way, I only have 4 or 5 feet, so I like those trees, they are Pine trees. They are= over 25 feet high.

Mr. Rafey:<= span style=3D'font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-weight:bo= ld'> If you want to read the letters fr= om the neighbors.

Mr. Sarandrea:<= /b> Yes, I just want to see if anyone = has anything else to say.

WATERTOWN ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS

PUBLIC H= EARING

APPLICAT= ION #839 - ALFRED AND ZHULJETA XHUTI

OCTOBER = 25, 2006

Page 6

<= span style=3D'font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt'>Zhuljeta Xhuti, 35 Wheeler Farm Road, Watertown, CT 06795=

Ms. Xhuti: (Inaudible.)

Mr. Griffith: <= /b> You have an above ground pool now?<= o:p>

Ms. Zhuti:<= span style=3D'font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-weight:bo= ld'> No. (Inaudible.)

Mr. Roger, Acting Secretary, read aloud the following letters for the record:

"From Robert Charboneau

400 Hollow Road

Watertown, CT&nbs= p; 06795

860-945-6025

Alfred and Zhuljeta Zhuti are back neighbors and they live at 35 Wheeler Farm Road, Watertown. We give our permission for them to= put their pool 10 feet away from my property.&= nbsp; We have no problem with this matter."

"From Christopher C. Fisher

1100 Guernseytown Road

Watertown, CT&nbs= p; 06795

Alfred and Zhuljeta Zhuti are my back neighbors and they live at 35 Wheeler Farm Road, Water= town. I give permission for them to put = their pool 10 feet away from my property. I have no problem with this matter.

Chris C. Fisher"

Mr. Rafey: = I want to show you where those peop= le live. One lives on the south = side of this property on the side and the other neighbor lives to the back of the property. The other letter I = gave you before, they live on this corner here, only the corner of their property touches the corner of Judi's property.

"From John Capanara

I have lived at 1009 Guernse= ytown Road for the past 20 years. My wife and I moved to Watertown after retirement and we enjoy= the town, its surroundings, all it has to offer. We have established fine friendshi= ps with all of our neighbors. Mr. Zhuti and a masonry contractor has claimed ignor= ance to the zoning regulations as the reason for his deck being too close to the property lines. I'm not oppos= ed to the 7 foot variance he is applying for what is done is done.

WATERTOWN ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS

PUBLIC H= EARING

APPLICAT= ION #839 - ALFRED AND ZHULJETA XHUTI

OCTOBER = 25, 2006

Page 7

However in response to the variance, 25.5.4.b and c concerning an in ground pool., to this I am strongly opposed. My property is situated to the wes= t of Mr. Zhuti and considerably higher grade.&n= bsp; This past Summer Mr. Zhuti had a portable pool on the deck an the music and the noise associated with this actual= ly forced me to close windows. Enjoying dinner or reading a book on our deck has become a nightmare= . I understand I need to find my own solution to this, be it shrubs or fencing, but to allow an in ground pool w= hich would be a minimum of 50 feet closer to my property than his existing deck = is, I feel, entirely out of the question. Mr. Zhuti uses his back yard as a storage facility for his business,= with paving materials, dump and pickup trucks in plain view. He seems oblivious to the fact tha= t he has neighbors and he is in a residential zone. Many mornings I've awoken to loadin= g or unloading of his trucks. Up t= o this point I have looked the other way. My other concern is my Maple Tree is very close to the property line; what would happen to the rooting system during excavation? It would more than likely spell do= om to these trees. To grant a varia= nce for this pool is totally unacceptable.&nbs= p; Let Mr. Zhuti find a better situated location. Why should I be subject to his pool parties day and night? This w= ould have a profound effect on my privacy, quality of life, and property values.= I'm sure you will take all of my co= ncerns into consideration. Thank you= for your time.

John Capanara"

&n= bsp;

Mr. Sarandrea: = I think we should schedule a site w= alk for this application. We're g= oing to come and see your property, so stake out where the pool is going to go, = put some kind of stakes there so we know, and at the property lines too.

Mr. Zhuti: = I'm going to put some stakes (inaud= ible). John Capanara complained, I can leave 15 feet and . . . .

Mr. Sarandrea:<= /b> We'll be out there and you can sho= w us what's going on.

MOTION: &= nbsp;     (Mr. Griffith, sec. Mr. Mitchell) to Table and Schedule a Site Walk for Applicat= ion #839 of Alfred and Zhuljeta Xhuti request for three variances of the Watert= own Zoning Regulations to permit the construction of an in ground pool and an existing deck to remain on site at 35 Wheeler Farm Road, Watertown, CT.

Discussion:       None<= o:p>

MOTION PASSED UNANIMOU= SLY

WATERTOWN ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS

PUBLIC H= EARING

APPLICAT= ION #839 - ALFRED AND ZHULJETA XHUTI

OCTOBER = 25, 2006

Page 8

            Mr. Zhuti: We have another problem because th= e guy is supposed to come and dig the pool next week.

            Mr. Rafey: You have to wait.

            Mr. Zhuti: Yea, but it's not goin= g to be done.

            Mr. Roger: At this point you have to go throug= h this process before you can dig.

            Mr. Rafey: You have to wait. Take your pictures.

Public Hearing Recessed at 8:00 p.m.

Respect= fully submitted,

&n= bsp;

&n= bsp;

&n= bsp;

Enrico Sarandrea, Chairman

Zoning = Board of Appeals

  &nbs= p;         _________________= _________________

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