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ZBA Minutes 2.26.2020n City of Beverly Zoning Board of Appeals February 26, 2019 at 7:00 pm These minutes are not a verbatim transcript of the public hearing of the Board of Appeals. Reviews of the Board's Decision or outcome of the public hearing should include an examination of the Board's decision for that hearing. Meeting Minutes Members Present Joel Margolis, Chairperson, Victoria Caldwell, Pamela Gougian, David Battistelli, Jim Levasseur, Kevin Andrews, alt., Stefano Basso, alt. Members Absent Margaret O'Brien, alt. Others Present Leanna Harris, Zoning Board Administrative Assistant Location 191 Cabot Street, 3rd. Floor, Council Chamber Mr. Margolis began the meeting at 7:00 pm. and introduced the Board members present. I. MODIFICATION REQUESTS A. Janelle Schoch Original Request In a petition for a request for a Variance to have a home occupation in an unattached garage. The property is located at 6 King Terrace in the R10 zoning district. *Applicant seeking to modify a condition Janelle Schoch addressed the Board and requested a modification of the set hours stated as a condition of the Variance issued. Ms. Schoch requested to be permitted to work 20 hours each week beginning no earlier than 9am or later than 9pm just not on set days. Ms. Schoch stated she is a mom of four and would really benefit from having more flexibility as far as days she works. The original Variance issued approved work hours for Tuesdays and Thursdays from 4pm to 9pm and every Saturday from 9 -5pm. Ms. Caldwell read into record the letter submitted by Ms. Schoch requesting the minor modification. Ms. Caldwell stated she does not have an issue with this request but would like to see no Sundays specified in the Decision. Mr. Andrews stated this isn't going to be easy to track and asked the Board if they should put a 2 -year restriction on it as done previously. Ms. Schoch stated the trailer that was of concern has sold and it is no longer in her driveway. MOTION: Mr. Levasseur moved to close the public hearing. Second by Mr. Andrews. Votes in Favor 5 -0 (Margolis, Caldwell, Battistelli, Levasseur, Andrews). Motion carries. MOTION: Ms. Caldwell moved the Board to determine the request to change the hours of the in -home business from set hours on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays to similar part time hours is a Minor Modification. Second by Mr. Battistelli. Votes in Favor 5 -0 (Margolis, Caldwell, Battistelli, Levasseur, Andrews). Motion carries. MOTION: Ms. Caldwell moved to GRANT the Minor Modification of the in -home business at 6 King Terrace hours originally specified in the Variance issued to be 20 hours a week beginning no early than 9am and no later than 9pm Monday through Friday, Saturday no early than 9am, no later than 5pm and no Sunday hours. Second by Mr. Andrews. Votes in Favor 5 -0 (Margolis, Caldwell, Battistelli, Levasseur, Andrews) Motion carries. B. Alexander & Femino o /b /o Kevin and Catherine Roberts Original Request In a petition for a request for a Variance and Special Permit to add a 24'x24' addition attached to the rear of the existing house, which is nonconforming due to the existing house being 15.6' from and front lot line, where 20' is required, and a Variance to allow an addition to the existing garage which would be 1.6' from the side lot line, where 15' is required and extending the rear boundary of the existing garage along the same line which is 5' from the rear lot line, where 25' is required. This property is located at 21 Cross Street in the R10 zoning district. *Applicant seeking to modify to revise floor plans Tom Alexander, Esq. (Alexander & Femino) addressed the Board seeking a modification to the Special Permit received in April 2019. At that hearing a question came up as to whether there would be a kitchen in that addition. Originally it was just supposed to be a family room but they redesigned the plans to include a bathroom and kitchenette. Atty. Alexander stated the applicant had given him the revised plans and Atty. Alexander stated he takes full responsibility for filing the wrong plans. The exterior remains the same. It is not an in -law apartment or a second unit, it is a second living area. Charles Mammen, 23 Cross Street addressed the Board and stated he was at the April 2019 meeting and at the time he stated the drawings included a kitchen and the applicant denied it. However, now it is revealed that the plans, at that time, did in fact include a kitchenette all along but they hadn't been submitted to the Board. Mr. Mammen stated he is not opposing the kitchen/kitchenette per se, his concern is the removal of asbestos at the site. Mr. Mammen stated Page 2 of 7 r he lives next door and he has a disease called pulmonary fibrosis. He is requesting a licensed contractor work on this project