ZONING
COMMISSION
P.O. BOX 308
Monday, April 4,
2005
7:00 p.m. Town
Hall
I.
CALL TO ORDER
Chairman Peter
Klein called the regular meeting to order at 7:02pm. Members Calder, Chipouras, Klein, Wood,
and Alternate Members Conklin (seated for Martin for the minutes only) and
Normand (seated for Martin for the remainder of the meeting) were present and
constituted a quorum. Town Planner
Patrice Carson and ZEO James Taylor were also in
attendance.
Under III.b., 3rd line, the word “quality” should be “quantity”.
A motion was made by A.P. Calder, seconded by Lise Wood and unanimously voted to approve the Minutes of the March 21, 2005 meeting as amended.
III.
OLD
BUSINESS
a.
Other
There
was no other New Business.
IV.
NEW
BUSINESS
a.
Site Plan Application for Change of Use to Dance Studio, 12 South Road,
Stanley
Mr.
Stanley presented a statement of purpose, floor plan, and site plan to the
Commission. His wife would run the
studio with approximately 100 students, but only 4 to 15 students per class, one
class at a time. The hours will be
Monday thru Thursday 3:00 – 8:00pm and Saturdays 9:00am 1:00pm. A discussion ensued regarding the
parking at the site. It was
suggested to Mr. Stanley that he review changing the floor plan to enable use of
the back door to the unit as well as the front door so the parking in the rear
of the building could be utilized.
The Commission was concerned that parking may not be
sufficient.
A
motion was made by Lise Wood, seconded by A.P. Calder and unanimously voted to
accept Stanley’s Site Plan application for a change of use to Dance Studio and
refer it to the Planning Commission.
b.
Site Plan Application for Change of Use to Gift Shop, 635 Main Street,
Dahill
Mrs.
Carson reported that Mrs. Dahill was called out of town suddenly and could not
attend tonight’s meeting. The
Commission reviewed the statement of purpose, floor plan and site plan. The ZEO will review the signs to be sure
they are in compliance. It appears
that the gift shop will take up the front part of the first floor of the
building.
A
motion was made by Lise Wood, seconded by Peter Chipouras and unanimously voted
to accept Dahill’s Site Plan application for a change of use to Gift Shop and
refer it to the Planning Commission.
c.
Discussion: Mr. Steding’s
Enforcement Concerns
Mr.
Klein asked Mr. Steding what circumstances he felt were different from the times
before when he has spoken with the Commission. Mr. Steding wrote to the ZBA requesting
a ruling but had not received a reply.
Referring
to his July 19, 2004 letter from the ZEO, Mr. Steding wanted clarification from
the ZEO or Zoning Commission on whether there is a violation, or if it is in
fact a violation for someone to take water from a fire hydrant on the Grower’s
Direct property for distribution.
There
was discussion regarding the numerous letters written by Mr. Steding and Mr.
Taylor during 2003-04 regarding concerns of what was going on at the Grower
Direct property.
As
a result of the letters Mr. Taylor had a conversation with Mr. VanWingerden who
occasionally allows removal of water without commerce. The ZEO said that it was unclear whether
it was a violation and decided that no action was needed. Mr. Taylor explained that when a ZEO
tries to make a determination whether to enforce or not he looks at the impact
on the neighbors and tries to be as conscientious as he can. He stated that he also consulted with
the First Selectman on all his decisions in this matter to keep him
informed. Mr. Taylor also explained
the statutes and the appeal process and Mr. Steding did not appeal to the ZBA
with a complete application and fee within the required 30
days.
Mr.
Steding’s concern is that though the activity seems to be seasonal, the quantity
of tankers using the hydrants has increased. The tankers use to fill up on Stafford
Road and Woods Road which diverted the traffic a bit, but now all the tankers
are coming out of Grower Direct.
Mr.
Klein asked if it was the noise from the hydrant that was the problem. Mr. Steding’s response was that the
noise was not overly objectionable.
Mr.
Taylor said he wanted to make it clear that Mr. VanWingerden was the violator
since he was the property owner allowing it to happen, not Mr. Gavlak. There is a business relationship between
Mr. VanWingerden and Mr. Gavlak where they do things for each other and the ZEO
felt that there was not anything significant going on and still feels the
same. Mr. Steding said that the
driveway on Hampden Road was for Woods’ gravel bank operation and Growers
Direct, but has somehow now expanded to allowing water hauling. Mr. Steding thinks there is a
considerable amount of traffic and that the water operation from the greenhouse
was not part of the Supreme Court’s ruling. Mr. Klein felt that Mr. Gavlak was
approved to use that road and Mr. Taylor said it was litigated and the water use
was approved by the Court. Mr.
