PLANNING
COMMISSION
P.O. BOX 308
Thursday,
September 13, 2007
7:00
p.m. Town Hall
Secretary Brad Pellissier reconvened the Public
Hearing at 7:00 p.m.
a.
CONTINUATION: SPECIAL USE PERMIT APPLICATION FOR SHADY
LAKE ARH PROJECT, 31 SOUTH ROAD, SHADY LAKE LLC
Representing the applicants, Nat Sreenath, Project
Engineer, David Payne, Landscape Architect, Jim Tripa, Housing Architect, Dan
Avery and Roger Frangmore were present for the public hearing.
Nat
Sreenath displayed the subdivision map of the project and pointed out the
emergency access. It will be a gravel
road with a knox box set-up and a chain to prevent parking in the area.
To
address the sidewalk lighting concerns, the revised lighting plan will provide
a minimum of 0.1 lumens around the walkways.
Two light poles were added to achieve this.
The
orifice pipe size has been increased from 6” to 8”.
The
applicant is still waiting for State approval but has received FEMA approval
regarding the flood boundaries on the map.
Town Planner, Patrice Carson, received a copy of the approval.
A
complete set of final drawings (39 pages) has been given to Steve Jacobs per
his request.
Dan
Avery said he received correspondence from the State asking about the integrity
of the dam. The property owners have
hired Kiran Engineering to do the study which is separate from the ARH
application. Ms. Carson pointed out
that the applicant’s are responsible for the dam.
Ms.
Carson stated that there needed to be a bond for the public improvements, i.e.,
the area on South Road and the emergency access way, and suggested that the
applicant confer with Mr. Strauss. A
minimum bond is $10,000.00.
Ms. Carson went over a list of Commission concerns
that were still open:
1.
The declaration has been presented and approved by the Town’s attorney as
corrected.
2.
A pre-construction meeting is required before any work begins.
3.
A 30-foot buffer must be flagged near the property edges before tree
clearing begins. The trail will also
need to be flagged before clearing and Town staff must be contacted for review
and approval.
4.
The units are restricted to one bedroom and this condition must be
recorded on each unit’s deed.
5.
The Town asks that the road construction and utilities be done up to the
binder course before the building permit for the 12th unit of the 32
units will be issued. All road
construction and utility work must be completed prior to issuance of the
Certificate of Occupancy on the last unit.
6.
Specifications for the emergency access sign need to be on the plans.
7.
The Fire Chief wants the access road to be designed for a 40-ton fire
apparatus.
8.
The Town needs a copy of the DOT permit for the entrance.
9.
Two pins must be set at the property corners and any pins that need to be
set outside of the swamp area must be set.
10.
There was a stone four-bay check dike that was added to page 10 and needs
to be added to page 6.
Brad
Pellisier opened the floor to Public comment.
Judy Maylott, 41 Kibbe Road, asked where the emergency
access road would be. Mr. Sreenath
showed her the location on the map in relation to her property.
There
were no other question or comments.
A
motion was made by Greg Genlot, seconded by the Joe Iadarola and unanimously
voted to close this portion of the public hearing at 7:17pm.
b.
SUBDIVISION APPLICATION
#403, 9 LOTS, 88 BATTLE STREET (PINE KNOB ESTATES), HORIZON VIEW ESTATES, LLC
Brad Pellissier called the
second public hearing to order at 7:18 p.m. and the legal notice was read.
Ms. Carson stated that the
applicant has duly notified all abutters by certified mail, return receipt,
which were presented.
David Palmberg of William
R. Palmberg & Son Land Surveyors and applicant Bob Gingras of Horizon View
Estates were present at the hearing.
Mr. Palmberg spoke on
behalf of Horizon View Estates. The
site is just over eleven acres across the street from the Town cemetery and
south of the Gillette’s Crossing subdivision.
Development of 8 lots is
proposed on the main parcel. In conjunction
with this application a reconfiguration plan has been submitted for Lot 9 which
includes part of Lot #8 of Gillette’s Crossing which would be used to create
Lot 9 of Horizon View Estates on Battle Street.