and dispose of the materials correctly. There are nine steps required to remove asbestos and Mr. Mammen stated the first eight steps weren't not followed. Mr. Roberts stated that the building inspector has been by 5 or 6 times since the start of this project. Atty. Alexander stated there it was not their intent to fix the process with regards to not submitting the revised set of plans showing a kitchen. Atty. Alexander stated under the building code the applicant has a right to put a second kitchen in the house without ZBA approval provided that kitchen has access to the rest of the house. Mr. Battistelli stated he has an issue with the applicant using a contractor that may not know how to properly dispose of asbestos. Mr. Margolis stated that is not this Board's jurisdiction. Ms. Caldwell stated that a Special Permit or Variance has to follow all the other laws under State and local authorities. Mr. Battistelli would like to make a condition that the Building Inspector look into whether or not the contractor is authorized to remove the asbestos. MOTION: Mr. Levasseur moved to close the public hearing. Second by Mr. Andrews. Votes in Favor 5 -0 (Margolis, Caldwell, Battistelli, Levasseur, Basso) Motion carries. MOTION: Ms. Caldwell moved the Board to determine the change in the interior plans at 21 Cross Street is a Minor Modification as there is no change to the exterior plans previously approved by the Board. Second by Mr. Levasseur. Votes in Favor 5 -0 (Margolis, Caldwell, Battistelli, Levasseur, Basso) Motion carries. MOTION: Ms. Caldwell moved to GRANT the Minor Modification of the revised interior plans for the property at 21 Cross Street with the condition that any further work on the exterior involving removal asbestos be performed in accordance with all regulatory requirements, subject to the revised plans submitted. Second by Mr. Basso. Votes in Favor 5 -0 (Margolis, Caldwell, Battistelli, Levasseur, Basso) Motion carries. II. NEW PUBLIC HEARINGS A. Alexander & Femino o /b /o William Waters, Trustee In a petition for a request for a Special Permit to reduce the area of the professional office use as previously approved by the Zoning Board of Appeals from the first and second floor to just the Page 3 of 7 y first floor and to allow the second floor to be used as a separate residential unit. The property is located at 127 Dodge Street in the R10 zoning district. Tom Alexander, Esq. (Alexander & Femino) addressed the Board and stated Dr. William Waters has owned this property since 1975. The property itself is well kept and it has had a mixed use with both a dental practice and residential use during the entire 45 years. In 2002 they came - before this Board to request that Dr. Waters' dental practice be allowed to expand to the second floor and the second floor residential unit would move to the third floor. Today they are asking to convert the second floor to a residential unit. The result would be a dental practice unit on the first floor and a 2- bedroom residential unit on both the second and third floors. There are 9 parking spaces on the lot. Each residential unit is required to have two spaces each which would leave five spaces for the dental practice. Atty. Alexander stated it is a residential district and this request would not be detrimental to the neighborhood. Atty. Alexander submitted a petition signed by 22 neighbors in favor of this application. Atty. Alexander read into the record an email received in support of this request from Thaddeus Siemasko (126 Dodge Street). Mr. Basso recused himself. No one spoke in favor or against. Ms. Caldwell asked how many employees there are at the dental practice and Dr. Waters stated three. MOTION: Mr. Levasseur moved to close the public hearing. Second by Mr. Battistelli. Votes in Favor 5 -0 (Margolis, Caldwell, Gougian, Battistelli, Levasseur) Motion carries. MOTION: Ms. Caldwell moved to GRANT the Special Permit to change the interior use of the building at 127 Dodge Street such that the first floor will be the dental practice and the second and third floors will be 2- bedroom residential units, subject to the plans submitted. Second by Mr. Levasseur. Votes in Favor 5 -0 (Margolis, Caldwell, Gougian, Battistelli, Levasseur,) Motion carries. B. Alexander & Femino o /b /o Christine Silva In a petition for a request for a Special Permit to tear down a pre- existing nonconforming 22'x 26' garage and replace it with a smaller 22'x26' garage (31.6% reduction in size) that is less nonconforming than the existing garage, the proposed garage being 21' from the rear lot line where the existing garage is only 3.6' and 15' from the side lot line where the existing garage is 14.9', remove the existing front and rear dormers and replace them with a new second floor Page 4 of 7 a` I above the existing first floor footprint of the dwelling. The