SHARON ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS MINUTES OF AUGUST 17, 2011
A regular meeting of the Sharon Zoning Board of Appeals was held at 7:00 p.m. in the Lower Level of the Town Office Building. The following members were present: Kevin McCarville, Acting Chairman; Lee Wernick (7:35 p.m.); Larry Okstein (7:14 p.m.); Seth Ruskin, Walter Newman; Barry Barth.
7:10 p.m. Mr. McCarville opened the meeting. He wished Mr. Lee a safe return from his tour in Afghanistan.
7:11 p.m. Dorothy Adams, 43 Glendale Road, Case No. 1674 Continued Hearing from July 13, 2011 meeting. The voting members are Kevin McCarville, Seth Ruskin and Barry Barth. The applicant was represented by David Welch, DKW Builders. The applicant is seeking to raze and rebuild on the same nonconforming lot. Mr. McCarville asked what the existing house is and Mr. Welch stated it is a two-story colonial. He asked if they are enlarging the foundation and Mr. Welch stated that everything that is there meets the requirements of the town. Mr. Newman asked how many bedrooms and Mr. Welch stated three currently and three proposed. Mr. Barth asked the square footage of the new house and Mr. Welch stated approximately 1700 s.f. Mr. McCarville asked the current driveway in relationship to the proposed and Mr. Welch stated they are very similar. He asked if they need a curb cut and Mr. Welch stated no. Mr. Newman questioned the proposed farmer’s porch. Mr. Welch stated there is not one being built. There is one shown on the generic plans, but there will not be any. He stated the final plan should be within inches of what is presently there. Mr. McCarville stated it should be exact. Mr. Welch stated it will be unless he makes a mistake. Mr. Ruskin asked the date of the new plan and Mr. Welch stated it was revised July 20, 2011. He asked if the footprint will be the same and Mr. Welch stated yes and the front of the new house will face the same way. Mr. McCarville stated this will be a three bedroom, 2 ½ bathroom house with no loft. There were no further board questions. Mr. McCarville asked for public comments.
Silas Fyler, 48 Highland Street stated he lives directly behind this house. He stated it may have lead or asbestos because it was built in 1978 and he would like this checked out. Mr. McCarville asked what type of furnace is in the old house and Mr. Welch stated it is a new one. Michael Frarren on behalf of the applicant stated it is also vinyl siding over shakes. There are no asphalt shingles on the house. Mr. McCarville stated he will ask Joe Kent to do a quick site visit.
Earl, 24 Mohawk Street stated the house should be checked by a licensed inspector. Mr. McCarville stated a condition of approval will be he will coordinate any review of asbestos prior to it being razed. Mr. Fyler asked about lead dust and if there is this type of issue who would deal with it. Mr. McCarville stated that would fall under Joe Kent’s jurisdiction and also the State.
There were no further questions. Mr. Welch asked to close the hearing. Mr. Barth moved to approve Case No. 1674 by allowing the applicant to raze the house and rebuild a new house with the board’s standard conditions and one special condition mentioned above. Motion seconded by Mr. Ruskin and voted 3-0-0 (McCarville, Barth, Ruskin).
7:32 p.m. Nir Davidson, 192 Wolomolopoag, Case No. 1666 Continued Hearing from July 13, 2011: Mr. Davidson stated he went to the Conservation Commission and got all the official approvals needed and received a Notice of Intent. The board agreed that Condition #1 would be confirmation from the ConCom that they have agreed upon the wetland line. Mr. Newman stated we need a confirmation letter from Greg Meister, Conservation Agent.
No public comments.
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Mr. Barth moved to approve Case No. 1666 with the board’s standard conditions. Motion seconded by Mr. Okstein and voted 3-0-0 (McCarville, Okstein, Barth).
7:45 P.M. Abhijkit Brahmachari, 592 Massapoag Avenue, Case No. 1675 New Hearing: Mr. McCarville read the public hearing notice and two letters from Jim Andrews and one from Greg Meister. Mr. Brahmachari stated his house is small, less than 10,000 s.f. and the kitchen is very small. They have a little dining room that they can’t even put four chairs in it. They have three bedrooms, but bedroom #2 and #3 are also small. Mr. McCarville asked how many people live in the house and Mr. Brahmachari stated himself and his wife and 6 year old daughter. They would like to combine bedrooms 2 and 3 into one large bedroom and add onto the kitchen area. The living room will become the dining room and they will add on a larger living room away from the wetland side of the house on top of the garage. They are proposing to enlarge the kitchen and combine two bedrooms into one and add one on top of the enlarged kitchen. In the end it will still be a 3-bedroom house with three baths rather than two. They have added a two car garage with a living room on top of it. A botanist has flagged the wetlands already and a licensed surveyor did a plot plan, showing that the new addition will not be any closer to the wetlands than what is existing now. What is proposed is in tune with the surrounding houses. Mr. Newman asked how many square feet the lot is and Mr. Brahmachari stated 40,095 s.f. Mr. Okstein asked if there will be any separate entrances over the garage to the living room and Mr. Brahmachari stated no. Mr. Wernick stated he thought this was a nice presentation. Mr. Barth asked if the present basement is finished and Mr. Brahmachari stated it is his office and will remain that way. There were no further questions and no abutters or public present.
