COVENTRY PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION MINUTES REGULAR MEETING MONDAY, AUGUST 27, 2018

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1 COVENTRY PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION MINUTES REGULAR MEETING MONDAY, AUGUST 27, 2018 CALL TO ORDER By: Jobbagy Time: 7:02 p.m. Place: Conference Room B ROLL CALL: PRESENT ABSENT REGULAR MEMBERS: Steven Hall, Secretary Bill Jobbagy, Chairperson Ed Marek Christine Pattee, Vice Chairperson Darby Pollansky ALTERNATE MEMBERS: Bob Burrington Carol Polsky Open STAFF: Eric Trott, Town Planner Burrington was seated for Hall. Steven Hall arrived at 7:10 and was seated, unseating Burrington. AUDIENCE OF CITIZENS: None PUBLIC HEARINGS: ZC Zone change application of Martha Hannon, to rezone a portion of land from Rural Development to General Residential 80, to construct a new home, property located at 560 Bread and Milk Street (Assessor s Map 4, Block 12, Lot 6) Rural Development Zone. Andrew Bushnell from Bushnell Associates was present to review the proposal. Martha Hannon and other members of her family were also present. Mr. Bushnell explained that the current parcel is about 43.5 acres at the corner of Bread and Milk Street, and North School Road. They are requesting a zone change because the first 500 feet on Bread and Milk Street is zoned Rural Development while the rest of the property is zoned General Residential 80. Mrs. Hannon would like to change a 1.9-acre portion from RD to GR80 in Minutes Page 1 of 6

2 order to split off 3.5 acres to construct a home for her daughter who will continue farming on the family property. The existing stonewalls will be used as property lines. Mr. Bushnell said the John Ianni, Soil Scientist, and Eastern Highland Health District have conducted soil testing on the property further back but due to wetlands and poor soil, that area is not suitable for building. The proposed plan is the best plan with the least amount of land being removed from the RD zone. 310 feet of the 500 feet will be left in RD zone. Pattee asked what the RD zone is and what is its designated use. Staff explained that prior to 2006, the zone was known as LI (Light Industrial) and with the Zoning Regulation update, it was renamed RD (Rural Development). This zone is designated for light commercial/manufacturing, not typically retail. Staff said as the Commission might recall, Mrs. Hannon came in for a preliminary discussion for this proposal and at that time Staff and the Commission had concerns about removing the entire parcel from the RD zone because it went against the Plan of Conservation and Development. This pared-down, carved out lot is a reasonable compromise that is still in line with the Plan of Conservation and Development. Pattee said that she had previously been less clear and wasn t supportive but now that she sees this compromise she thinks it makes a lot of sense. Ron Nadeau, abutter, owner of the Nadeau Industrial Park on Bread and Milk Street said he has no opposition to this application. His concern would be that he wouldn t want opposition if he were to put additional industrial uses on his industrial property because of this new home. Motion: The Coventry Planning and Zoning Commission approves zone change application #18-08ZC of Martha Hannon to rezone a portion of land from Rural Development to General Residential 80, to construct a new home, property located at 560 Bread and Milk Street (Assessor s Map 4, Block 12, Lot 6) Rural Development Zone. The Commission finds the proposed zone change is consistent with the Plan of Conservation and Development. Effective Date: The zone change shall become effective at the end of the appeal period for the subject application. Seconded: Pollansky Minutes Page 2 of 6

3 NEW BUSINESS: Motion: To add new items under new business. By: Pollansky Seconded: Pattee 1. Request of Philip DeSiato for a 90-day extension to file the mylars for the subdivision approval at 173 South Street Extension. Motion: The Coventry Planning and Zoning Commission approves the 90-day mylar filing extension request of Philip DeSiato for his South Street Extension Subdivision. By: Pollansky 2. Special Permit Modification Request of CIL for changes to Planned Development at Kenyon Falls, 28 Armstrong Road. Tom Galeota from CIL was present to explain the request for modification. He said that the proposal is to delete the proposed Buildings E & F and in their place, put in 8-9 parking spaces. He explained that it was determined that Phase E&F would actually lose money. Additionally, the current residents of Kenyon Falls have been consulted and do not want the additional buildings to be built. It would make the space tight. One thing they did request was additional parking. Certain times there is not sufficient parking. The new proposal is to add 8-9 parking spaces and room for a basketball hoop. This would likely be just 4-5 days of construction. CIL is helping the new management company transition management of the property and working directly with the homeowners association. Updated plans were supplied to the Commission. Staff requests that the Town Engineer review the revised plans. Pattee said she likes the development at Kenyon Falls and she s sorry that Coventry isn t doing more of this type of development. Mr. Galeota said that projects need to meet CIL s Mission and Kenyon Falls did. That project was saving an historic property. Mill projects often need to be turned down because of the cost of environmental remediation. Additionally, State funding is drying up for these types of projects. A typical developer wouldn t have taken on Kenyon Falls but CIL looks at things differently Minutes Page 3 of 6

