MINUTES PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION September 26, 2017

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1 MINUTES PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION September 26, 2017 The West Haven Planning & Zoning Commission held a Public Hearing and Regular Meeting on Tuesday, September 26, 2017, in the Harriet North Room, 2nd Floor, City Hall, 355 Main Street, West Haven, CT at 7:00 P.M. PRESENT: Commissioner Hendricks, Milano, Mullins, Suggs, Standish, Encarnacion, ZEO Conniff, Assistant City Planner Killeen, Planning and Development Commissioner Riccio and Corporation Council Amendola. Absent was Commissioner Biancur. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Chairman Hendricks announced that Alternate Commissioner Milano would be sitting in for Commissioner Biancur who was absent this evening. Commissioner Hendricks stated a request has been received by the City Council to add a Section 8-24 referral. Mr. Killeen explained that in June of this year, the commission considered a transfer of property at 9 Cellini Place for the use of the Parkview Development. The current request came up during negotiations with the city and the developer for the sale of that property and it became clear that easements over the Piantino Branch Library property would be necessary for a pedestrian vehicular access to the property as well as for utility crossings and a portion of the foundation. The Council considered this matter on September 25 and has made their approval contingent upon this commission s approval. There is no public input required. Commissioner Hendricks asked for a motion to add this item to the agenda after 337 Main St. item. Commissioner Mullins made a motion to add this item to the agenda as indicated, seconded by Mr. Suggs and passed. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Commissioner Mullins made a motion to approve the meeting minutes of September 13, 2017, seconded by Commissioner Milano and passed. Public Hearing Boston Post Road: Application for approval of a Special Permit and Resource Removal, Filling or Grading permit to regrade, add, or remove more than 500 cubic yards of soil as part of the Bergami Center for Science, Technology and Innovation project, located in an Educational Facilities (EFD) District, pursuant to Sections 28, 73, and 85 of the West Haven Zoning Regulations. Applicant/Owner: University of New Haven. File #SP Attorney Joe Williams, Shipman and Goodwin, is representing UNH. He asks that the site plan and special permit applications be heard at the same time. An affidavit of mailing and photos of signs were submitted to the file. He introduced Lou Annino, VP of Facilities for UNH and Bill Richter, designer. The Bergami Center will enable UNH to enhance its engineering school. Attorney Williams stated the center will be located near Buckman Hall. The site plan complies with all the regulations. UNH has no plan

2 West Haven Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting Minutes of, September 26, 2017 Page 2 to increase enrollment or faculty with the addition of this building. There will be no additional traffic with this project. The Center will be built where an existing parking lot is currently located. The 195 spaces that will be displaced will be added elsewhere in the vicinity as illustrated in the site plans submitted with this application. UNH is looking to improve the community experience by moving parking out of the central campus to encourage more walking to the campus. Three sites have been identified for additional parking. They are the Atwood development, Charger Plaza and North End Field owned by the City of West Haven. A replacement parking plan has been submitted. Once these parking sites have been secured, they will return to this commission for their approval. There have been several meetings with city staff about the plans for the Bergami Center, and the design team has addressed all their concerns. All regulations will be complied with in respect to the soil and erosion plan, and they ask for approval of that application as well. Lou Anino, Chief Facilities Officer for UNH gave an overview of the buildings. The building is about 44,000 sq. ft. and includes combined media technology, classrooms, engineering and space labs, technology and a utility structure that will house utilities that will serve Buckman Hall and the new Bergami Center. The main components of the plan are a single service road and the large amount of proposed green space to improve the overall campus setting. The parking that will be available on the perimeter of the campus will be for employees and faculty. UNH is also aware of the need for parking for commuter students, which is part of their strategic plan. Mr. Annino described the renderings, overview of the floor plans and the location of the buildings to the commission. Ron Charney, architect, stated that the mechanicals located on top of the utility structure building can be screened if it is a condition by this commission. The fans are required due to the chemistry labs and the fans need to be located on the utility structure because the original building is not structurally sound for the additional fans. Bill Richter, landscape designer, gave an overview of the location of the buildings, entrances, terrace expansion, rain gardens along the service road, entrances and exits and pedestrian accesses. Mr. Richter said 58 replacement parking spaces will be at the Atwood development, which is already approved and constructed. Charger Plaza will have 40 parking spaces which will require a zone change to the EFD. At North End Field there will be 93 spaces. Landscaping plan was discussed showing accent planting, evergreen walkways, tree plantings and location of plantings were reviewed. Mr. Richter stated there will be low level (bollard) lighting along walkways and crossings. Pole lighting will be along the streets. Raymond Paier, civil project engineer, gave an overview of the drainage systems consisting of manholes and catch basins, which will congregate in a large retention area. The results of the design is a net increase of green space of 18,000 sq. ft. and a reduction in stormwater flows. Fire, water and sewer systems were also reviewed as well as the soil and erosion plan. Attorney Williams stated this application meets all the regulations and requests the approval of this commission. Commissioner Standish thanked UNH that it is addressing the parking issue so cars will not have to park on residential streets. Commissioners questioned where contractors would park during construction. Mr. Richter said there will be spaces blocked off at the construction site however if more spaces off campus are needed it will be considered. The shuttle route was described showing the pickup and drop off points. Mr. Killeen read into the record department comments from Frank Gladwin, Building Official and Abdul Quadhir, city engineer. 2

