PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES
OCTOBER 28, 2003
REGULAR MEETING
I. CALL TO ORDER
John Loomis, Chairman, called the regular meeting of the Simsbury Planning Commission to order at 7:38 p.m. in the Main Meeting Room of the Simsbury Town Offices. The following members were present: Pamela Katz, David Ryan, Susan Bednarcyk, Ernest Gardow and Alternates Carol Cole and Greg Piecuch. Also in attendance were William Voelker, Director of Community Planning & Development, Leonard Tolisano, Senior Planner and other interested parties.
II. APPOINTMENT OF ALTERNATES
Chairman Loomis appointed Commissioner Piecuch to serve for Commissioner Jansen.
III. PRESENTATION, DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE VOTE
a. Application of Richard Case, Attorney, Agent for David Stoner & Co., LLC, for a modification of proposed tree line as shown on the approved subdivision plan at Lot 7, Ruthies Way.
Richard Case, Attorney, spoke on behalf of this application. He displayed a page of the map of the approved subdivision, which was approved by the Planning Commission in October of 1996. Mr. Case said that this lot has two specific features. He said that this lot was one of the lots of the view sector regulation that the town adopted back in the mid 1990’s. Mr. Case said that because this lot was up high the town required a conservation easement in the front. The purpose of this conservation easement was to maintain the vegetation so that any visual impact down below it would be minimal. Mr. Case said that there is a second conservation area to the rear north west side of the lot to protect the existing wetlands.
Mr. Case said that his client, David Stoner & Co., has entered into a contract to purchase this lot and will be building a home on it. He showed on a plan where the house would go and said that they want to create a clearing area northwest of the house in order to create a back yard for the lot. Mr. Case said that they went before the Conservation Commission for an Inland Wetlands Permit because the proposed tree cutting and grading is within the 75-foot buffer area and they were approved by this Commission on October 21, 2003 with a couple of conditions. One of the conditions is that they run a test pit in the area to be graded to make sure that they do not have a purged water table and the second condition is that they institute significant planting along the edge of the clearing to protect any encroachment into the
wetlands area. There will be approximately 78 plantings. Mr. Case showed pictures of the type of house that David Stoner & Co. builds and also the type of landscaping that is done.
Jim Cassidy, Engineer, Hallisey, Pearse & Cassidy, discussed the site plan and also the topography of the property saying that the back of the house is the highest elevation. He said the house is situated far enough back to leave ample room for a level front yard, but behind the house is only 20 to 25 feet of clearing, which is very small for a back yard area. He said that typically it is recommended that you clear a little farther back just in case a larger tree should fall it would not fall on the house. Mr. Cassidy also said that the house would be on a septic system, and he showed the location of the septic system on the plan, which will be sitting on an existing grade. Commissioner Gardow asked Mr. Cassidy to point out the area that they propose to clear. Mr. Cassidy showed this on the plan. Commissioner Gardow
asked what the current state of this is prior to the construction. Mr. Cassidy said that it is heavily wooded with larger hardwoods and pines.
Chairman Loomis asked staff what, if any, confirmation do they seek with respect to the plantings that have been described. Mr. Voelker said that this is a requirement of the Conservation Commission. It is a condition of their approval.
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The commissioners discussed whether there would be any interest in a site walk. Chairman Loomis said that he would be interested in a site walk because he sees this as an opportunity to acquaint himself with this kind of site and with some of the challenges of it. Commissioner Katz said that she would suggest a site walk if the staff thought this would have any visual impact on the view sector, but it doesn’t. She said that this was their primary area of emphasis on this property along with the wetlands and the wetlands commission has taken care of that part. Commissioner Katz said that if the thought is education for future applications that can be done anytime. She does not feel that they are justified in holding up the applicant when there is no impact on the view sector. Commissioner Bednarcyk said that due to
the significance of the cutting they should walk the site. She said that Mr. Stoner noted that he would not start anything until the spring. Commissioner Gardow said that he would like a site walk. Chairman Loomis said that his interest in a site walk is not the view sector, it is to see the rear of the site relative to tree cutting.
A site walk was scheduled for Saturday, November 8th at 10:00 a.m. The commissioners will meet at the cul-de-sac.
IV. PLAN PREPARATIONS
Ÿ Technical update
William Voelker discussed the article he included in the commissioner’s packets on the Proposed Article Seven, Section O, West Simsbury Center District. He explained that this is a draft regulation and showed on the zoning map the current zoning on Farms Village Road and discussed the zoning in that area. Mr. Voelker said, as was explained at the last meeting, they can take the layers that are created on the computer and take parts of communities and create a map so they can take a much closer look at the area. He said this has been done with the zoning map he showed the commission member at this meeting. This map was created just for discussion purposes. He pointed out the different uses such as R40, B-III, agriculture uses, institutional uses, commercial uses, etc. He said that this map enables us to focus in on
specific areas and these areas will be confirmed as they get into them doing the Plan of Development by using a windshield survey, which is actually going out with copies of these maps, drive by locations and mark up the maps if needed. They know what is on the ground and also where the public utilities and open space locations are situated.
