November 4, 2009
Chairman Pomeroy called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. The meeting was taped.
Members Present: D. Pomeroy, A. Delelle, A. Havican, G. Ploski, J. Crumb
Alternates Present: G. Graveline, D. Santoro
Absent: Ed Miller (Alt.)
Approval of Minutes:
Motion by A. Havican, seconded by A. Delelle to approve the October 21, 2009 minutes. Unanimous.
Correspondence:
1. Letter dated 11/4/09 from Tammy DeLoia, Planning & Zoning Clerk re: proposed meeting dates for 2010.
Motion by A. Delelle, seconded by A. Havican to accept the correspondence. Unanimous.
Public Participation: None
New Business:
a. John W. Van Vlack, 8 Summit Road - Special Permit Application for a Home Occupation: Photography. Mr. Van Vlack appeared before the before the commission and stated that he would like to use a portion of his home for a photography business. Mr. Van Vlack stated that the main concentration of his business will be on school portraits, prom and dance pictures. Mr. Van Vlack stated that he will be the only employee and that he would not have any commercial vehicles, outdoor storage or signs. Chairman Pomeroy asked if customers will come to his home. Mr. Van Vlack stated that a customer may come to his home only on a rare occasion. Land Use Inspector Bill Donovan asked if he will be using any chemicals to develop the photographs. Mr. Van Vlack stated that all of the photographs will be developed digitally off site. With no further comments, Chairman Pomeroy stated that the commission would accept the application tonight and schedule a public hearing. Motion by A. Havican, seconded by A. Delelle to accept the application from John W. Van Vlack, 8 Summit Road - Special Permit Application for a Home Occupation: Photography and set a public hearing for December 2, 2009 at 7:10 p.m. Unanimous.
b. Larry Farrell, 174 Summit Road - Pre-application review for change of non-conforming use. Larry Farrell appeared and stated that he was interested in purchasing 174 Summit Road located at the corner of Summit and Plank Roads to be used as a public self storage facility for non-commercial use. Mr. Farrell showed the commission a rough draft of a site plan and stated that before he hired an engineer for a formal site plan, he wanted to know if the commission would be open to his plan for a change of non-conforming use of the property. Mr. Farrell stated that the property is currently being used as a legal non-conforming use in a residential zone with a welding shop, scattered storage of construction equipment, an animal barn, a large pile of dirt and the like. Mr. Farrell stated that residential homes cannot be built on the property due to the poor soil conditions for septic systems and that he believes his plan is a better, cleaner use of the property than what is currently there now. Mr. Farrell stated that the property consists of approximately 6-acres in Prospect and 1.83-acres in Cheshire with a wetlands area running though the middle of the property. Mr. Farrell stated that he would like to put up 6 storage buildings of various sizes - 200’ x 60’ and 100’ x 40’ - with a total of 200 self storage units. Mr. Farrell stated that the buildings would be built from kits, one would be climate controlled and that none of the buildings will be taller than 12’ to the peak. Mr. Farrell stated that the property would have two gated driveways entering the property on the Cheshire side. Mr. Farrell further stated that the drainage would be under the parking lot and that there will be no outdoor storage. Mr. Farrell stated that the property would have lighting, cameras, a security system and would be fenced in with pine trees and grass fields in a 35’ maintained buffer zone around the property. Mr. Farrell stated that the buildings will not be visible from the road. G. Graveline asked if there will be any structures built on the south side of the wetland area and Mr. Farrell stated no. J. Crumb asked if all of the current buildings will be taken down and Mr. Farrell stated yes. G. Ploski asked if he would be abandoning the current use of the property if he was allowed to proceed with a self storage facility and Mr. Farrell stated yes. Chairman Pomeroy stated that discussion on this pre-application review will continue later in the meeting.
Public Hearings:
7:10 p.m. Adoption of the Open Space Plan as an Amendment to Prospect’s existing Plan of Conservation and Development as proposed by The Open Space Planning Subcommittee of the Prospect Conservation Commission. Al Delelle, a member of the Prospect Open Space Purchase Advisory Committee, stated that an article has been printed in this month’s edition of the Prospect Pages which briefly outlined the proposed Open Space Plan and informed town residents about the public hearing and that the complete plan is available for their review on the town’s website and in the Land Use Office located in the Town Hall. Bill Donovan provided the commission with an updated map which will be incorporated in the proposed Open Space Plan. Bill stated that the map is entitled “Prospect Water Resource Areas” and indicates that the “Public Water Supply Watershed Areas” shown on the map are watersheds serving an active public drinking water supply. Chairman Pomeroy asked for comments from the public and/or commission. With none, Chairman Pomeroy continued the public hearing to November 18, 2009 at 7:10 p.m.
