Planning Board — 2019-11-25
Minutes
MELROSE PLANNING BOARD MEETING MINUTES Regular Meeting Monday, November 25, 2019 7:45 PM Cassidy Conference Room, City Hall, 562 Main Street PRESENT: Anne DeSouza-Ward, Paul King, Robert Mercado, Carla Morelli, John Sadowski & Jack Welch ABSENT: Mike Cassavoy, Sharon Petrillo & Greg Sampson STAFF PRESENT: Denise Gaffey, Director, Emma Schnur, Senior Planner & Lori Massa, Planning Coordinator The meeting was called to order at 7:50 PM by Ms. DeSouza-Ward. SITE PLAN REVIEW & AFFORDABLE HOUSING SPECIAL PERMIT Case 19-003, 12-16 Essex Street, Mark Carroll (public hearing continued from September 23, 2019) Attorney Bell submitted a written request to continue the case to the hearing on December 16, 2019. Mr. Mercado MADE a MOTION to approve the request. Mr. Welch SECONDED the MOTION. All members present voted in favor. None were opposed. Documents: Email from Attorney Bell dated November 25, 2019 APPROVAL OF MINUTES Planning Board Regular Meeting Minutes October 28, 2019 Mr. Welch MADE a MOTION to approve the regular meeting minutes from October 28, 2019. Mr. Mercado SECONDED the MOTION. All members present voted in favor. None were opposed. ASSENT CALENDAR Board of Appeals Public Hearing on December 11, 2019 Case 19-032, 17 Adams Street, Cynthia Benea Case 19-034, 76 Sheffield Road, Marcia L. Walsh Case 19-037, 6 Berwick Place, Kimberley Kaufman Mr. Mercado MADE a MOTION to send the Board of Appeals letters for each of these cases stating that the Planning Board did not object to the applications and believed the cases involve judgments that can best be determined by the Board of Appeals based on the application Planning Board Meeting Minutes November 25, 2019 Page 2 of 4 materials and the information provided by the applicant and abutters at the public hearing. Mr. Welch SECONDED the MOTION. All members present voted in favor. None were opposed. Documents: ZBA Applications, Case 19-032, 19-034 & 19-037 RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE BOARD OF APPEALS Board of Appeals Public Hearing on December 11, 2019 Case 19-033, 1 Sewall Street, Emily Alonzo Ms. Alonzo, Applicant and Owner, appeared to present the case. There are three bedrooms on the second floor of the house and the family has two children. They would like to construct a bedroom and bathroom on the third floor of the house so that their out of town guests can stay and be comfortable. The dormer that would be longer than the allowable size would allow the bedroom to be a typical size and allow headroom for the bathroom. The chimney is in the way of shifting the bathroom. They would like for the dormer to be on the end wall because it is load bearing. Ms. Alonzo received letters of support from the neighbors who would be able to see the dormer, except for one who has not been home and will be submitting a letter. The Board discussed how they amended the half story regulations in 2013 in order to allow for some use of half stories in 2 ½ story structures but limit the negative impacts associated with a full third story. It was hard for the Board to support a variance to this regulation. They gave careful consideration to it in order to provide a balanced approach to half stories that allows for some living space without substantially altering the appearance and use of the 2 ½ story housing stock. At the same time they found that this proposal is not the most egregious because there is an existing two-story addition on the back of the house that would break up the tall flat wall that would be created by the dormer. The Board did explain to the owner that the dormer can be constructed two feet off of the end wall of the house in order to comply at least in part with the ordinance and still be structurally sound. Setting the dormer back from the gable end would help with its design and reduce the length of the dormer. The Board did not object to the setback variance for this corner lot as two rear yards are required and the house is already nonconforming with this dimension. The Planning Board could not support the variance for the dormer dimensions but was sympathetic to the limitations of the half-story of this house and to the dormer placement at the back of the house next to an existing rear addition. Mr. Sadowski MADE a MOTION to request that the Board of Appeals take this recommendation into consideration along with the information provided by the applicant and abutters at the public hearing in making a determination on this case. Mr. Mercado SECONDED the MOTION. All members present voted in favor. None were opposed. Documents: ZBA Applications, Case 19-033 Case 19-035, 272 Tremont Street, 495, LLC c/o Eric B. Kenworthy Planning Board Meeting Minutes November 25, 2019 Page 3 of 4 Attorney David Lucas, Representative, and Eric Kenworthy, Applicant and Owner, appeared to present the case. The project will need Site Plan Approval. Before applying to the Planning Board they are seeking a variance for driveway width to have certainty that the variance is approved before investing in Engineering plans. The Board had no objection to the proposed driveway width and preferred that the driveway does not have two more feet of pavement. They have supported driveway width variances in the past for similar projects and those driveways are sufficient for safe travel. The driveway location did however cause concern due to its proximity to the busy intersection and adjacency to the expansive open curb on the abutting property. Members discussed installing a double curb to delineate the residential driveway from the abutting automobile sales and service lot or shifting the location of the driveway. They hoped to address these concerns during the Site Plan Review of this proposal. During the discussion, the Board also noted that since the plans were updated after the Building Commissioner’s review of them, the Applicant may want to resubmit the plans to him as the distance of the driveway to the intersection and floor area ratio as marked on the plan may require additional variances. Mr. Sadowski MADE a MOTION to request that the Board of Appeals take this recommendation into consideration along with the information provided by the applicant and abutters at the public hearing in making a determination on this case. Mr. Welch SECONDED the MOTION. All members present voted in favor. None were opposed. Documents: ZBA Applications, Case 19-035 Case 19-036, 17 Upham Street, DoVale’s Enterprise LLC dba Certified Automotive Solutions Attorney Paul Seyffert and Jamie DoVale, Applicant, appeared to present the case. Mr. DoVale’s currently runs an auto repair business on Lebanon Street. He would like to expand the business and the existing space is too small. He would close the Lebanon Street location in the future. In the proposed Upham Street location he would rent six parking spaces off of Steven’s Place. Steven’s Place is a private way and parking is allowed on it. The Board had no objection to the proposed automotive repair use. The property has been used for automotive related uses since at least 1937 and therefore allowing for automotive repair would not be a significant change. There is parking onsite and in the building which meets the required number of parking spaces. Mr. Welch MADE a MOTION to request that the Board of Appeals take this information into consideration along with the materials provided by the applicant and abutters at the public hearing in making a determination on this case. Mr. Mercado SECONDED the MOTION. All members present voted in favor. None were opposed. Documents: ZBA Applications, Case 19-036 Planning Board Meeting Minutes November 25, 2019 Page 4 of 4 SITE PLAN REVIEW Case 19-005, 138 Main Street & Sylvan Street, Jay Dunham of Metro Credit Union Attorney Tolley submitted a letter requesting to withdraw the application. Mr. Mercado MADE a MOTION to accept the withdrawal request without prejudice. Mr. Welch SECONDED the MOTION. All members present voted in favor. None were opposed. Documents: Letter from Christopher Tolley dated November 21, 2019 NEXT MEETING The next Regular Meeting is scheduled for Monday December 16, 2019, at 7:45pm. The meeting adjourned at 9 pm.