There will be a total of 9
single-family homes. They will be
serviced with public water and private septic.
The parcel is located in the A-1 zone and the lots, as proposed, meet or
exceed the zoning requirements. There
are no wetlands on-site.
Development of the
subdivision would include construction of about 980 feet of 24 foot wide
roadway, which would connect Bailey Lane with Battle Street. This would be about 100 feet northeast of
the cemetery access drive. Mr. Palmberg
has discussed the roadway width with Mr. Strauss, Ms. Carson and Wetland and
Erosion Control Officer, David Askew.
Town regulations require a 28-foot minimum width, however the current
roadway to which this would connect is 24 feet. Mr. Strauss would like a uniform pavement line to be maintained.
Ms. Carson said that in
prior discussions a 24 foot roadway has been deemed acceptable if no parking
signs are placed on one side of the street to accommodate the Fire
Department. She also pointed out that
environmentally and for snow plowing a 24 foot road is preferable.
The applicant proposes to
widen the pavement on the northeast side of Battle Street to 24 feet. A storm drainage system within the roadway
is proposed with a retention pond at the corner of the new roadway and Battle
Street. Two catch basins and stubs for future
catch basins will be installed.
Drainage lines along the road will tie into the new system.
The pond will discharge
into an existing Town discharge point.
Mr. Palmberg stated that Mr. Strauss has concerns regarding potential
capacity issues of the pond. The
applicant will provide information addressing this concern to the Town.
Mr. Strauss had asked for
property lines to be radial to the roadway and this has been accommodated in
the plan. However, the applicant
requests that this requirement be waived on a couple of lots. This would allow for a clearer boundary line
for the residents and also to expand the size of the discharge pond if
needed. Ms. Carson stated that she and
Mr. Strauss had no problem with this request.
The applicant is also requesting
a waiver of the plan scale from the required 1”=40’ scale to 1”=50’ scale,
which allows the whole plan to be viewed on one sheet.
The applicant requested a
fee in lieu of open-space. The
appraisal came in at $222,500.00, 10% equaling $22,250.00, divided by 9 would
be $2,472.73 per lot.
Ms. Carson stated that Mr. Palmberg outlined most of the remaining concerns that Mr. Strauss had. There are a few housekeeping items still needed i.e. area maps and signature blocks. Main issues still pending are the drainage calculations that must be reviewed by Mr. Strauss and the construction bond.
The concerns that Steve Jacobs listed in his letter
of August 9, 2007 have been addressed.
The road name has been approved by the Fire Chief and the Assessor.
Ms. Carson read a letter dated September 9th,
2007 from property abutter Fred M. Meyer of 681 Main Street who could not be in
attendance. He expressed a concern
regarding the grading plan proposed for the retention pond at his north
boundary. The area is currently heavily
wooded and Mr. Meyer desires that it remain so as a buffer between his property
and the subdivision. Ms. Carson pointed
out that the letter came before the revisions to the drainage basin. Mr. Palmberg added that with the relocation
of the retention basin, very minimal grading is necessary in the area. Furthermore, due to the lack of grading
there is no need to disturb the tree buffer zone.
Brad Pellissier opened the floor for comments from
the public. There was no public
participation.
At 7:42pm, a motion was made by Greg Genlot,
seconded by Joe Iadarola and unanimously voted to continue the public hearing
for Horizon View Estates, LLC’s subdivision application #403 for 9 lots at 88
Battle Street (Pine Knob Estates) to Thursday, September 27th, 2007
in the Town Hall beginning at 7:00pm.
Secretary Brad Pellissier
called the meeting to order at 7:43 p.m.
Present were Members Brad Pellissier, Greg Genlot and Alternate Joe
Iadarola (seated for Cliff Bordeaux) constituting a quorum. Town Planner Patrice Carson was also
present.
a.
