Planning & Zoning

May 21, 2008

Chairman Hiscox called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. The meeting was taped.

Members Present: Robert Hiscox, Donald Pomeroy, Al Delelle, Greg Ploski, Al Havican
Alternates Present: Jack Crumb, Ed Miller
Absent: G. Graveline (Alt.)
Also Present: Bill Donovan, Land Use Inspector

Approval of Minutes: Motion by G. Ploski seconded by A. Delelle to approve the May 7, 2008 minutes as amended. Unanimous.

Correspondence:
1.Letter regarding the "Jump with Joy" business being operated at 4 Rosewood Drive without a permit.
2. 44 form letters signed by residents to eliminate Section 4.8.1.3 - the 1,500 separation of auto repair facilities from the Business District.
3. Letter from Bill Donovan, Land Use Inspector dated 5/21/08 regarding Toll Brothers’ request for a second bond reduction on Phase One.

In response to the letter regarding Jump with Joy, Chairman Hiscox requested that Land Use Inspector Bill Donovan contact the owner, Robert Stokes, and ask him to apply for a home occupation permit.

Under discussion the Commissioners discussed taking a motion to approve the Toll Brothers’ request for a second bond reduction on Phase One in accordance with Land Use Inspector Bill Donovan’s letter dated 5/21/08. Motion by A. Havican, seconded by D. Pomeroy

Motion by D. Pomeroy, seconded by A. Havican to accept the correspondence. Unanimous.

Public Participation:

M. Kluge, 15 Kluge Road stated that there would be additional form letters signed by residents forthcoming in support of eliminating Section 4.8.1.3 - the 1,500 separation of auto repair facilities from the Business District. (See Correspondence)0

Public Hearings:

- 7:15 p.m. Regulation Revisions (continued) - General Discussion. The public hearing was continued from May 7, 2008. There were no comments from the public. Motion by A. Havican, seconded by D. Pomeroy to close the Public Hearing on Regulation Revisions. Unanimous.

Commissioners discussed the following proposed Regulation Revisions which were presented by Land Use Inspector Bill Donovan in the Town of Prospect - Proposed Zoning Amendments at the Public Hearing held on April 2, 2008: -
4.1.8.2 - remove altogether -
4.1.8.23 - remove altogether -
4.1.8.6 define ‘facilities’ as it relates to individual units within an elderly housing development. -
Add “An unobstructed emergency access way a minimum 15 feet wide shall be maintained for passage of fire equipment and other emergency vehicles. The access way is to be located from the front street line to and around all structures, and to further be kept free of all obstructions including parked vehicles”.
Driveways - a.) Add language requiring driveways to be constructed to provide year-round access for emergency and service vehicles and have an all-weather passable surface;
b.) add language that limits the grade of a driveway to 5% for the first 22-feet in from its\\ intersection with a Town Road and that driveways having a grade in excess of 8%-10% shall be paved. Also add language regarding sight distance requirements for driveways where they intersect the street to be measured from a point 10-feet back from the edge of pavement at a height of 3.5 feet. Include that the commission may require a greater sight distance than stated in the regulations as warranted by traffic volume and average operating speed along the intersected street.
c.) A section should be added that requires a paved driveway apron extending at least 10-feet in from the street edge of pavement be completed prior to issuance of a Certificate of Zoning Compliance, and that if the paved apron cannot be installed in a timely manner the applicant shall provide payment to the Town of Prospect sufficient to fully cover the paving installation costs. The Town will then utilize that payment to hire a contractor to install the apron.
Filing - Add wording allowing the commission to extend the time for filing (subdivision mylar maps with the Town Clerk) for two 4.9 Swimming Pools (in-ground and above-ground) increasing the distance to a property line from 15 feet to 20 feet. Handicap Access Ramp - allowing this sometimes required access platform into a home to be placed within the minimum setback requirements for structures if it becomes necessary. A handicap ramp or similar companionway would be considered “temporary”
Add Outdoor Wood-Burning Furnaces - Construction, installation, establishment, modification, operation or initial use of an outdoor wood-burning furnace occurring after July 8, 2005 shall comply with the following conditions per Section 22a-174k of the Connecticut General Statutes:
(a) Installation of the outdoor wood-burning furnace is not less than two hundred feet from the nearest residence not serviced by the outdoor wood-burning furnace;
( b. Installation of the chimney of the outdoor wood-burning furnace is at a height that is more than the height of the roof peaks of the residences that are located within five hundred feet of the outdoor wood-burning furnace, which residences are not serviced by the outdoor wood-burning furnace, provided the chimney height is not more than fifty-five feet;
(c) No other materials are burned in the outdoor wood-burning furnace other than wood that has not been chemically treated; and
(d) Installation and operation of the outdoor wood-burning furnace is in accordance with the manufacturer’s written instructions, provided such instructions do not conflict with the provisions of this section;
(e) The provisions of this section shall be enforced by the Commissioner of Environmental Protection and may be enforced by the municipality affected by the operation or potential operation of an outdoor wood-burning furnace. -

