February 18, 2009
Chairman Hiscox called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. The meeting was taped.
Members Present: Robert Hiscox, Donald Pomeroy, A. Delelle, A. Havican,
Alternates Present: Jack Crumb, G. Graveline
Absent: G. Ploski, Ed Miller
G. Graveline was seated for G. Ploski.
Approval of Minutes:
Motion by D. Pomeroy, seconded by G. Graveline to approve the February 4, 2009 minutes. Unanimous.
Correspondence:
1. Council of Governments Central Naugatuck Valley - Annual Report 2007-2008
2. Letter to Robert Hiscox, Chairman of the Prospect Zoning Commission from Brian J. Reilly dated 2/17/09 re: no trespassing signs posted on 99 Union City Road along the rear of his property.
Chairman Hiscox asked Land Use Inspector Bill Donovan to follow up on Mr. Reilly’s letter and to make sure that the owners of 99 Union City Road received a copy of the letter. The Chairman also instructed Bill to add this matter to the Agenda for the next Planning & Zoning Meeting on March 4, 2009 for review purposes.
Motion by A. Havican, seconded by A. Delelle to accept the correspondence. Unanimous.
Public Participation: None
Old Business: None
New Business:
a) Dave Jones, 12 Pine Meadow Lane - Special Permit Application for a Home Occupation: Real Estate Brokerage Office. Dave Jones appeared before the commission and stated that he would like to use a 100 sq. ft. portion of his basement for a real estate brokerage office. Mr. Jones stated that he and his wife will be the only employees, that he would not have any customers coming to his home and will not have any commercial vehicles or signs. Chairman Hiscox stated that the commission would accept the application tonight and schedule a public hearing. With no further comments, Motion by D. Pomeroy, seconded by A. Delelle to accept the application from Dave Jones, 12 Pine Meadow Lane - Special Permit Application for a Home Occupation: Real Estate Brokerage Office and set a public hearing for March 4, 2009 at 7:10 p.m. Unanimous.
b. Industrial Storage, Et Al, Linda M. Ploski, Trustee, Et Al, 99 Union City Road - Special Permit Modification and Additional Use: Storage. Roland Desrosiers, of R. J. Desrosiers and Associates, 491 North Main Street, Naugatuck, CT appeared on behalf of the applicants and presented the commission with a Site Plan Application and Site Plan for 99 Union City Road - Lease Area 5 dated January 30, 2009. Mr. Desrosiers stated that this site plan is for the area where the commission had previously approved temporary storage of modular storage units and cranes, and more recently as Lot #5 of the 5-lot industrial subdivision Cedar Hills Woods. Mr. Desrosiers stated that he had a discussion with Land Use Inspector Bill Donovan who informed him that final subdivision approval happens when the mylar map is recorded with the Town Clerk and since that has not occurred, he could not accept a site plan application for Lot 5 because at this time, Lot 5 does not yet exist. Mr. Desrosiers further stated that this application being submitted tonight is for 99 Union City Road in “leased area 5” which is the area that will eventually become Lot 5 of the subdivision once the mylar is recorded. Chairman Hiscox asked Mr. Desrosiers when the mylar map will be recorded. Mr. Desrosiers stated that the applicant wants to use the 90 days allowed to file the mylar and then possibly seek another 90 day extension from the commission to complete as much of the road construction as possible in order to reduce the bond amount required for the subdivision. Mr. Desrosiers stated that due to the state of the economy it is very difficult to get a bond right now from a bank. He further stated that in an effort to move Mr. Gallagher along with the permanent installation of his modular units they are filing this application. Chairman Hiscox asked if this is a temporary site plan where once the mylar is recorded the commission would have to go through this process again. Mr. Desrosiers stated that this will be Mr. Gallagher’s permanent design with the location of where the building is going, the parking area, access, drainage and landscaping. He further stated that the road will be constructed to Town specifications. Chairman Hiscox and D. Pomeroy stated concern over the need to hold a public hearing on the individual lot site plans in accordance to what the public was told during the public hearing on the industrial subdivision application. Mr. Desrosiers stated that this commission already approved the special permit and then did not require a public hearing when it was modified for the crane parking. Mr. Desrosiers stated that Lot 5 is nowhere near the Cedar Hill area and that it is on the other side near Gramar Ave. Chairman Hiscox stated that given the nature of the correspondence received tonight and the contentious nature of the industrial subdivision hearing, the commission owes it to both sides to conduct all of this business through the public hearing process. D. Pomeroy stated concern that the applicants can come in and do the same thing for the rest of the lots. Mr. Desrosiers stated that he was planning on coming in to the next meeting with Site Plan Applications for Lots 2 & 4. Chairman Hiscox stated that this commission voted in favor of developing these lots but does not want to have any cloudiness hanging over this matter because one of the principals is an elected official and a member of this commission. He further stated that the commission is handling this matter as