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Meeting Minutes of the Zoning Board of Appeals
July 24, 2008
Meeting convened at 7:40 pm in the Lower Level Conference Room at Town Offices. Present: John Kimball, Chair, Steve Daigle, Joel Freedman, Jeff Macklin and Win Quayle, and Dorothy Blakeley, ZBA Clerk.
New Matters:
Jane and Robert Solar, 40 Deerhaven Road, M/P 24 7 0, appeared with their counsel, Mark Lanza, Esq., 9 Damonmill Square, Concord, Mass. and Mr. HamelJohn Snelling, of Snelling and Hamel, Lincoln, Mass. Mr. Lanza is here to presented a petition of administrative appeal of the determination of the Zoning Enforcement Officer, the Building Inspector, Earl Midgely. Mr. Midgely wasis also in attendance. The Board and Mr. Lanza discussed the applicable sections of the zoning by-laws and whether or not this matter should be heard by the Planning Board. Mr. Lanza discussed some of the history of the property dating back many years; and stated that the Solars purchased this property in 1979. It is their goal to subdivide their property in order to build a house for their son next to their
existing home. However, current zoning does not provide for the design of the lot as submitted. The Board and Mr. Lanza discussed this at some length without finding a solution. The Board agreed with the interpretation of the Building Inspector. The Board recommended the applicants go back to the Planning Board as they are the controlling authority on subdivisions.
Action: Mr. Lanza respectfully requested that his clients be able to withdraw this application without prejudice and this motion was unanimously passed by the Board.
Continuances:
Jane and Richard Tatlock, 80 Winter Street, M/P 88 11 0, for renewal of their one year accessory apartment special permit. It was noted in our last meeting on June 19th, only one condition of the Special Permit granted in 2007 had not been met, a permanent underground drainage system. At that last meeting, Mr. Midgely volunteered to help Mr. and Mrs. Tatlock with this underground system and they accepted his offer. The Board, the applicants and Mr. Midgley discussed the new drainage system which includes utilizing a downhill grade to the back of the barn with perforated pipe which empties into 2 separate dry wells, a primary and secondary drywell. Mr. Midgely noted that diameter of the pipe is 4 inches and the depth of the drywell is 5 feet. A board member inquired whether
there was any problem with the recent rains and Mr. Tatlock replied that there was no problem. Another board member inquired if the pump was permanently attached and Mr. Tatlock responded that it was. The Board discussed the length of the renewal of this Special Permit to ensure that all was working properly and it was decided that another one year renewal would be prudent to ensure that all is working properly.
Action: Motion to renew this Special Permit for another one year term passed unanimously. Panel includes: John Kimball, Chair, Steve Daigle, Joel Freedman, Jeff Macklin and Win Quayle. Win Quayle is the Decision Writer.
Lincoln Fuels, 110 Concord Road, M/P 61 7 0, owners James Durkin and Scott Guenard are seeking approval to sell propane gas and are in attendance with their lawyer, Paul Conte of Framingham, Mass. At the last meeting on June 19th, the Board requested the applicants submit a plot plan. The applicants’ applicants counsel, Paul Conte, distributed the plot plan dated today from Reney, Moran & Tivnan of Worchester, Mass. Mr. Conte stated that his clients hired a propane distributor who thought the setback requirement from the street was 40 feet, not 50 feet as the zoning by-law requires. The board and the applicants and their counsel discussed the location of the propane tank which is anchored on concrete pads. It was noted by the applicant’s counsel that they
thought all was needed was the Fire Chief’s approval of the tank location and that they had received this and did not know at the time of the installation that they needed a special permit from the Zoning Board of Appeals. They relied on the good faith of the propane distributor to place the tank outside of any required setbacks, which was not done. The Board and the applicants discussed the issues raised by the propane tank such as whether this is a new use, an expanded use, whether or not this use may be more detrimental to the neighborhood and most importantly, safety. An abutter, Neil Feinberg, submitted a letter from his counsel, Patricia S. Nelson, Esq. dated 7/21/08, arguing that this proposed propane tank is a new use, distinctly different from the existing use of the premises, and that this is a safety issue for a residential neighborhood. Also discussed were concerns over soil conditions since the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP)
was involved in 2004 when the previous owners of the property entered into an Administrative Consent Order (ACO). Mr. Feinberg noted that the ACO is still binding with the present owners who are required to have a Licensed Site Professional (LSP) review and prepare a soil management plan which has not been done. A board member advised the applicants to get in touch with the DEP and hire an LSP and bring the site into compliance with their standards. The board requested the applicants to submit documents in advance of our next meeting regarding safety of propane in residential neighborhoods and submit this to the clerk.
Action: This matter is continued to our next meeting on August 14th, 2008.
Administrative:
· Completed decisions signed.
· Meeting minutes of June 19th approved.
· Set fall meeting date - September 25, 2008.
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