3 West Haven Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting Minutes of, September 26, 2017 Page 3 Meetings were held with the Fire and Police Departments and their comments and/or concerns were encompassed into the plan. Mr. Killeen suggested that for the North End Field a change of zone to RCPD may be more appropriate. He would also like to see a more detailed landscape plan showing where plants will be located, which can be a condition of approval. Commissioner Hendricks commended UNH and staff for all their hard work in putting this application together. Three calls were made to speak in favor and three calls were made to speak in opposition to this application. Andrew Valenta, junior student at UNH, asked for clarification that the removal of the soil for the proposed Bergami Center was the only item on the public hearing. Chairman Hendricks confirmed that was the case. Commissioner Mullins made a motion to close the public hearing on File #SP , seconded by Commissioner Suggs and passed. 2. Proposed Amendments to the Zoning Regulations: Application for approval of amendments to Article 3, Section 49 of the City s Zoning Regulations to extend the existing moratorium on Adult Oriented Businesses to April 3, 2018 to allow the City to complete its study of these uses and make recommendations, pursuant to Sections 49 and 86 of the West Haven Zoning Regulations; Applicant: West Haven Planning and Development Department. File #ZR Mr. Killeen stated this moratorium was approved last year. For a variety of reasons, there have been difficulties obtaining a quorum for meetings, and the City has had limited resources to analyze some of the concepts under consideration. Recently with the MS4 requirements, there will be better mapping capability and the ability to better assess distance buffers within the community. The current expiration date for the moratorium is October 3, 2017 and approval of this text amendment would extend the moratorium six months to April 3, Three calls were made to speak in favor and three calls were made to speak in opposition to this application. There was no one present to speak for or against this application. Commissioner Mullins made a motion to close the public hearing on File #ZR , seconded by Commissioner Suggs and passed. 3. Proposed Amendments to the Zoning Regulations: Application for approval of amendments to Article 10, Section 86 to modify the current notice requirements for proposed amendments to the Zoning Regulations, pursuant to Section 86 of the West Haven Zoning Regulations. Applicant: West Haven Planning and Development Department. File #ZR

4 West Haven Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting Minutes of, September 26, 2017 Page 4 Mr. Killeen stated the commission has become aware of the difficulty of applicants trying to send out mailings when there is a proposed city wide amendment which would require every residence within 200 ft. of affected properties being notified. Over the last year, the Commission has proposed that two display ads be placed in the local newspaper, 4 x 5 in the New Haven Register and quarter page ad in the West Haven Voice. This will be for zoning text amendments only. Since applications for zone change will affect a subject property, they will still require notification to neighboring properties. The existing regulation currently provides an exemption for the city for the posting and mailing requirements, so this amendment also recommends an exemption from the display ad requirements. Mr. Killeen stated the commission can decide whether the city will be required to place ads or not, depending on the nature and potential impact on the community of the proposed text change. For example, he noted that the City has proposed a change to the zoning regulations for the October public hearing, which will assure that the City s treatment of nonconforming uses complies with State statutes. That amendment seems to be a housekeeping or administrative change and he wasn t planning to place a display ad for that purpose. Commissioner Hendricks suggested removing the newspaper names from the proposed amenedment and make it more generic such as daily and weekly newspapers instead of naming them. Three calls were made to speak in favor and three calls were made to speak in opposition to this application. There was no one present to speak for or against this application. Commissioner Mullins made a motion to close the public hearing on File #ZR , seconded by Commissioner Encarnacion and passed. Regular Meeting 1. Deliberation and Action on Public Hearing Items: a. 300 Boston Post Road Application for approval of a Special Permit and Resource Removal, Filling or Grading permit to regrade, add, or remove more than 500 cubic yards of soil as part of the Bergami Center for Science, Technology and Innovation project, located in an Educational Facilities (EFD) District. Applicant/Owner: University of New Haven. File #SP Commissioner Mullins made a motion to approve File #SP , seconded by Commissioner Milano and passed. b. Proposed Amendments to the Zoning Regulations: Application for approval of amendments to Article 3, Section 49 of the City s Zoning Regulations to extend the existing moratorium on Adult Oriented Businesses to April 3, 2018 to allow the City to complete its study of these uses and make recommendations. Applicant: West Haven Planning and Development Department. File #ZR