Taylor stated that if Mr. Gavlak is loading a tanker or impairing Mr. Steding’s
quality of life then he might take action.
However, Mr. Taylor does not feel that this in happening. The ZEO asked Mr. Steding to keep a
detailed log to submit for review.
In
conclusion the ZEO would take action if the Zoning Commission instructed him to
do so upon receipt of a detailed log.
d.
Other
There
was no other New Business.
V.
DISCUSSION: PLAN OF CONSERVATION &
DEVELOPMENT
The
Plan of Conservation & Development will now be a permanent item on the
Zoning agenda. Chairman Klein
reminded all Commissioners that the next joint meeting with the Planning
Commission will be on Wednesday, April 13 beginning at
7:00pm.
VI.
STAFF/COMMISSIONER
REPORTS
The
ZEO distributed copies of his report which the Commission reviewed. A motion was made by Lise Wood, seconded
by Peter Chipouras and unanimously voted to accept the ZEO’s
report.
VII. CORRESPONDENCE AND
BILLS
There
was no correspondence or bills.
VIII.
ADJOURNMENT
A motion was
made by Lise Wood, seconded by John Normand and unanimously voted to adjourn the
Zoning Commission meeting of April 4, 2005 at 8:03pm.
Respectfully
submitted,
A.P. Calder,
Secretary
MINUTES ARE NOT OFFICIAL UNTIL APPROVAL
AT A SUBSEQUENT MEETING.
Town of Somers Zoning
Enforcement Officer
For the Zoning Commission
Meeting of April 4, 2005
Covering the Weeks of 3/20/2005 thru 3/27/2005 Activities listed by
Address
Zoning Permits issued
-----5
Certificates of Occupancy issued----0
Enforcement
activity:
1.
South Rd., Lipton Gravel Pit. Poor condition of tracking pad allowing trucks to
track mud and gravel material onto route 83. Mr. Lipton has taken action to
eliminate this problem. Inspected
3/31/05. Additional corrective action must be taken to completely resolve
this matter.
2,
359 Mountain Road. Worthington
Pond, LLC. Section 214-87.D. (Sales & consumption of alcoholic beverages .Issued Cease and Desist
Order. Cease and Desist Order has been appealed to the ZBA with a hearing set
for Sept 14, 2004. 9/20/04, The ZBA hearing has been continued to October 19,
2004. The ZBA voted to uphold the C&D order. Mr. Roulier has appealed the
ZBA decision to the Superior Court. Case Pending.
3.
20 Haas Rd. R. Olden, Sections 214-101 (failure to obtain building permit) and
214-38 (housing farm animals less than 200 feet from the property lines as
required. Issued C & D Order. 11/23/04 Referred file to Town Atty. 2/28/05
Resolution pending. This may not be resolved until late
spring.
4.
112 Main St., F. Vono. Sections 214-101 (Failure to obtain Site Plan Approval
and 214-98A (Exceeding Lot Coverage with Pavement). Issued C & D Order.
2/04/05 Mr. Vono has met with Land Use Department. Resolution Pending. 2/28/05
No Change. 3/31/05 Land Use Department is working with Mr. Vono to resolve this
matter.
5.
60 Springfield Rd., J. Gosselin. Section 214-56.B. & C. (Signs to be removed
due to businesses being closed). Requested Compliance. 3/31/05 No Change, A
C&D Order may be necessary.
6.
169 Main St. Extra Mart. Section 214-58.2 (Temp Sign) Requested
Compliance.
7.
78 Michele Dr. J. Trask. Section 214-101 (Failure to obtain Zoning Permit) and
Section 214-98.A. (Failure to comply with front yard set-back requirement).
Requested Compliance.
8.
482 Pinney Rd. T. Hinkle. Section 214-101 (Failure to obtain Zoning Permit) and
Section 214-98.A. (Failure to comply with front yard set-back requirement).
Requested Compliance
NOTE:: Attached to the chairman’s
copy of this report are copies of the 5 signed zoning permits and 0
C.O.
Respectfully submitted:
James R.
Taylor
Zoning Enforcement
Officer