Mr. Brahmachari asked to close the hearing. Mr. Wernick moved to approve the application before the board with their standard conditions and the following special condition: 1) it is presently a 3-bedroom home and will remain a 3-bedroom house. Motion seconded by Mr. Okstein and voted 3-0-0 (McCarville, Okstein, Wernick).
The Zoning Board meeting moved upstairs to the Selectmen’s meeting room to accommodate more people. Mr. McCarville explained the process to the people present.
8:15 p.m. Cingular Wireless by AT&T, 411 E. Foxboro Street, Case No. 1676 New Hearing: Mr. McCarville read the public hearing notice and a letter from Jim Andrews dated August 16, 2011. He stated there was a public balloon test performed on July 30, 2011 as published in the Sharon Advocate on July 22, 2011 and July 29, 2011. He also read a letter from Leslie Rheinherz, 410 E. Foxboro Street, who was also present at the hearing.
The applicant was represented by Atty. Edward Pare from Brown & Rudnick, Providence, Rhode Island. He stated they had filed previously for a site at 68 Mohawk Street which will be left on the agenda. The town and various boards had concerns with that site and the town had issued an RFP for E. Foxboro Street which is why they here tonight. As part of this process, AT&T have a lease with the town. This site doesn’t work as well as Mohawk Street, but it will work. As part of the RFP, the town put out two locations. They are not seeking two towers, it is an either/or situation. This site will replace the 68 Mohawk site if approved. T hey did do two balloon tests and they did notice the abutters and advertised in the local newspaper. The town chose to put this property in play. They are proposing a 120’ monopole with AT&T antennas at the top with three openings for competitors. The access road will be gravel and they will bring in standard utilities, electric and telephone, which can be used by multiple carriers and three can attach to the tower itself.
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Dan Goulet, a radio frequency engineer of C Squared Systems and representing AT&T stated he is under contract from AT&T. He will discuss why AT&T neds this site and why it is a good alternative to the 68 Mohawk Street site. He showed the existing sites in and around Sharon. He submitted a report dated June 9, 2011 and entitled “RF Report – Proposed Sharon Wireless Facility with attached exhibits including radio frequency coverage maps. Mr. McCarville stated that no town can deny a carrier as they are guaranteed contiguous coverage according to the FCC. Mr. Goulet stated that today everyone wants to be wireless without being tethered to a land line. Central Sharon and eastern Sharon have limited coverage. These sites are very low power. He discussed the average daily traffic counts on this road and stated they will provide more coverage to those people on the lake and also to some residences in Foxboro.
Mr. Pare stated we have gone through this process at the 68 Mohawk Street site and they are trying to answer the board’s previous questions regarding existing alternate sites. He suggests that they look at the application packets that were submitted. Mr. Ruskin asked if there were any maps showing the distance from the homes . Mr. Pare pointed out the area on a site plan. He stated they are required to show all the structures within 500’ as per the zoning bylaw. He pointed out the east and west compounds. He stated if this is on the east compound, there are four structures within 500’ and two using the west compound within 500 feet. He stated there is minimal visibility from these sites. Mr. McCarville asked who presented these two locations to him from the town and Mr. Pare stated the Board of Selectmen, Ben Puritz and town meeting. It was actually approved by the Selectmen and town meeting. He stated that Mohawk Street has become this site’s alternative. Mr. Okstein stated he had heard there were a number of other sites that the town thought would be good for AT&T, but the town didn’t push those because of wetlands and constructability. Mr. Pare stated they looked at 26 sites and did an analysis. Some of the sites were rejected by the town for various reasons. Mr. McCarville stated that the application packet is on file in the town clerk’s office also.
Mr. Pare submitted a report dated July 21, 2011 George Valentine, Valentine Appraisal Associates, Jamestown, RI which stated that the proposed wireless facility will not have a negative impact on surrounding real estate values or alter the character of the neighborhood. Mr. Wernick stated there is another monopole located at the Sharon Country Club, but there are no antenna extensions on that pole. Mr. Pare stated it is a flagpole. Mr. Newman asked why they are showing exterior antennas and Mr. Pare stated because that is what they are proposing. They would be giving up coverage to go the way Sharon Country Club was done. Mr. Goulet stated that technology has changed.