Mr. Voelker said that about a year ago he had discussions with Emil Dahlquist, Chairman of the Design Review Board and they put together a draft of West Simsbury Center District Regulations. He said that what is before the commissioner’s tonight is for discussion purposes showing how they can develop specific policies for specific areas. Mr. Voelker said that when they did this they also looked at the Design Guidelines and lifted some of the language and some of the themes in the guidelines in developing the regulations in looking at West Simsbury as a character place. Mr. Voelker discussed some of the parameters in development of the area. One is that any new construction, conversion or additions that add in excess of 500 square feet to commercial and mixed uses shall be permitted subject to Special Exception with
very specific criteria.
Chairman Loomis questioned the statement in the draft on additions and new construction asking if this includes modifications or are they somehow included in this. Mr. Voelker said that additions include modifications as there is not any criteria. You have to find a reasonable trigger so they used 500 square feet. Chairman Loomis said that part of this is the appearance of the building and you can modify without adding and change the appearance. Mr. Voelker said that he does a draft to raise any issues during a discussion, such as the issue on appearance (facade) on this character place. This is a way to develop specific policies for specific areas. Mr. Voelker said that in this draft they
also introduced the location of parking areas. They should be located to the side or to the rear, not between the building and the street. He also discussed access management. Commissioner Katz said that what she likes is that you can have a shop in a colonial house one day and maybe years later revert back to a residence. She said that this Planning Commission Minutes
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is captured in the draft. She asked if Zoning is the final authority on this. Mr. Voelker said yes and this has been before them for discussion purposes. Mr. Voelker said that they need to focus on specific areas and have real policies on these areas based on what the reality is on the ground and what they might anticipate in the future.
Commissioner Katz left the meeting at 8:30 p.m.
Chairman Loomis said that one of the things that they can do is to support a character place village district type concept. He said that they do not have to figure out the appropriate zoning, but do have to have the appropriate concept. Mr. Voelker said that you can be fairly specific without dictating terms to the Zoning Commission. He said that what they have developed here is a framework. You can take out some of this as regulation and put it in terms of broader policy planning. Commissioner Gardow asked if this is a model for any of the character places in town. Mr. Voelker said that he tried to put in things such as access management and parking as general themes that could be put to the test in any of these areas.
Chairman Loomis said that this does not address the desire to preserve agricultural farmlands. Mr. Voelker said that the Zoning Commissions focus will be on the frontage of properties, but what a Plan of Development can and should do is speak to the area. He said that this area is defined by farm and what should the appropriate policy be for a farm. Mr. Voelker said that the owner of the property has certain rights as they exist now under the zoning regulations. He raised the issue of to what extent should the towns resources be used towards preservation of defining characteristics of this portion of the community. If the Planning Commission is ever asked to support the financial contribution under Section 8-24 of the Connecticut General Statutes they would have a specific statement about it.
Ÿ Symposium update
Chairman Loomis said that Kevin North gave a recitation of the fire district and what it is and what it encompasses. He said Mr. North stated the reasons why they want the central firehouse to remain in its present location as a first choice, but he did not rule out that other sites had been considered. One reason was the cost. Chairman Loomis said that this location is ideal from the fire ratings insurance perspective. Commissioner Bednarcyk also attended this meeting.
Chairman Loomis said that Charity Folk, Simsbury Chamber of Commerce, announced that all the work that had been done on the proposed revised center zone regulations will be presented in general format on December 9th to the Planning Commission. This will be a view of their overall intent and desires. Also, the West Street subcommittee, which is a self-forming but highly motivated group of property owners and residents on West Street, will also give a presentation on their vision of West Street to the Planning Commission on December 9th.
Chairman Loomis said that there were about 22 people, including Commissioner Bednarcyk at the table. He said that what he thought was the most interesting and rewarding part of this symposium was that there is conversation with varying degrees of communication between and among developers, property owners, board and commission members, town staff and members of the chamber. He feels that communication has opened up and also there is more access to communication.
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Ÿ Special meetings, November through February
and
Ÿ Drafting
Chairman Loomis said in the near term they have to deal with activities enabling them to get at and complete a draft of the core of the plan. He said that several special meetings may be called as they are needed and these will not be reflected on the regular 2004 meeting schedule. Chairman Loomis said that they cannot agree on the need when they meet and also they cannot go over the need for special meetings and the timetable without looking at the activity. Chairman Loomis said that at the last meeting Commissioner Ryan expressed some agreement with the idea that the commission would get ideas and the staff would then draft, get the draft back to the commission and they would then edit it again. Commissioner Ryan said that this has the advantage that it clocks the effort and also forces it to happen. He said that with
electronic communication they could use the meeting time productively. Chairman Loomis said that he would like them to work to get the first draft done by the end of February and if they cannot, they will make an adjustment.
Commissioner Bednarcyk expressed concern about the December 9th meeting. She said that they have people coming in to do presentations and it would not be right to have them come in do their presentation and shuffle them off. She feels that they should amend the time line as they have too much on the schedule for December 9th with the two presentations. Commissioner Gardow said that he agrees with Commissioner Bednarcyk that the 9th should be exclusively to hear the presentations. Commissioner Bednarcyk asked when the recreation presentation is coming in. Mr. Tolisano said that they have not contacted him.
