Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutVR-76-0000 - Supplemental - 0960 0966 Shelburne Road1U_ ZONING BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT DECEMBEH 6 19 6 Mr.. Burns said they were under no pressure to have a decision at this particular time. They have a long enough option to try to-help.solve some of these problems so 1f the Board wishes to table this until the next meeting, it is perfectly acceptable Mr. Sylvester said he would not want to table it without having some specific information forthcoming for the next meeting. Mr. Martineau said the possible use of the building in the dimensions that now exist by something other than 25% in improvements could be con- sidered; if it can be shown that that can't be done, then a smaller building perhaps. Mr. Sylvester suggested some evidence that the property cannot be reasonably used as it stands now and that the present landowner is in rather of a substantial hardship in carrying the building. He said he felt everyone agreed they were entitled to the reasonable use of their property. It was moved by Mr. Sylvester, seconded by Mr. Fayette, and voted by the four members participating, to table this appeal until the January 3rd meeting. Mr. Burns and his associates are to address themselves to some of these problems. 5._ APPEAL OF GEORGE h MARY DEFOHGE AND PAUL LANOU Appeal of George do Mary DeForge and Paul Lanou seeking a variance from Section 6.00. Permitted Uses and Section 11.704 Buffer Requirements of the South Burlington Zoning Regulations. Request is for permission to construct a drive-in bank facility at 960 Shelburne Road and to use adjacent property at 966 Shelburne Road in conjunction with the bank facility, also requiring a variance from Section 11.704, Request is to construct a drive-in bank island to within twenty-two (22) feet of an adjoining residential dwelling located on Brewer Parkway. Mr. Ward said the applicants were to investigate the possibility of locating 75 feet back, and Mr. Lamphere had prepared a plan to tear down this build- ing and put up a new structure with a 75 foot setback and a different park- ing lot, with the teller in the front and not in the back. Chairman Myette asked Mr. Ward to show the previous plan. This was done. The Chairman saidilhis was eliminating the concept of remodeling the house, what about dimensions for the driveway and the hedge along the property line on the beck part of the lot. A tty. John Ewing, representing the bank, said they went back to the drawing board, asking Jim Lamphere to be the architect for the prcject if it should be approved. They came to the ctonclusion that the most feasible plan was to forget about using the old house. so the plan to be shown by Mr. Lamphere will show theymoved everything back to that ?5 foot dimension and is now utilizing a fairly modest sized building which will be long and not parti- cularly wide so as to fit into the configuration of the lot to allow traffic to come in and back out again. He said they had worked with some of the residents on Brewer Park.aay who had viewed the plans and some of the residents were at this meeting and would probably like to discuss some of their feelings regarding the proposal. 11. ZONING BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT DECEMBER_6. 1976 Using the drawing displayed on the board, Mr. Lamphere pointed out, the existing residence on the property, the proposed entry into the property, the stone wall which would screen the parking area from >helburne Road, making the building stand out a little more. He indicated the circulation of traffic and also the parking area, as well as the floor plan of the proposed building. He said the automatic teller would be open 24 hours a day and located this on the plan. He pointed out the large trees existing and the large hedge, also the hedge in the back which is 6 feet high. New landscaping was indicated, flowering trees along the stone wall but nothing, that would hide the building. The same kind of stone would be used for the building itself. The roof will be a copper one, similar to what is on the Pine Street building, partly so people will realize it is similar and is the same bank, and partly because they are looking into the possibility of solar heat. The lighting won't be over 12 feet high, :similar to what is at Lake Buick, but smaller in scale: no spreading lights. He pointed out on the plan the location of the lights. Mr. Lamphere said some of the nice trees in the middle of the lot will have to come down because they are in the only area in which they can build. The building itself will act as a screen, and as far as sound, this will be a better sound barrier than what is there now. It will not stop all the sound but will help. The hours of the bank will be 8 to 5 Monday through Thursday and 8 to 6 on Friday, except for the automatic teller unit to be open 24 hours a day. The back of the building will be the same design as the front. The Chairman asked about the height at the peak of the roof'. Mr. Lamphere said around 20 feet, not much higher than what is there right now. When they begin to play with angles in investigating solar heat, It might go up or down a little, but no major change. The Chairman asked about traffic. Mr. Lamphere said they would have stacking space for 11 cars coming in which is more than sufficient for the number of people they anticipate. 40 - 50 a day is average. The one on Pine Street has 10 parking spacer with a much larger flow. The Chairman asked how many cars can turn into Brewer Parkway at one time. Mr. Lamphere said about 3 or 4, from the lefthand turn going south. This bank would naturally be picking up traffic from both ways as well as from across the street. Mr. Lamphere pointed out the manicured hedge on the plan and the other hedge which is just growing wild. The Chairman asked if there was any thougtt to substituting or adding to the hedges on either side of the property, as one obviously doesn't seem to be 6 feet high. Mr. Lamphere said it would be better to work wittf�hat is there now rather than to try to add to it. Mr. Fayette asked if the lights around the parking lot would be on for 24 hours a day. Mr. Lamphere said No, some of the lights on the building would be. The lights behind the building would be placed on the building. Chairman Myette asked if there was any further support. Atty. Ewing mentioned the variance, saying it was a kind of unique situation in talking about the only two properties still on Shelburne Road which are still in the residential district. Everything else is either business retail or non -conforming, so that does create a kind of unique situation. 