DISCUSSION /POSSIBLE
DECISION: SPECIAL USE PERMIT APPLICATION FOR SHADY LAKE ARH PROJECT, 31 SOUTH
ROAD, SHADY LAKE LLC
Ms. Carson said that of the conditions to be met, three had already been met, ten were standard conditions and the remaining six are housekeeping issues.
A motion was made by Joe Iadarola, seconded by Greg Genlot and unanimously
voted to approve Shady Lake, LLC’s Special Use Permit for a 32-unit Age Restricted
Housing project on South Road (CT State Route 83), in accordance with the plans
known as “Shady Lake Estates Active Adult Community, Prepared for Shady Lake
LLC, Showing Property at 31 South Road, Somers, Connecticut”, dated: August 2, 2006, August 3, 2007, 8/8/07, May
17, 2005, Aug. 2, 2007, July 12, 2006, 6/20/06, 9/1/06, 4/24/07, 9/10/06,
1/24/05, 5/1/07, Feb. 18, 2006, Revised:
through 9-11-07, 39 sheets, which is conditional on the following:
1. The presentation of a performance bond
in an amount acceptable to the Town Engineer and in a form acceptable to the
Town Attorney. The bond shall be
calculated with a 20% contingency for the following work:
a. Construction of the emergency access
in accordance with the plans from Lake Drive including the gate, knox box, and
gravel accessway; and
b. Monumentation of the site including
all iron pins and monuments.
Bond to be in place prior to the
commencement of construction of site improvements.
2. A
cash bond or passbook bond for erosion and sedimentation controls in the amount
of $5,000.00 shall be filed with the Planning Office prior to any work on site.
3. The property is subject to the terms
and conditions of the “Declaration of Shady Lake Estates An Age Restricted
Residential Condominium Community” and the Town’s Zoning Regulations Article
XXIII. All deeds transferring title to
the units shall reflect that the units are to be occupied in accordance with
the above.
4. Prior to any site work, a
pre-construction meeting with the developer, his site engineer and town staff
is required.
5. Prior to any tree cutting, the 30-foot
buffer strip shall be flagged around the site perimeter to keep any clearing
out of the buffer area.
6. Prior to tree cutting for the trail,
field markers will be placed where the trail will be and reviewed by Town
Staff.
7. Each unit shall have a deed restriction
limiting it to a maximum of one bedroom, filed in the Town Clerk’s office prior
to the issuance of a Certificate of Occupancy.
8. Prior to the issuance of any
Certificate of Occupancy, the developer will provide the town Planning
Department with a plan showing the as-built location of each unit including but
not limited to decks, patios, driveway, underground tanks.
9. Prior to the issuance of a building
permit for the 12th unit, all utilities and road construction work
up to the binder course of pavement shall be completed and certified by the
developer’s engineer that it has been constructed according to the plans and
specifications. Work includes
completion of the trail around the property, completion of the detention
basins, and all utilities including lighting and storm sewer, road base and
binder course pavement, sidewalks, and completion of the entryway landscaping.
10. Once the roadway and improvements are
100% complete or prior to the issuance of the Certificate of Occupancy for the
32nd unit, the developer shall submit Final As-Built Plans and
certification of the improvements in accordance with the approved plans and
specifications to the town.
11. Specifications for
the sign that will be attached to the locked chain at the Emergency Access
locations shall be added to the detail plan.
The sign size, color and labeling shall be specified. The sign shall be reflectorized so that it
can be easily seen and the position of the chain made more noticeable.
12. The Emergency Access Road
shall be designed and constructed to support the weight of a 40-T Fire
Apparatus with a knox box on a gate post to provide access for the Fire
Department.
13. The applicant shall
obtain a permit from the Department of Transportation for the road entrance at
South Road (CT State Route 83) and shall present a copy of the permit to the
Planning Office.
14. Two pins shall be added
to the plans to be set: corner of
Cournoyer & Rendell and corner of Town of Somers & LaRosa. Other pins along the northeastern corner of
the property may be required if the area is out of the wetland swamp.