delicately and forthright with the public as they can. Mr. Desrosiers noted for the record that he feels that the applicants have made a great effort to do right by the neighbors. Chairman Hiscox stated that during the approval process he cited that both sides had cooperated during some tense moments during the public hearing. Mr. Desrosiers suggested that the commission accept this application tonight and then he will bring in the application for Lots 2 & 4 at the next meeting and then they could have a public hearing on all three at the same time. Mr. Desrosiers stated that he believes the three applications should only have one public hearing as the parcel is being treated as one parcel now - 99 Union City Road. Chairman Hiscox asked Mr. Desrosiers to bring all three applications to the next meeting which will give Bill Donovan a chance to confer with the Town Attorney on how this commission needs to proceed. The Chairman stated that the ultimate goal of the commission is to have a well designed industrial subdivision up and running for the Town of Prospect. Bill Donovan asked if there are now different owners of the property since the subdivision application was filed. Mr. Desrosiers stated that they are the same three owners, Linda M. Ploski, Trustee for G & G Trust, Industrial Storage, LLC and M & J Service, LLC and that they are tenants in common.
Public Hearing:
Chairman Hiscox read into record the “Notice of Public Hearing” for the public hearing as it appeared in the Republican American on February 6th and February 13th, 2009.
7:10 p.m. Tom Giammattei, 200 Scott Road - Application for Special Permit for Commercial Greenhouses on Residential Property. The applicant appeared and provided the commission with the application fees and the mailing receipts to the abutting neighbors. Chairman Hiscox asked the applicant to give a general overview of what he is planning to do. Mr. Giammattei provided a large map of his property and surrounding area in order to show the commission and the public where his property is located. Mr. Giammattei stated that his driveway enters through the Waterbury side of Scott Road and he is planning to put in approximately 10,000 sq. ft. of growing space on his 9 ½ acres of property located at 200 Scott Road. Mr. Giammattei stated that he plans to do organic growing with three types of crops. He further stated that he would not be selling anything from the property - it would be grown on the property and then delivered to wholesalers such as Home Depot. He stated that there will be vegetables and flowers grown all with sub-irrigation troughs where the plants get watered and fed and then the water will be recycled back into a container and then re-used. Mr. Giammattei stated that for 6 weeks in the Spring and 3-4 weeks in the Fall, once a week one truck will come to his property to be loaded up and then driven off of his property. Mr. Giammattei stated that he is going to also try to grow a Winter vegetable crop as well but does not know how that will go. Mr. Giammattei stated that the greenhouses will be about 350 feet from the edge of his property line to Williams Drive which includes a 175 ft. buffer of hardwoods which he has no intention of taking down. A. Delelle asked for confirmation that there will be no retail sales from the property and if there will be any employees. Mr. Giammattei stated that there will not be any retail sales from the property and that the only employee will be the person who drives the truck onto his property who will help him load the truck which will then be delivered elsewhere. D. Pomeroy asked if there will be any employees in the day to day operation. Mr. Giammattei stated no, that the facility will have an automatic watering system and he will only have to go there for about ½ hour per day. Mr. Giammattei stated that initially, for about 1 day, there will be people there to install the system and plants. Bill Donovan asked how far the facility will be from the nearest residential house in Prospect. Mr. Giammattei stated that the closest will be his sister next door but after that the nearest house is approximately 500 ft. away on Williams Drive. Chairman Hiscox asked what the size of the buildings will be. Mr. Giammattei stated that there will be three buildings 32’ x 100’ all 16 feet tall. Chairman Hiscox stated that the buildings will meet the regulations. D. Pomeroy asked what the buildings will be made of. Mr. Giammattei stated that the buildings will be polyethylene coated and may change to polycarbonate, a hard plastic. Chairman Hiscox asked for comments from the public. M. Christoforo, 26 Williams Drive stated concern over the constant construction going on at the Giammattei property since he started building his house. He further stated that right now there is a payloader, a huge hydraulic excavator and dump trucks on the property and said he was hoping that this year they would finally be done with the construction. He stated concern that once the greenhouses are up what will be built next. Chairman Hiscox asked Mr. Giammattei if all of the ongoing construction was to build his house. Mr. Giammattei stated that there were materials left over from his house and the machines were there cleaning up the site. Chairman Hiscox asked if the clean up is now done. Mr. Giammattei stated yes. Chairman Hiscox asked how long the construction of the greenhouses would take. Mr. Giammattei stated that he is only constructing one greenhouse per year and each will probably