4 12. ZONING BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT DECEMBER 6, 1976 He said he would agree that variances should be taken very seriously and granted only in justifiable (-.3ses, but he felt it was very justifiable in this particular case to say the variance is nece:;sary to allow reasonable use of these two properties in view of the fact that they are entirely Surrounded by commercial development. He described the surrounding business establishment and said these two residential properties really exist as rather unique in that particular locality. To require them to remain purely residential does place an unreasonable restriction on the use of the properties. It is extremely unlikely that they could be sold for residential use. The variance is advantageous to the town, to the City, as well as to the Brewer Parkway residents. The Board is able to restrict its approval. to the specific plans whereas opening it up to any qualifying, business use would mean being able to exert less control than by granting a variance. The Board can maintain special control that it, could not otherwise maint,{in. Mr. Paul Lanou stated he felt the presentation and the proposed bank was an ideal solution to this situation and he under:>tood the neighbors on Brewer Parkway were favorable to the proposal, and if the property were to remain residential it would be definitely a hardship to him. He said it had been rough living there for a number of years with the diesel trucks opposite. Mr. DeForge referred to the hedge on the east side, saying they trimmed it about 6 inches each year. Mr. Myette explained the Planning Commission would have comments on this rather than the 'Zoning Board. Mr. Al Brunini read aloud a petition which he and his wife had taken through the neighborhood. He said 14 homeowners had given unanimous approval of this proposal. The petition expressed concerns about traffic, saving trees, sidewalk, lighting, and the hours the hank would be open. He felt these concerns had all been answered and he presented the petition to become part of the record. Mr. Stinebring asked Mr. Lamphere how they would block off the parking lot after hours, so it wouldn't be possible to park in back at night. Mr. Lamphere said they had not intended to block it, and Mx. F*Ang added the bank doesn't have restricted parking anywhere and has not experienced any particular trouble. If it turned out that the lot was used extensively that would have to be considered. Mrs. Jean Brunini said she was speaking for Mrs. Farnham at 1 Brewer Parkway, and that they had gotten the interpretation that one of the hedges mentioned was included in the property to be developed. She said it was -not= it was not up to the bank to decide the height of it. The Chairman agreed that the hedge does in fact belong to Mrs. Farnham. Atty. Ewing said that would be no problem, and if the Board wanted to make a condition that a hedge be maintained, whether this one or another one, they would be glad to accept that. Mr. Fayette referred to the large trees in the parking lot and near the drive-in teller window, and asked if they had explored any possibility of saving these. Mr. Lamphere said there to a nice maple and a twin white birch there. Mr. Martineau said he thought perhaps the zone change might be appropriate technically in this case rather than granting a use variance when there is available land in the community that is zoned that way. He said he had talked with many Brewer Parkway people in the last two weeks and he could see over-riding advantages in using this use variance, in making certain stipulations that the Board might not otherwise have. He said he still MPPr TONING BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT thought te(�hnicaally the Board has to variance. DF(,L,,BEri 0, 1.9?6 avoid indiscrimimAte use of the use Chairman Myette said he wanted for the record to compliment Burlington Savings Bank on their presentation. The Board voted unanimously to approve this appeal with the stipulation the hedge on Mrs. Fhrnham's property on the east, will be perpetuated and maintained by the '.Burlington Sivings Bank. The Chairman commented this was a classic example of what can be done when reasonable people get together to consider not only the zoning aspects but also the neighborhood rights. Atty. Ewing said the bank really appreciated the cooperation of their future neighbors. TABLED APPEAL OF FOREST PAR}( REALTY. DANIEL O'BRIEN, 63-HINESBURG ROAD Chairman Myette said the Board had several concerns about this proposal which Mr. Lamphere was going to investigate for them. Paul Farrar, Chairman of the Council. said he had concerns about the security of the City on this in relation to the Federal guarantee, etc. Mr. Ward stated the request was tabled on October 18th because of three questions. The area is zoned R-7 and in dealing with the dimensional requirement under 11.00, there could be 7 units per acre which would allow a maximum of a little over 50. The proposal is to construct 100 on that parcel of land, and also waive the parking requirement. They �( would be required to have 151; they are proposing 75. Mr. Lamphere distributed copies of an informational packet he had prepared. He said one point was the location of the property because of the Medical Center behind it. There will be pedestrian access to the Medical Center facility which will be an advantage for the type of people they expect to have in this facility. Transportation -wise, they have an a reemg41 with the Chittenden County Transportatia Authority that on calltd next bus cowing by into that area and pick up passengers, so these people will not have to go down and wait for the bus at Kennedy Drive. He mentioned the suburban atmosphere, saying HUD encourages getting away from the big city type of housing and getting the elderly out into a suburban area. He had talked with representatives from the Vermont Finance Agency and the Burlington Housing Authority. Burlington Housing Authority presently has applications for 350 units of low income housing. The Section 8 project covers a different group of people. According to the study done by the Vermont Housing Finance Agency, in Chittenden County alone there is a need for 1807 units for the elderly; in 1975 the demand was for 1447, That is replacing some substandard units plus the new units needed. Mr. Lamphere said the density originally planned for the property for family units would mean approximately 150 people on that property, using a very conservative figure of 3 people per unit. The kind of living proposed, the 1 bedroom units. not more than 11 people per unit, brings it back to the 150 people. so really no density is being added to the City's facilities more than what was originally approved. It would mean not adding any children to the school system. so the City of South Burlington is much better off.