5 West Haven Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting Minutes of, September 26, 2017 Page 5 Commissioner Mullins made a motion to approve File # ZR to extend the moratorium six months to April 3, 2018, seconded by Commissioner Milano and passed. c. Proposed Amendments to the Zoning Regulations: Application for approval of amendments to Article 10, Section 86 to modify the current notice requirements for proposed amendments to the Zoning Regulations. Applicant: West Haven Planning and Development Department. File #ZR Commissioner Mullins made a motion to approve File #ZR , seconded by Commissioner Suggs and passed Boston Post Road Application for approval of a Site Plan Review for the construction of the proposed Bergami Center for Science, Technology and Innovation (45,542 S.F.) and the proposed Buckman Utility Structure (6,406 S.F.), related site improvements and proposed replacement parking areas, on property located in an EFD (Educational Facilities) District and an RCPD (Planned Residential Commercial) District, pursuant to Sections 28 and 75 of the West Haven Zoning Regulations. Applicant/Owner: University of New Haven. File #SR See Item 1 above for discussion on this application. Commissioner Mullins made a motion to approve File #SR with the following conditions: Prior to issuance of a Building Permit, submission of a Construction Management Plan to the satisfaction of the Engineering Department Submission of necessary P&Z applications for review and consideration prior to issuance of a Building Permit to finalize proposed parking plan as follows: o Submission of any necessary applications for each of the three proposed parking locations (including a site plan review for the North End Field), as needed. o As part of these applications, submission of a Zoning Legend for each of the three satellite fields to demonstrate: Current/proposed uses on each property and current parking requirements according to the City Zoning Regulations Identification of excess parking on each property sufficient to accommodate proposed parking supportive to UNH Documentation of compliance with Sections and Submission of a detailed landscaping plan, to the satisfaction of the Planning and Development Office, showing the location of specific plant types throughout the site plan, including specific planting plans for rain gardens shown on the approved site plan. Applicant shall screen rooftop mechanicals on the top of the Buckman Utility Structure. Seconded by Commissioner Milano and passed Main Street: Application for approval of a Site Plan Review for the installation of a concrete pad with intake and exhaust equipment for a new kitchen hood, with vinyl fence enclosure and site improvements, on property located in a CBD (Central Business) District, 5

6 West Haven Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting Minutes of, September 26, 2017 Page 6 pursuant to Sections 20 and 75 of the West Haven Zoning Regulations. Applicant: John Velardi. Owner: American Legion Post 71. File # SR Rich Miller, architect, West Haven, CT, is speaking on behalf of this application. The American Legion is represented by Mr. Velardi who handled this project for the organization. Mr. Miller stated this application is code complaint. Originally the exhaust was to be located on the roof but the costs were prohibitive. The proposed plan is the more efficient and cost effective. The applicant will put up a fence around the new equipment since this is in the Central Business District which has design guidelines. Commissioner Mullins made a motion to approve File #SR , seconded by Commissioner Suggs and passed. 4. Section 8-24 Referral from City Council Mr. Killeen distributed maps by Corporation Counsel s office that shows areas of the Louis Piantino Branch Library (Allingtown) needed for easements by the developer of the proposed Park View Development. The area in question for the easements is shown in shading on the four different maps. These easements will cross over part of the library property to provide for pedestrian and vehicle crossing, utility crossings, and a portion of the foundation will also come across. Attorney Amendola stated the encroachment of the foundation is for a footing only and a stairway. Attorney Mark Sklarz was present for the Park View Development team, and he stated this referral is for easements of property which will allow easy egress and ingress to the property. Commissioner Mullins wanted to make sure this will not affect the future of the library or the senior center. Attorney Sklarz affirmed it will not affect the future of those uses. Commissioner Mullins made a motion to approve the 8-24 referral, seconded by Commissioner Milano and passed. 5. Staff Reports a. Adult Use Study Committee Next meeting to be held October 10, Lisa Eberle has been appointed to fill her late husband s seat on the city council. Chairman Hendricks will check with Council to see if she will also be the liaison to the Planning and Zoning Commission. b. Update on Proposed Text Change Re: Places of Worship continued. Attorney Amendola suggested that this be a separate topic on the next agenda. c. Discussion of Priorities for Implementation of the Updated Plan of Conservation and Development (POCD) A spreadsheet will be distributed at the next meeting. 5. Other Business Commissioner Hendricks asks that a letter be sent to the IT Department and ask them to figure out how to use the screens on both walls in the court room. Discussion: Stevie B s Café, Car Wash, Howard St., rooster/chickens removed, Hoohka Lounge closing. 6. ADJOURNMENT: 9:10 P. M. Commissioner Mullins made a motion to adjourn, seconded by Commissioner Suggs and passed. 6