Increase rear lot size to 80,000 sq. ft. in new subdivisions.

After discussion, the Commission was in agreement that they would take a vote on the above listed proposed Zoning Amendments which were discussed at this meeting and if approved the Amended Regulations would have an effective date of July 1, 2008. Motion by A. Delelle, seconded by A. Havican to approve specific Regulation Revisions as discussed at the close of the Public Hearing. Unanimous.

New Business:
a. William Blakely, 7 Barry Lane, Special Permit Application for a Home Occupation: Gunsmith. Mr. Blakely stated he would like to use the basement of his residence to operate as a gunsmith providing repairs, modifications and general maintenance on firearms. Mr. Blakely stated that he would not be making ammunition or keep explosives on the premises. He further stated that there would be no test firing of the guns on site. D. Pomeroy questioned the traffic issue and what type of firearms would be serviced. Mr. Blakely responded that there would only be 1 - 2 Federal Express type deliveries a week and that he would only be servicing pistols, rifles and hand guns not any machine guns type weapons. Mr. Blakely stated that there would be no outside storage, he would be the sole employee of the business and would only be using his one truck Motion by D. Pomeroy, seconded by A. Havican to accept the application from William Blakely, 7 Barry Lane for a Special Permit for a Home Occupation: Gunsmith and set the public hearing on June 18th, 2008 at 7:10 p.m. Unanimous