take approximately one week, but definitely no more than four weeks. He further stated that the center house would go up this year and then the two side houses will follow over the next two years. D. Pomeroy asked if the structures will be placed on a poured concrete pad. Mr. Giammattei answered they will have driven posts in the ground. Mr. Christoforo asked how often plant deliveries will happen. Mr. Giammattei stated that one day in the Spring a truck will come in and deliver about 100,000 plants which he will have to put in pots. He further stated that afterward, about once a week he will get a call from a vendor like Stew Leonards asking for a delivery so he would load the truck and take it there and then the next week he would be doing the same thing for a different vendor. Chairman Hiscox asked if the equipment on his property is commercial equipment and if so who owns it. Mr. Giammattei stated that it is commercial equipment owned by the Capannas who are moving dirt for him. Chairman Hiscox confirmed with the applicant that when the Capannas are done doing site work, the equipment will be moved off the property as there are regulations about commercial vehicles being stored on residential lots. The applicant stated the equipment will be moved off site when the site work is done. D. Pomeroy asked what truck type & size delivers and takes away the plants. Mr. Giammattei stated that sometimes the plants come by van, UPS or a 40 ft box truck. A. Delelle asked what type of truck Mr. Giammattei uses. Mr. Giammattei stated that his truck is a small 18 ft. box truck. Chairman Hiscox stated concern over the regulations’ weight limitation of 11,000 lbs. with regard to Mr. Giammattei’s truck and asked Bill to be clear on any Resolution of Approval. N. Christoforo, 26 Williams Drive stated concern over the number of employees and what chemicals will be used for fertilizer and pest control. Mr. Giammattei stated that he would be using soy based and fish emollition fertilizers and would be using biological controls for pest controls where he would be releasing insects that eat other insects such as nematodes, wasps and mites. He further stated that the insects he would be releasing only eat the problem insects that may be damaging the crops and therefore once the damaging insects are all eaten, the released insects will die because they have nothing else to eat. Chairman Hiscox asked if there will be any odors from the fertilizers. Mr. Giammattei stated that both fertilizers that he will be using will be odorless. Mr. Christoforo stated that he works in the landscaping business and that the fish emollition fertilizers smell and asked if the neighbors have the right to come before the commission and complain should the smell become a problem. Chairman Hiscox stated that should a problem come up with any type of special permit, the neighbors have the right to come before the commission and the commission then has the right to modify the permit. D. Pomeroy clarified for the public that while a draft resolution may sound like a done deal, the commission needs a document to act on and therefore a draft resolution is prepared by the Land Use Inspector which is then voted on by the commission and this draft resolution may be amended, denied or approved. J. Stebar, 30 Williams Drive stated concern as to whether the additional water use of the greenhouses would harm his well and his neighbors’ wells as they already have a history of going dry. Mr. Giammattei stated that the trough system he will be installing uses 1 gallon for every 27 sq. feet for a total consumption per day of 370 gallons per day for all three greenhouses. Mr. Stebar asked what his and his neighbors’ recourse would be if their wells started to go dry. Chairman Hiscox stated that the commission has no way of knowing how the ground water is situated in the area. He further stated that if the commission felt that this was a major impact on the ground water, they may require a hydrological study but he does not feel that there is a need for a study in this case. Mr. Stebar stated that if the greenhouse use is limited to 370 gallons per day it does not seem like a huge amount. Mr. Giammattei stated that his well is 695 feet deep with a reserve of 831 gallons and has a recovery of 210 gallons per hour for a total of 5,000 gallons per day. Mr. Stebar also stated concern about manure piles to which the applicant stated that there will be no manure piles. Mr. Stebar asked about open standing water and Mr. Giammattei stated that there is open standing water already on the property but the greenhouses will not add to it. Mr. Stebar stated concern about bright lights at night. Mr. Giammattei stated that there are no plans for lights on the property. Mr. Stebar also stated concern about noise from fans running. Mr. Giammattei stated that the facility will have ventilation and roll up walls for natural ventilation. He also stated that there will be an exhaust fan and louvers put on the building in case he cannot use the roll up sides due to snow build up, etc. He further stated that the fan will be located on the north side of the greenhouse where the vent will be located on the south side so it would be another 100 ft. away on the opposite side of Williams Drive. D. Schulte, 32 Williams Drive asked if there were any other locations in Prospect that was using this system/unit now. Mr. Giammattei stated that there is currently no one in Prospect using the trough system but this