George Valentine, a certified appraiser in both Rhode Island and Massachusetts stated he was requested by AT&T to do an evaluation as to the impact on the value of the existing houses. He located several towers in Foxboro and Sharon, one being the Sharon Country Club, Pole #4, which is 150’ flagpole style which was installed around 2005. He looked at the real estate transactions to the east and west of this site. The only relevant sales were on Gannett Terrace. There was a $30/foot increase prior to the pole going up which is not a negative impact. He also checked Dudley Hill in Foxboro and there was no negative impact. This site is large and heavily wooded with railroad tracks next to it. It is proposed to put in a 120’ monopole, which is smaller than most of the ones he studied. Mr. McCarville asked if he looked at a 12-month period after the pole went up and Mr. Valentine stated yes, but he actually went farther out than that. He has evaluated many sites and has never seen a negative impact on values. Mr. McCarville stated he is surprised at that statement. Mr. Barth asked how many of these evaluations he does a year for the cell companies and Mr. Valentine stated about four. This is only a small amount of his work, as he typically does industrial work. He stated he has been certified for ten years.
SHARON ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS MINUTES OF AUGUST 17, 2011 (4)
Mr. Pare stated they do comply with FCC regulations and standards. The relief he is seeking from the board is a special use permit for all installations and a use variance that is a little modification to FCA of 1996. The law says that they can provide adequate service. The locations of east and west were dictated by the town to AT&T. The bylaw says the height of the tower plus 50’ is allowed, but they don’t need that. The measurement is to a lot line, not a residence. They need a dimensional variance for the setback requirements.
Mr. McCarville asked for comments from the public.
Richard Reynolds, 423 E. Foxboro Street questioned the real estate impact as presented.
Leslie Reinherz, 410 E. Foxboro Street stated when you build a 120’ tower and you don’t want it to topple over, how far below the ground do you dig to place a foundation. Mr. Pare stated there are basic depths. Ms. Reinherz asked if he would tell them the depths as she feels this is important. Mr. Pare stated he will do whatever the building code requires. Mr. McCarville recommended that the abutters contact Joe Kent. Ms. Reinherz stated she is asking because there is a serious water issue in this area and there is a well that doesn’t show on the maps which provides water for many people. The water table is very high and 1/3 of the property is designated as a natural habitat and the water drains directly onto this property. She would like facts on how deep they will be digging. Will it compromise the water? Will it compromise the quality of the water going into the river? Mr. McCarville suggested she contact Joe Kent and Greg Meister, Conservation Agent. She wants this information before the board makes a decision. Mr. Pare suggested she talk to Ben Puritz and the Water Department as these sites were given to AT&T by the town.
Larry Stoller, 26 Chase Drive stated that the pictures that were shown were taken in the middle of summer when all the leaves were on the trees. There will be more to see in the winter . All the pictures that were shown are not close to a residential area and both the east and west sites are in the middle of a big residential area. There is radiation off the towers, but how much he can’t say. He is also concerned with the aquifer in this area.
David Shore, 13 Old Wolomolopoag submitted some materials. He stated he has serious concerns and is asking that the board deny this. He spoke with Joe Kent and Peter O’Cain, but they didn’t have the RF survey. Mr. Pare stated he will get a copy to them. Mr. McCarville stated he might want to discuss the ecological issues with Greg Meister.
Miguel, 319 E. Foxboro Street questioned Mr. Valentine’s report as the market was going up between 2011 – 2006.
Rob Simons, 21 Mohawk Street stated the selectmen put out an RFP on these two sites. He asked the ramifications if both these sites were turned down. Mr. McCarville stated there would be a court case. He asked if the town or city has won or lost in the case of litigation. He doesn’t envy the position the board is in right now.
Martha Reynolds, 423 E. Foxboro Street gave the board a list of alternate sites and would like her listing of 30 questions answered by the next meeting. She takes issue with Mr. Valentine not comparing the monopole vs. the flagpole.
SHARON ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS MINUTES OF AUGUST 17, 2011 (5)
There were no further questions. Mr. Pare asked to continue the hearing. Mr. McCarville continued this hearing to Wednesday, October 12, 2011 at 7:00 p.m. He informed the public they would not noticed of the continued hearing.
Buzz Yankowski, Mohawk Street asked if the cell towers have to located on town owned land and Mr. McCarville stated that is dictated by the zoning bylaw.
10:10 p.m. AT&T New Cingular Wireless, Case No. 1656 Continued Hearing: Mr. Pare asked to continue this hearing to October 12, 2011. Mr. McCarville continued this hearing to October 12, 2011 at 7:00 p.m.
It was moved, seconded and voted to adjourn. The meeting adjourned at 10:25 p.m.
Respectfull y submitted,
Approved 5/9/12