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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMemo in Support of Special Permit - Correspondence - 72 ELM STREET 3/17/2022 SMOLAK & VALIC.IHAN MEMORANDUM To: Town of North Andover Zoning Board of Appeals Applicant: Happy Trails Preschool, LLC Property: 70 Elm Street (Map 42/Parcel 2) a/k/a 72 Elm Street Date: March 17, 2022 MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF PETITION FOR SPECIAL PERMIT I INTRODUCTION The Applicant, Happy Trails Preschool,LLC, is requesting a special permit to allow for the operation of a Day Care Center at 72 Elm Street, North Andover, MA (the "Premises"). The Premises are located within and a portion of the building located at 70 Elm Street, North Andover,MA,which is also known as the Trinitarian Congregational Church(the"Property"). The Property is a church that is pre-existing and has previously been permitted,approved and constructed. No changes are proposed to the exterior of the building,site plan or property. Only cosmetic work,including paint and floor refinishing,is planned for the interior portion of the premises that will be used for the Day Care Center. The Applicant is seeking relief pursuant to Sections 195-4.3.T and 195-10.7 of the Zoning Bylaw of the Town of North Andover, as amended (the"Zoning Bylaw") in the form of a special permit to allow for the use of the Premises as a Day Care Center. 11. BACKGROUND The Premises are owned by the Trinitarian Congregational Church of North Andover,who has authorized the filing of the application for special permit as outlined herein.The Applicant has entered into a lease agreement with the current owner of the (00220118;%,l) Flast Mffl, A I ligh Suke,WJ, Nosdi Andovek, MA 01845 \X/W\X/.SM(A AKAI A Y K;11A N.CONI Memo to North Andover ZBA Re:72 Ehii Street March 15,2022 Premises,which lease is contingent upon the Applicant receiving necessary permits and approvals to operate a Day Care Center at the Property,which is designated on the Town of North Andover Assessors Maps as Map 42, Lot 2, The property is located in the Residence 4 Zoning District. The premises were previously home to Century Preschool which operated for nearly fifty years,first as a Kindergarten and then around 1975 exclusively as a preschool until it closed in June of 2015. In its earlier days, the Century Preschool had an enrollment of about 120 students who attended in four sessions of 30 children at a time. The proposed Day Care Center would be managed and operated by Sabrina Kerr Zache, who is the owner of Happy Trails Preschool, LLC. Ms. Zache proposes to open an Early Learning Center to provide education and care for toddlers and preschool aged children. The operation would have four employees. It would operate within two existing classrooms on the first floor of the building and accommodate an enrollment of approximately 24 children. The hours of operation are initially proposed to be 7:30am until 4;00pm. There is an existing fenced in play space outside that will also be used by the Center. The Property is located in the Residence 4 ("R-4") Zoning District where the use of the Property as a Day Care Center is permitted upon issuance of a Special Permit from the Zoning Board of Appeals. As required,the Applicant first applied for a building permit but because there is no construction contemplated,the Building Inspector waived the requirement to apply for the building permit.The property is also located within the Machine Shop Village Overlay District. Where no exterior alterations are proposed by the Applicant or property owner, the proposed Day Care Center is exempt from the review of the Neighborhood Conservation District Commission. (See Section 125-8.B) III. DISCUSSION As noted above, the Petitioner is requesting a special permit for the use of the Premises as a Day Care Center. Section 195-2.2 of the Zoning Bylaw defines a Day Care Center and Table 1: Surnmary of Use Regulations and Section 195-4.3.T of the Zoning Bylaw specify that the use as a Day Care Center is permitted within the R-4 District upon issuance of a Special Permit. The special permit is being requested pursuant to Section 195-10.7 of the Zoning Bylaw. The general requirements for issuance of a special permit are addressed in Section IV of this memo,below. There are no expressly detailed dimensional requirements or other specific operating requirements outlined in the Zoning Bylaw. {o0220118;0 2 Menio to North Andover ZBA Re:72 Elm Street March 15,2022 It is noted that the principal of the Applicant,Sabrina Kerr Zache,is well educated and qualified in the field of early childhood education,having obtained her Associates of Arts Degree in Early Childhood Education with a Director Concentration from fisher College. She also has 11 years of practical experience in childhood education. Her resume is included as evidence of her qualifications to operate the Day Care Center. IV. BASIS FOR SPECIAL PERMIT The Petitioner's proposed special permit meets all of the conditions for granting of a special permit as set forth in Section 195-10.7 of the Zoning Bylaw, and each of the required points 1 through 6 appearing in Section 9 of the Special Permit Application, which are addressed in this application,including as follows: 1. T1te particular use Pro posed or the laird or structure: The proposed use for the land will be for the operation of a Day Care Center,including an outdoor play area, which is an allowed use in the R-4 zone with and upon issuance of the special permit. 2. The specific site is air a io riate location or sticli use, struchlie or colidition: The use is permitted by right(with special permit) and the appearance will remain unchanged with no exterior changes proposed to the building or site plan. The portion of the building being leased by the applicant was used as a preschool for nearly fifty years. 3. There rl)ill be no nuisaiice or serious hazard to vehicles or edestriam:The traffic patterns will not be substantially increased as the Day Care Center use creates limited traffic. The Applicant proposes a limited enrollment of twenty four students and traffic will be limited to morning drop off and afternoon pickup only. The use of the Premises as a Day Care Center will not create any hazard. 4. Adertuate rind appropriate facilities will be provided for the proper operation o the proposed use: The Property is in an existing church and the classrooms to be used by the Applicant already exist. All necessary facilities needed for the operation of the Day Care Center presently exist. 5. T1le use is in harnroml Witll the purpose and intent of tine Zoning„Bylarl,• Allowing the Day Care Center use unit will not derogate from the intent or purpose of the Zoning Bylaw. The proposed use is a permitted use in the R-4 zone subject to issuance of a special permit, and will fulfill a need of service to the community. The use is permitted by right and the appearance will remain consistent with other properties within the neighborhood. 1002201 18;vl} 3 Memo to North Andover ZBA Re:72 Elm Street March 15,2092 6. Specific reference,ayd response to the criteria required by fire particular Special Permit for 70101 t1lis application is made (i.e., tIW Eartli Removal Special Permit Itas yyjqye criteria arid sy6iittal requirements): Not applicable. There are no specific criteria required or outlined that must be met in particular for a Special Permit for a Day Care Center. There are no unique criteria or submittal requirements. Accordingly,for the reasons stated above, and others that will be presented at the hearing,Applicant respectfully requests the Zoning Board of Appeals to grant the requested special permit,and to allow the proposed use of the Premises as a Day Care Center. Respectfully submitted, Happy Trails Preschool,LLC By its attorney, Kate R. Bargriesi, Esq. SMOLAK&VAUGHAN LLP 21 High Street-,Suite 301 North Andover, Massachusetts 01845 Tel. (978) 965-5886 (00220118;vl) 4