property is located at 90 Bridge Street in the R10 zoning district. Tom Alexander, Esq. (Alexander & Femino) addressed the Board and stated Ms. Silva recently purchased the property and is looking to make a home in Beverly. It is a preexisting nonconforming 2- family dwelling. The applicant is seeking to tear down the existing 22'x38'detached garage and replace it with a smaller attached garage. The land surveyor has the garage at 22'x36' and it should be 22'x28'. The architectural plans do show the correct size of the new garage. The new garage will be much farther from the rear abutter and it's a better use of the property. The applicant is seeking to remove the second floor and rebuild over the existing first floor and porch. It will be a significant improvement of the property. Atty. Alexander stated the garage is decreased by 30% and the existing second floor would be replaced with a larger second floor but no bigger than the existing first floor so it is below the 50% increase. Atty. Alexander stated it will remain a 2- family and it will not be substantially more detrimental to the existing structure, it will be an improvement to the property and the neighborhood. The property value will not be adversely affected or create undue traffic and there are adequate City �TQCfMNM Steven Miller, 5 Hillcrest Avenue stated the property is diagonally across the street from him and he has not seen any plans or photos submitted. Atty. Alexander provided him with a set of plans. Mr. Miller stated he has lived there for 32 years and this will be the first large change made in this R10 neighborhood. Mr. Miller stated when the original owner died, he toured the house and at that time there was no kitchen on the second floor so he doesn't understand why this is considered a 2- family. Mr. Miller stated he would like more information on the project. Atty. Alexander stated the Assessor's records have it listed as a 2- family for as far back as they can find. Saverio Fulciniti on behalf of the applicant stated he is happy to review the plans with Mr. Miller. The property was previously occupied by an older woman and at one point she had a pipe burst and the family was unable to fix it. Mr. Fulciniti had to do a complete mold remediation. The plans should add a great deal of value to the neighborhood. Mr. Margolis asked Atty. Alexander to clarify on the plan what is going over the garage and Atty. Alexander stated there will be a deck. Mr. Andrews stated it has been mentioned that this renovation will add value to the neighborhood, but aside from the house needing paint the existing house is far more attractive than what is being proposed. This existing house is more keeping with the neighborhood and Mr. Andrews stated he feels the proposed renovation will be a detriment to the neighborhood. Page 5 of 7 Ms. Gougian stated she agrees with Mr. Andrews that they are removing all style from the house. Atty. Alexander stated they are seeking a Special Permit to increase the size of the existing second floor not for the design. Atty. Alexander stated they would like the Board to proceed tonight with the understanding that the design may not be perfect in the eyes of some members but it will be a huge improvement of the property. The standard is that it is not substantially more detrimental to the neighborhood. Mr. Andrews stated he doesn't think you can discount `visual' in a determination as to what is detrimental to a neighborhood. Mr. Andrews stated he thinks what is there now is better than what is being proposed, visually. Mr. Fulciniti asked the Board for any suggestions that wouldn't affect the square footage. Mr. Andrews stated more dimension and detail would be better. Mr. Andrews stated he challenges their measurement of volume. Mr. Fulciniti applicant asked if spinning the roofline would help and Mr. Basso stated he doesn't think its enough, the volume is still there. Mr. Basso provided some suggestions to break up the roof line, add dormers and maybe add a bay window. Atty. Alexander stated they would like to continue to the March meeting and come back with revised plans. Mr. Levasseur suggested meeting with their neighbors and reviewing the plans with them. MOTION: Mr. Battistelli moved to continue the application to the March 25, 2020 meeting. Second by Ms. Caldwell. Votes in Favor 5 -0 (Margolis, Caldwell, Gougian, Battistelli, Levasseur) Motion carries. III. OTHER BUSINESS Approval of January 29, 2019 ZBA Minutes ( Levasseur) MOTION: Mr. Levasseur moved to approve the Minutes from the January 29, 2020 meeting. Second by Mr. Battistelli. All in favor. Motion carries. Page 6 of 7 Adiournment MOTION: Mr. Levasseur moved to adjourn the meeting at 8:35pm. Second by Ms. Gougian All in favor. Motion carries. Leanna Harris, Administrative Assistant Board of Appeals of the Zoning Ordinance Page 7 of 7