Summer he is going to be working with the United States Department of Agriculture and the Natural Resource Conservation Service who are going to help him install this system at the Flower Farm located at 50 Scott Road. Mr. Schulte asked when Section 4.7 was incorporated. D. Pomeroy stated that the last update to the Regulations was in 2004 and Chairman Hiscox stated that this section was in prior even to that date. Mr. Schulte asked what a commercial greenhouse on residential land does to the property values of the homes surrounding it. Chairman Hiscox stated that the commission does not have any specific documentation on that. He further stated that someone might like to have a nice rural greenhouse rather than a 6 to 7 house subdivision behind them but someone else may not. Mr. Giammattei reviewed the map and the trough system with Mr. Schulte. J. Crumb asked what type of heat will be used. Mr. Giammattei stated that he will be using two types of heat sources with one being #2 fuel and the other one will either be wood or coal. J. Crumb asked where the #2 fuel will be stored and how big the tank will be. Mr. Giammattei stated that the #2 fuel will be stored in a 275 or 330 gallon tank with a roof on top of it in compliance with the Department of Environmental Protection. Chairman Hiscox asked that the fuel storage be shown on the site plan. Chairman Hiscox stated in order to let the public know what the process is, a lot of this discussion and questions had already taken place between the applicant and the commission during a preliminary review of the application. G. Graveline pointed out that all of the commission’s questions where re-asked tonight and are now a part of the public record. Bill Donovan stated that the applicant’s property meets our zoning definition of a farm as it is more than 5 acres in size and will be used partially for agriculture. Bill further stated that in accordance with our regulations for outdoor storage, if a lot meets the definition of a farm, the storage of one commercial vehicle not exceeding 20,000 lbs. gross vehicle weight is permitted. Motion by A. Havican, seconded by D. Pomeroy to close the public hearing on the application submitted by Tom Giammattei, 200 Scott Road - Application for Special Permit for Commercial Greenhouses on Residential Property. Unanimous. Chairman Hiscox asked Bill Donovan to prepare a draft resolution on this application for the next meeting.
b. Eric Savelle, 60 Scott Road - Site Plan Application for Indoor Storage in an IND-2 Zone. The applicant appeared with Attorney Warren Hess to present his site plan application for indoor storage on the former Overhead Door Company site located at 60 Scott Road. Attorney Hess stated that the applicant currently is the owner of Tools Plus in Waterbury and would be using this property as a warehouse for additional storage for his existing business. Attorney Hess stated that there will be no changes to the building itself but the applicant will improve the appearance of the lot by completing the landscaping and properly grading the property so as to fix the non-functional drainage to let the water dissipate properly on site. Attorney Hess stated that the parking lot will be paved and completed and the current 9 parking spaces will be increased to 20 in accordance with the regulations and will also have a handicap space. He further stated that this change of use would actually be a lesser industrial use with warehouse space and office space only. The applicant stated that this will not be a retail operation, that there will be no customers coming to the site and that they do not do deliveries. Chairman Hiscox asked about the amount of daily traffic. The applicant stated that he will have a truck daily going from this warehouse to his store in Waterbury to replenish his retail inventory. He stated that there would be no more than 15 employees working at various times during the day and that the business would be open from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday thru Friday and possibly be open for a few hours on Saturday mornings. He also stated that he and his wife will probably stay in the building until about 7:00 p.m. Mr. Savelle stated that he would be receiving UPS, Fed EX and LTT (Less Than Truckloads) inventory deliveries daily usually once in the morning and once in the afternoon. J. Crumb stated that this will probably have less traffic than Overhead Door. D. Pomeroy asked if he intended to have the building secured. Mr. Savelle stated that the site plan calls for a gate across the front of the driveway and that the building already has Sonitrol and that he would be adding his own video surveillance equipment and flood lights which would not be shining outwards at the neighbors’ properties. B. Donovan asked the applicant if he would have any outdoor storage and the applicant replied that their truck fits inside the building and that they do not stock anything that wouldn’t fit inside the building and there would be nothing stored outside other than sometimes he may have a build up of pallets and would offer them for “free” to anyone who wanted to take them. Chairman Hiscox stated that the pallets would be fine, but if it becomes unsightly or perceived as a hazard, the commission will let him know. With no further comments, Motion by D. Pomeroy, seconded by A. Delelle to accept and approve the Site Plan Application for Indoor Storage in an IND-2 Zone submitted by Eric Savelle, 60 Scott Road. Unanimous.