7:20 p.m. Giuseppe Geloso, 157 Waterbury Road - Special Permit Application for a Banquet Facility (continued from 10/21/09). Attorney Tom Porzio, 625 Wolcott Street in Waterbury appeared on behalf of the applicant. Attorney Porzio presented the commission with the certificate of mailing receipts for the letter mailed to the abutting property owners. Attorney Porzio stated that the letter informed the abutters that the public hearing on this application would be held on November 4, 2009 at 7:20 p.m. and November 18, 2009 at 7:20 p.m. Attorney Porzio stated that the applicant’s engineer is in the process of revising the site plan in response to the questions, comments, and suggestions from the Commission; the Town’s consulting engineers; and Gene McCarthy, the Assistant Director of Public Works. Chairman Pomeroy asked for comments from the public. Ed LaMontagne, 149 Waterbury Road stated that he received a letter notifying him of the public hearing and wanted to know where 157 Waterbury Road was located. Attorney Porzio explained that 157 Waterbury Road is located at the corner of Waterbury Road and Murphy Road across the street from the Pond Place medical building. With no further comments, the Chairman continued the public hearing until November 18, 2009 at 7:20 p.m.
New Business (continued):
b. Larry Farrell, 174 Summit Road - Pre-application review for change of non-conforming use. Chairman Pomeroy continued the discussion on Mr. Farrell’s pre-application review for a possible change of the non-conforming use at 174 Summit Road. G. Graveline asked Mr. Farrell what the total square footage of use is currently including the structures, construction equipment, bulldozers, piles of loam, etc. Mr. Farrell replied that he was unsure of the total square footage being used currently and stated that he would go out and take photographs of the entire property and calculate the current square footage being used and bring it to the next meeting for commission review.
Old Business:
a. Commission review of Zoning Regulations Section 4.11 Earth Excavation, Deposition and
Regrading Activities.. The commission held general discussion with Land Use Inspector Bill Donovan about the possibility of amending the Zoning Regulations Section 4.11. Earth, Excavation, Deposition and Regrading Activities. Chairman Pomeroy stated that this discussion will continue at the next meeting.
b. Commission review of Zoning Regulations Section 5.4 Home Occupation - Special Permit Requirements. The commission held general discussion with Bill Donovan about the possibility of amending the Zoning Regulations Section 5.4 Home Occupation. Chairman Pomeroy stated that this discussion will continue at the next meeting.
Land Use Inspector’s Report:
Bill Donovan stated that he is almost finished drafting the new Aquifer Protection Area Regulations and that they will be very similar to the Department of Environmental Protection’s model regulations. Bill stated that he will provide the commissioners with copies of the draft APA regulations at the next meeting. Bill further stated that the new APA regulations must be adopted by this commission, who has been appointed by the DEP as Prospect’s Aquifer Protection Area Agency, by the end of January 2010. Bill further stated that he must send the draft Aquifer Protection Area Regulations to the DEP 35 days prior to a public hearing being held on the adoption of these regulations. After commission discussion, Motion by A. Havican, seconded by G. Ploski to set a public hearing on the adoption of Aquifer Protection Area Regulations as an Amendment to Prospect’s Zoning Regulations for January 6, 2010 at 7:10 p.m. Unanimous. Chairman Pomeroy stated that he has noticed a number of recreational vehicles and canvas garages going up recently and asked Bill to follow up on such violations. A. Delelle suggested that Bill run a public reminder notice about these violations in the Prospect Pages as he has in the past and Bill stated that he will do that. Motion by A. Delelle, seconded by A. Havican to accept the Land Use Inspector’s Report. Unanimous.
Public Participation: None
The commission held general discussion on parking space requirements for a banquet facility. Chairman Pomeroy suggested that Bill contact abutting communities to see what their guidelines are for parking space requirements for a banquet facility.
Adjournment:
Motion by A. Havican, seconded by A. Delelle to adjourn at 8:24 p.m. Unanimous.
Don Pomeroy, Chairman