BOARD MEMBERS: Chairperson Neil Faiman; members Joanna Eckstrom Carol Roberts, Jim Tuttle and Bob Spear; alternate members Andy Hoar & John Jowders.
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Faiman called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. and introduced the board members. The five regular board members made up the voting board and the two alternate members participated in the discussions but did not vote.
| Motion | Roberts/Tuttle To approve the 1/8/08 minutes as written. Six were in favor and Eckstrom abstained. |
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Faiman announced that the Spring Planning and Zoning Conference will be held Saturday, April 26 at the Radisson Hotel in Manchester.
Peter and Celeste Oberg have applied for a variance to section 5.2.3, or alternatively for a special exception under the terms of section 17.3, of the Wilton Zoning Ordinance, to permit the construction of an addition to the existing Tumbleweeds Child Care building on Lot K–27, 31 and 33 Prince Street, where the addition would be closer to a lot line than is permitted by the Ordinance.
Peter Oberg explained that Tumbleweeds Child Care has been is existence for nearly 19 years. He said they would like to build a 500’ addition to the infant/toddler room so that they could increase their infant capacity from 4 to 8, with no increase to their total license of 59. If they increase to 8, the state requires a hand wash sink in the immediate changing area. He said that their only access to drainage is in the south area of the building, thus they would need to add on there, which would require placing the addition 15’ from Lot K-28.
Mr. Oberg said that they have had many calls for infant care in the last few years and have had to routinely turn down new parents, most of who live in the neighborhood. The new space would allow them to satisfy the needs of the community by providing more infant care, he said.
Mr. Oberg presented plans showing his property and surrounding properties. No abutters were present but Mr. Oberg said that he spoke to Adrian and Virginia Gentes, Lot K-28, about what the Obergs wanted to do, since the proposed addition would abut the Gentes property. He said the Gentes’ had no problem with the project.
Faiman said that he had not heard of any complaints about the operation over the years and asked the Obergs if there had been any. They both said no. Mr. Oberg said that there had been a lot of concern about traffic and noise before they opened the business, but once they got going they became non-issues. He said abutter to the south, Stephen Blanchard, who had been one of the most vocal opponents to the child care center in 1989, actually became a proponent because of the way the Obergs improved the property.
Board members were in favor of project. Discussed whether to grant special exception or variance.
| Motion | Eckstrom/Tuttle To grant the request for a special exception under the terms of section 17.3 to permit the addition. All were in favor. |
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West View Farms, LLC has applied for a special exception under the terms of section 11.4 of the Wilton Zoning Ordinance, to permit the construction of a road and utilities that will cross a wetland area, and a fire pond in the wetland setback area, in conjunction with the subdivision of Lot B-20, Dale Street.
Faiman noted that because this request is under the terms of section 11.4, two meetings are required before a decision can be made, so a decision will not be made this evening.
Dawn Tuomala, with Monadnock Survey, represented the applicants and presented plot plans and photos of the crossing location. She explained that Perham Woods is a proposed cluster subdivision of 29 residential units. In order to access 10 of the units, a small intermittent stream will have to be crossed. She is proposing a pre-cast concrete box culvert with wing walls. She said the total impact to the wetland area will be 1200 SF – a permanent crossing of 800 SF with 400 SF of temporary impact during construction. She then read through the requirements of section 11.4.
A site walk was scheduled for Sunday, April 6, at 9 a.m.
Board members agreed that the application did not need to be sent out to a soil scientist to be evaluated.
| Motion | Spear/Roberts To continue the Perham Woods special exception case to the April meeting. All were in favor. |
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There was a discussion about the process for hearing a request for an extension of time if an applicant is not able to begin his or her project within the 2-year window that is allowed. Board members agreed that abutters should be notified and therefore a hearing should take place. Faiman said he would write a draft piece for the by-laws and bring it to the next meeting.
| Motion | Spear/Hoar to adjourn the meeting. All were in favor. |
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The meeting adjourned at 8:30 p.m.
Submitted by Diane Nilsson
Posted March 18, 2008