Chairman Loomis said that as everyone seems concerned about making this happen it looks like the 9th needs some relief. He said that they will allow 20 minutes for each presentation, but will need to allow time for some dialogue after each presentation. Commissioner Bednarcyk suggested that they bump the 9th meeting plan to December 16th and just hear the presentations on December 9th, possibly Culture Parks & Recreation will be ready by then. She said that on December 16th they could have a full meeting of just the plan. Commissioner Ryan said that he feels the speakers should be moved to the 16th as this keeps the process moving for the plan and gets one of the first things done. He said that they are continuing to recede. Chairman Loomis said that he would like to have the two groups come in and do their
presentations at a special meeting to be held on December 16th instead of the December 9th meeting and asked Mr. Tolisano to contact the Chamber and West Street regarding the change in dates.
V. OVERALL PLAN PHILOSOPHY PRESENTATION
Chairman Loomis spoke of the New Canaan Plan of Development that had been done in 2003. He said that it is not perfect, and at some point he might want to ask the New Canaan Chairman of the Planning and Zoning Commission what they might have done differently. He said that it was done well with a number of features that commend themselves to this commissions study including graphics and ways of making things interesting.
Chairman Loomis said that he would like to read into the record his October 28, 2003 version of “A Vision for Simsbury’s Plan of Conservation and Development” (attachment I). He said that this is similar to his version of two weeks ago, but based in part on Commissioner Katz’s comments to write at a certain level. He said that he made a few changes. Commissioner Gardow asked if in the second paragraph, second line “accelerated economic development” was in conjunction with trying to go from a 16% to 20% tax base. Mr. Voelker said that the first draft that will come from staff to the commission will try to maintain where we are, which is a 16% tax base. He said that it could be very difficult to obtain and we should not set unrealistic goals for ourselves. He said that the public likes
the vision to go to 20%, but the reality is that we are going to have to work real hard to hold onto the 16% while trying to get to the 20%. Commissioner Cole said that there must be a database that reflects where all the revenues
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come from. Mr. Voelker said that they could look at changes on the assessors grand list as many years back as they like. Chairman Loomis said that they should track back to at least 1994. Mr. Voelker said that the numbers might be useful but the biggest impact on the manufacturing sector was in the last 2 1/2 years. Chairman Loomis read the rest of his document into the record. The commissioners discussed the document and suggested several changes.
VI. DETERMINATION OF OVERALL PHILOSOPHY CONTENT
Chairman Loomis said that they are now trying to put together an introductory statement. He said that the understanding of which should give the reader an idea of what the plan is all about. Chairman Loomis said that the readers should be well informed and not surprised at what they would find in the more detailed content of the plan. He said that they are now looking for short phrases, words or even abbreviated sentences. Commissioner Bednarcyk said that she thought that they were going to have staff take their stuff and pull out all the common goals. She thought the commissioners could then evaluate it and they would then have something to work with versus starting from scratch.
Chairman Loomis asked Mr. Voelker if they turned over to him their most current individual versions and asked him to come back to the commission with a draft how he would feel about it. Mr. Voelker said that there would be no problem. He said that he could do the draft and then the commissioners could brainstorm from that. Mr. Tolisano said that it would be done a lot faster and then they could give the commission a fairly concise listing, even by person, of what your main themes were. Chairman Loomis asked Mr. Voelker to email the commissioners the initial draft.
Commissioner Piecuch asked Mr. Voelker about the statutes governing what they put in the plan. He asked if the statutes put a ceiling on it or can they be as detailed and give as many ideas as they want. Mr. Voelker said there is no limit. Chairman Loomis distributed Commissioners Katz’s current version of the overall philosophy (attachment II). Commissioner Piecuch said that he thought Mr. Voelker has a great foundation for the content in terms of what is going to go into this, but asked the format, such as is this going to be in short bullet points or broad general statements. Commissioner Cole said that she does not think they are looking for long sentences or paragraphs. She would like to see something more that is visual with specific items in it, possibly a wish list. Chairman Loomis said that Commission
Howard sent him an email stating that she would like to include some transportation thought and also considered mentioning the Charrette. Commissioner Bednarcyk suggested having a meeting on the Charrette as this was done so many years ago and should be incorporated into the plan when they talk about Simsbury Center and some other things.
Mr. Voelker asked that the commission get their latest individual overall philosophy versions over to him as soon as possible.
VII. STAFF REPORT(s)
a. Approval of 2004 meeting schedule
Commissioner Gardow moved to approve the 2004 Planning Commission regular meeting schedule. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Bednarcyk and passed unanimously.
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VIII. CORRESPONDENCE
None
IX. APPROVAL OF MINUTES - October 14, 2003
Commissioner Ryan approved as amended the Minutes of October 14, 2003. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Gardow and passed unanimously with Commissioner Piecuch abstaining.
X. ADJOURNMENT
Commissioner Ryan moved to adjourn the meeting at 10:00 p.m. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Gardow and passed unanimously.
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Pamela Katz, Secretary
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