Land Use Inspector’s Report: Land Use Inspector Bill Donovan stated that he had spoken at length about the Affordability Plan with the attorney for Toll Brothers on the Regency at Prospect project. Bill stated that he has been told that there will be a total of 366 units with 55 of them being “affordable” and the others “marketable”. The “marketable” units will be in the $360,000.00 to $380,000.00 price range and the “affordable” units will be in the $160,000,00 to $180,000.00 range. The difference between the two types of units would be that the “affordables” would have a one car garage and the “marketables” would have a two car garage. The interior of the “affordables” will have downgraded amenities including flooring - i.e. carpeting rather than hard wood, no crown molding, etc. The exteriors of both types of units will be the same colors and architectural design as “marketable” units. All of the unit owners will have the same privileges and access to amenities as “marketable” owners. Bill Donovan also noted that some of the “affordable” units may actually be larger than the “marketable” units. Bill Donovan stated that since these particular issues never came up in the P & Z meetings, he needed to have the consensus of the Commissioners to go forward with the drafting of the Affordability Plan. After Discussion, the Commissioners asked Bill Donovan to continue proceeding with the drafting of the Affordability Plan. Bill Donovan advised the Commission that he had been contacted by Ken Feroni of O & G who was seeking advisement by the Commissions as to whether or not he would need a new Special Permit or a modification of his existing Special Permit to bring in a few different crusher machines to the O & G site on Salem Road. The new machines would crush the rocks to smaller shapes and sizes. There wouldn’t be any rock or materials trucked onto the property. After discussion, the Commission asked Bill Donovan to speak with Mr. Faroni to find out if he would be running more than one machine at a time, would there be more noise, smoke, dust? The Commission requested that Bill contact Mr. Feroni and ask him to come in to one of the next few meetings and provide the Commission with a detailed outline on what exactly the step by step process would entail and what the end result would be. Bill stated that he would contact Mr. Feroni and ask him to come to a meeting. Bill Donovan also reported that he had received a few complaints regarding the Caporaso greenhouse project on 176 Straitsville Road. Two complaints were made about the hundreds of potted trees placed on the property. The complainants were concerned that the trees would be sold commercially from the property. Two complaints were also made regarding the amount of mud all over the road. J. Crumb asked Bill if the use of tracking pads had ever come up. Bill Donovan stated that they had not. Another complaint was made about the height of the planted bushes on the Straitsville Road/Porter Hill Road corner. The complainant stated that the bushes were obstructing his view as he pulled around the corner when entering onto Straitville Road. Bill stated that he had spoken to Mr. Caporaso who stated that the trees planted in buckets on his property were for use on his property, not for commercial sale. Bill also reported that Mr. Scionti, owner of Eagle Autobody, spoke to him about the fact that he had been told by someone that his business had come up at the P & Z meeting on 5/7/08. Bill Donovan stated that Mr. Scionti told him that the green building was not a canvas hut but a structure that the EPA required he build in order to store sand, salt, and oil products for seepage prevention. D. Pomeroy asked what he did with the salt. G. Ploski stated that he does plowing in the Winter. Chairman Hiscox asked if this is a non-conforming lot, if the salt storage was on the original site plan and was the snow plowing business ever approved? Bill Donovan stated that the plowing business had never been approved while he’s been the Land Use Inspector. G. Ploski stated that the building has been there since the 1970’s and has been an autobody shop for over 30 years and for the record he has no problem with the business that Mr. Scionti is currently running. The Chairman stated the business is in the Industrial Zone so it is in the right zone for such a business. The Chairman stated that the P & Z should have a file on the property with a record of what is being done on the property. He stated that Eagle Autobody should be required to update their site plan - not to be confrontational, but to treat all businesses in the same manner. Bill Donovan reported that he had checked the site plan for Curtis Landscaping on Rt. 68 and they seem to have expanded beyond their 2002 site plan. Bill stated that he had written to Curtis in 2005 asking about questionable stacked cord wood, piles of mulch, etc. At that time Curtis responded that they were cleaning up the property and that it would not happen again. J. Crumb stated that the property is not unsightly just expanded. Chairman Hiscox asked Bill Donovan to contact them and ask them to get on the Agenda and update their site plan. Chairman Hiscox asked about the canvas huts on Coachlight Circle and Candee Road. Bill Donovan stated that the hut on Coachlight had come down and that he would take a ride by Candee Road. Bill Donovan reported that he sent a certified letter to the owners of 15 Blue Trail Drive questioning the carrier type trailer, DVM weight certification for the “Bob-Kat” and operating a business out of the home without a permit. D. Pomeroy stated that he has driven by the property and didn’t see any evidence of a business being run on the property. Chairman Hiscox stated he has also been driving by the property and has not seen anything indicating that a business is being run on the property. Chairman Hiscox stated that Dunkin Donuts put up a new “wrap around” sign right after they took the last one down in accordance with Bill’s violation letter. The Chairman asked Bill to follow up on this.

Motion by A. Havican, seconded by D. Pomeroy to accept Bill’s report. Unanimous

Public Participation: None

Adjournment: Motion by A. Havican, seconded by A. Delelle to adjourn at 9:11 p.m. Unanimous

Robert Hiscox

Robert Hiscox, Chairman