Land Use Inspector’s Report: Bill presented the commission with a proposed second amendment to the Regency at Prospect Affordability Plan which was sent to him by Town Attorney, Jennifer Yoxall. Bill explained that this amendment will allow a bank to take ownership of a foreclosed “affordable” unit but then be required to re-sell that unit as “affordable”. Bill further stated that as written, the current Affordability Plan would not allow a bank to become the owner of said “affordable” unit as the bank, financially, would not fit into the category of someone “eligible” to own one of the “affordable” units. After commission discussion, Motion by A. Havican, seconded by A. Delelle to approve the Regency at Prospect “Second Amendment To Affordability Plan”. Unanimous. Bill also discussed the zoning fee schedule concerning Site Plan Applications. Specifically, he stated that there was an oversight on the fee schedule and item “a” under #3 reads “plus per square foot per building is $1.00 which would cost someone with a 10,000 sq. ft. building $10,000.00 just for that portion of the application fee. After commission discussion, Motion by G. Graveline, seconded by D. Pomeroy to amend the existing zoning fee of $1.00 per each square foot of building (structure) with a Site Plan Application to $25.00 per 1,000 square feet of building (structure) or portion thereof. Unanimous. Lastly, Bill stated that a Prospect resident is very interested in purchasing the 10-acre Gedraitis lot that was recently subdivided at 90 Cook Road. Bill stated that this person would like to buy the property and build a riding stable for horses without building a residential structure on the property. Bill stated that while he believes this property falls under the “farm” definition and such an accessory use would be a permitted in accordance with the Regulations, he wanted to get a consensus of the commission before this woman goes into contract to buy the property. After commission discussion with Bill about the Town of Prospect’s Regulations and the State of Connecticut’s definition of a “farm”, it was determined that the commission is favorable to this type of accessory use, but asked Bill to advise the potential buyer that she will need to bring in a comprehensive site plan application and detail for the commission how many horses she intends to keep on the property and what the scale of the commercial use will be. Chairman Hiscox asked Bill for an update on the horse situation on Juggernaut Road. Bill responded that the horses have been moved from the property. Chairman Hiscox asked Bill to look into a plastic hut on or near 24 Juggernaut Road and a commercial vehicle that may or may not exceed the weight limit on or near 82 Plank Road. Motion by D. Pomeroy, seconded by A. Havican to accept the Land Use Inspector’s report. Unanimous.
Public Participation: D. Wartko, Brighton Road stated from past family experience, a general rule to follow is to allow one large livestock to each usable acre of land. D. Pavlik Ridolfi, 24 Allison Court stated that while she likes the idea of having more horses, riding stables, farms and the like in Town, she asked if the commission would be able to control the development of these types of projects to create a pleasant view as opposed to an eye sore. Chairman Hiscox stated that the commission will review any site plan applications that come before them and can make certain suggestions as to the appearance, but could not control, for example, what color a fence is painted. Mrs. Ridolfi also noted that she had heard that this would be the Chairman’s last meeting and thanked Chairman Hiscox for his years of service to the Town of Prospect.
Adjournment: Motion by A. Havican, seconded by A. Delelle to adjourn at 8:37 p.m. Unanimous.
Robert Hiscox, Chairman