4 Jobbagy asked how this would affect homeowners. Galeota said the Homeowners Association voted and agreed that the increased association cost would be worth it in the end not to have the buildings. Motion: The Coventry Planning and Zoning Commission approves Special Permit Modification request of CIL to delete buildings E and F, and substitute the new parking plan proposal of 8-9 spaces, as shown on the final site plan submitted with the application, for the Kenyon Falls Residential Development on Armstrong Road, with the condition that the Town Engineer review and approve the final plans. By: Pollansky 3. Booth & Dimock Memorial Library Revised Expansion Project 8-24 Staff distributed copies of a PowerPoint presentation detailing the revised proposal. The presentation notes that the current building is not ADA Compliant and has Fire Occupancy issues during programming. There are water intrusion and possible mold concerns in the Children s Room and Insufficient Meeting space. There is a lack of Quiet Spaces and Teen Space. The wiring is outdated and not suitable for the digital age with no provisions for technology growth. There is also inadequate parking. The Connecticut State Library has awarded grant funding of $1,000,000 for the project. Potential additional grants are available - $50,000 from the State Historic Preservation Office and $15,000 from the 1772 Foundation. Other monies may come from fundraising. The revised Preliminary Cost Estimate is $3,900,000 after the $1,000,000 grant. Pattee reminded the Board that they previously decided to explicitly support the library expansion. Pattee believes that there is a bit of a hurry to this because of the need to get this on the November referendum. Marek asked if this is proposed to be bonded again. Staff said yes. According to the PowerPoint presentation, the expected tax impact per household is about $41 per year. Motion: The Coventry Planning and Zoning Commission recommends that the Coventry Town Council proceed with the Booth & Dimock Library expansion project pursuant to CGS Seconded: Pollansky Minutes Page 4 of 6

5 4. Request of John Gannon for a 90-day extension to file the mylars for the resubdivision approval at 395 Daly Road. Motion: The Coventry Planning and Zoning Commission approves the 90-day mylar filing extension request of John Gannon for his resubdivision at 395 Daly Road. ADOPTION OF MINUTES: 1. August 13, 2018 Motion: The Coventry Planning and Zoning Commission approves the minutes of the August 13, 2018, meeting as submitted. For: Burrington, Hall, Marek, Pattee, Pollansky Abstain: Jobbagy ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: 1. #18-09S Special Permit Application of Charles and Nancy Brown for division of parcel to create a rear lot at 1777 Main Street (Assessor s Map K, Block 35, Lot A-A) GR-40 Zone. Public Hearing to be held on Monday, September 10, COMMUNICATIONS: 1. Zoning Referrals Towns of Tolland, Willington, Mansfield: No Comments ENFORCEMENT: Staff gave an update on the Stewart Property. He said that cleanup was started today by DeSiato who was the lowest bidder for the project, to remove the debris, vehicles, trailers and dilapidated structure shells from the property. Currently the boats will remain as it is unclear if they are covered under the court order. The anticipated bill in the end will likely be around $50,000. The Court will decide if a portion of the land can be deeded to the Town instead of payment Minutes Page 5 of 6

6 STAFF REPORTS: Staff told the Commission that no appeal was received for the Cumberland Farms approval. He said at this time there is no project start date but the contractor is in the process of applying for a demolition permit to remove the existing buildings on the property. Since at least one of the structures is more than 100 years old, there is a 60-day Delay of Demolition Ordinance in effect. Staff also stated that the Town has two projects in a pool for grants from CRCOG. One proposal is for a project on the Swamp Road S-curves near the intersection of South Street. The other project would be changes to the Swamp Road/Boston Turnpike/North Farms Road area to align the intersection with Bread and Milk Street. This project would allow the removal of an existing house. Staff hopes that this could be a happy ending to the traffic concerns at that intersection. CRCOG decisions may come in mid-september. ADJOURNMENT: The meeting was adjourned by Jobbagy at 7:53 p.m. Respectfully Submitted, Heidi A. Leech Heidi A. Leech, Substitute PZC Recording Secretary Land Use Permit Technician PLEASE NOTE: These motions are not official until approved by the Planning and Zoning Commission at the next Commission meeting. Please see the next Commission meeting minutes for approval or changes to these motions Minutes Page 6 of 6