15. A stone fore bay check
dike shall be added in the detention basin on Page 6 as was done on Page 10.
16. A note shall be added to the plans
stating that the applicant/owners of the property shall maintain, repair and
replace the 18” RCP pipe parallel to South Road.
17. All
appropriate seals and signatures of the design professionals for this plan
shall be on the plans.
The Planning Commission finds with
these conditions the plan meets the requirements of the Somers Zoning
Regulations for Age-Restricted Housing.
b.
DISCUSSION/POSSIBLE DECISION: SUBDIVISION APPLICATION #403, 8 LOTS, 88
BATTLE STREET (PINE KNOB ESTATES), HORIZON VIEW ESTATES, LLC
This item was deferred
since the public hearing was still open.
c.
OTHER: There was no other discussion.
a.
8-24 REFERRAL: SUBSTANTIAL IMPROVEMENT FOR ELDERLY HOUSING,
79 BATTLE STREET (MAP 05, BLOCK 63), TOWN OF SOMERS
Developer Harvey Edelstein
and Hank Torcellini of Gardner & Peterson Assoc., LLC were present for the
applicant. Hank Torcellini gave a
presentation about the renovation of the existing Battle Street elderly housing
units and construction of a new elderly housing facility.
The new facility will be
constructed first. This will enable the
residents of the existing units to move to the new location when their units
are renovated. The existing units will
be increased in size from about 400 square feet to about 730 square feet. The current septic systems will be used with
upgrading as necessary to meet DEP regulations. The site will use public water from the end of the existing
system across from the Post Office. The
wells on the site will be abandoned.
Currently residents are
driving across the grass to park near their units. The proposed plan will allow residents to park adjacent to their
units. The new building will be surrounded
closely by a parking area. Numerous
walking trails are planned to connect the site with the Land Trust and Senior
Center areas.
To handle the ground water
a series of perforated pipes will be used.
Roof leaders will be infiltrated into the ground. Water will run naturally off the pavement
into two large holes that have been dug.
Catch basins have been added near the road so the run-off water can be
piped to an existing weir area. The
sand and gravel at the site make drainage issues easy to handle.
The applicant has received
a preliminary letter of approval from the DEP but review is ongoing.
The lighting plan was
discussed. The fixtures will cast light
down and the design concept will carry from the renovated units to the new
facility.
The architects tried to
mirror the traditional New England style of the area in their design by
incorporating gabled roofs, double-hung windows and clapboard siding. The units will be completely handicapped
accessible.
The current electric
heating system will be replaced with propane gas. For the existing units the propane will be in two large
underground tanks, individually metered for each unit. Another central tank will serve the propane
needs of the new facility.
The current Community
Building will be expanded. It will
house a large laundry facility, office space, community room and kitchen as
well as the mailboxes, patio and barbeque.
There will be many
community spaces in the new facility, i.e., a wraparound porch, sunroom,
multi-purpose space, laundry room and tenant storage space. There will be one elevator to accommodate
the seventeen rooms on the upper floor.
The one-bedroom apartments will range from 680 to 925 square feet and
will also have individual hook-ups for their propane heat.
The perimeter tree buffer
will be kept intact as much as possible.
New shade trees will be planted as needed. A large variety of mostly native species will be planted around
the buildings and patios.
Mr. Torcellini referred to
a letter he received from Steve Jacobs dated August 23, 2007 and discussed how
each item of concern has been addressed.
Mr. Torcelini also
discussed each of the concerns that Merv Strauss asked about in his letter to
Ms. Carson on September 12, 2007. Mr.
Edelstein said they would bring Mr. Strauss a complete set of construction documents
containing all this information.
Mr. Edelstein said that
all financing is in place but money has not been received. They hope to begin construction in October
and to be completed in 27 months.
A motion was made by Greg Genlott, seconded by Joe
Iadarola and unanimously voted to accept the new construction on a portion of the town
property behind the Town Cemetery on Battle Street and the expansion and
renovation of elderly and disabled income-assisted housing known as “Woodcrest”
on Battle Street and recommend the same to the Board of Selectmen for their
approval and Town Meeting if required, in accordance with the recommendations
of the town staff and Section 8-24 of the Connecticut General Statutes. This recommendation is conditioned upon
conformance with the comments from the Town Engineer in his letter dated
September 12, 2007, and the comments from the Town Sanitarian in his letter
dated August 23, 2007. This project is
also subject to approval from the DEP for the septic system(s). For the purpose of complying with Section
8-24 of the Connecticut General Statutes, this resolution along with the
minutes of the Commission’s meeting as to this matter shall constitute the
Commission’s report for this proposal to be duly recorded and transmitted to
the Board of Selectmen of the Town of Somers.
approve.
b.
ZONING REFERRAL: SITE PLAN APPLICATION FOR METAL BUILDING FOR
INDUSTRIAL USE, 251 FIELD ROAD, SMYTH
Mr. Mocko presented the
plot plan and gave a site overview of the proposed 12,000 square foot
building. It will sit on a six-acre
parcel of land that fronts on Field Road in the industrial zone.
The building complies with
all setback and zoning requirements for the industrial zone. The septic system has been approved by Steve
Jacobs.
All roof leaders go to
infiltrators in either the parking or planting areas. Storm water from the paved parking lot will go to a grass swale
and to catch basins, one new, one existing.
A screen fence will be installed upon a mounded berm and extend past the
end of the building to screen the parking area as well.
The building will be
leased to Conval for manufacturing and storage. There will be six to eight employees.
The existing driveway is
gravel but the applicant intends to pave with pervious pavement in the
spring. This will result in 24%
coverage of the six-acre site.
Mr. Mocko discussed the
concerns of Mr. Strauss. He explained
how the State required 80% mandatory reduction in suspended solids from the
storm water was achieved.
A motion was made by Joe
Iadarola, seconded by Greg Genlot, and unanimously voted to recommend to the
Zoning Commission approval of Smyth’s Site Plan Application for a metal
building for industrial use at 251 Field Road, subject to satisfactorily
addressing Mr. Strauss’s outstanding questions.
c.
ZONING REFERRAL: SITE PLAN
APPLICATION FOR ANTIQUE BUSINESS, 39 SOUTH ROAD, RENDELL
Ms. Rendell had previously
run an antique store from the same location with Town approval for this use,
but had abandoned the use. She wants to
reopen the business and must therefore get another permit. The business will be open Friday to Sunday
and she will be the only employee. It
is a low impact commercial use in a commercial zone.
A motion was made by Greg
Genlot, seconded by Joe Iadarola and unanimously voted to recommend to the
Zoning Commission approval of Rendell’s Site Plan Application for an antique
business at 39 South Road as a commercial business in the commercial zone.
d.
Other
Ms. Carson notified the
members that an annual report must be filed.
She suggested that she would write the report and e-mail it to the
Commissioners for approval. The members
accepted this suggestion.
There was no discussion.
Ms. Carson requested up to
$40.00 to purchase her yearly calendar.
A motion was made by Joe Iadarola, seconded by Greg Genlot and
unanimously voted to approve payment for the calendar.
A motion was made by Joe
Iadarola, seconded by Greg Genlot and unanimously voted to approve the August
16, 2007 minutes as written.
A motion was made by Joe
Iadarola, seconded by Greg Genlot and unanimously voted to approve the July 19,
2007 minutes as written.
A motion was made by Joe
Iadarola, seconded by Greg Genlot and unanimously voted to approve the June 28,
2007 minutes as corrected.
VIII. ADJOURNMENT
A motion was made by Mr. Iadarola, seconded by Mr.
Genlott and unanimously voted to adjourn the September 13, 2007 Planning
Commission meeting at 9:25pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Jeanne Reed Bradley Pellissier
Recording Secretary Commission Secretary
MINUTES ARE
NOT OFFICIAL UNTIL APPROVAL AT A SUBSEQUENT MEETING.