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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2025-07-08 Zoning Board of Appeals Minutes Approved Town of North Andover ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS Members Associate Member Michael T. Lis., Chair Matthew J. Ginsburg Laura Craig-Comin, Vice-Chair Zachary J. Hachey Frank J. Killilea, Clerk Melissa Rutherford James M. Testa Zoning Enforcement Officer Alexandria A. Jacobs, Esq Paul G. Hutchins MEETING MINUTES Date of Meeting: Tuesday, July 8, 2025 Time of Meeting: 7:30 p.m. Location of Meeting: Town Hall, 120 Main Street, North Andover, MA 01845 Signature: Terri MacNeil 1. Call to Order called at 7:30 p.m. Members Present: Michael T. Lis, Laura Craig-Comin, James T. Testa, Frank J. Killilea Ŕ Alexandria A. Jacobs, Matthew J. Ginsburg, and Melissa Rutherford Staff Present: Terri MacNeil Gavel given to: Michael T. Lis Pledge of Alliance 2. Acceptance of Minutes June 10, 2025 J. Testa made a motion to accept the minutes for the June 10, 2025 meeting, motion was seconded by M. Ginsburg; M. Lis, aye, J. Testa, aye, F. Killilea, A. Jacobs, aye, M. Ginsburg, aye. L. Craig-Comin and Melissa Rutherford will not be voting pending being sworn in. A. Jacobs recused herself from the 170 Pleasant Street Application 3. New Public Hearing of 170 Pleasant Street Clerk reads notice into the record. M. Lis informs the Applicant that there are only 4 voting members, the Board will have their discussion and at the end the Applicant meeting, or proceed with the 4 voting members, they would need all 4 yes votes. Brian Vaughan, Smolak and Vaughan for the Applicant and Lauriann Messina, principal who runs the child care center are at the podium. It is a family business. Notices and agendas are to be posted 48 hours in advance of a meeting excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays. Please keep in mind the Town Clerk's hours of operation and make necessary arrangements to be sure that posting is made in an adequate amount of time. A listing of topics the Chair reasonably anticipates will be discussed at a meeting are to be listed on the Agenda. Note: Matters may be called out of order and not as they appear in the Agenda. Page 1 of 6 Town of North Andover ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS Looking for a sign variance, existing sign has been there. Purchased property 2022. Under the bylaw it has been deemed to be abandoned, To use the same sign, it no longer meets current zoning for the 2 variances they have requested for height and square footage. Location of existing sign, feels it is an appropriately sized sign for the property. The property next Not looking to change anything, putting the sign back into use, put a new façade on it. Except for height and square footage it fully complies with current zoning in terms of its setbacks and location. Board Questions Applicant Not to alter the physical stature of the sign that already exists Existing sign is blank, replace the logo with Little Learners Child Care. Is the location conforming, except for the dimensions. Conforming in all ways except for dimensions. Setbacks are sufficient? Yes. The alternative would be to get rid of that sign and build a smaller sign, roughly in the same location If the sign were going to be taken down, it could be recited, closer to 125. When the sign becomes lower, you tend to block off some visibility for traffic. Where the current sign is located, it is not really a sightline issue because it is more removed from the roadway, but a smaller sign, the need to pull it closer to the street, then there would be issues. Is it lit? Not internally illuminated, Lighting bar I think that is a property line between both of us How it was previously, it had the big logo on the top and then it had a little filler box below that. Did you price out what it would be to lower it to the height of that little filler box, instead of having it quite as high? We did not. I believe in the past there has been something underneath that, but I believe that filler box was always part of the sign. Michael Messina - Director of Operations is at the podium. That piece you are talking about is a support, his never been anything posted there. The child care building is substantially lower than the sign would be. It does look much larger than any other sign along this stretch. It is not cost effective to rearrange that sign or lower that sign. We are looking to just replace the façade Zoning exists so that nothing too crazy stands out. Did you say that entirely? They would have to be a sign somewhere. ZBA Minutes for July 8, 2025 Page Ћ ƚŅ Џ Town of North Andover ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS Do you have a sign on the building. Yes. We were required to put it for identification purposes. Is the real concern the cost and not the visibility?. You could put the sign closer to the street? We would lose parking spaces, which is an issue, we need to maintain a certain number of parkin corner. If the sign is lower you will impede visibility. That is one of the other issues is that the sign would be pulled out closer to traffic and then would become sightline visibility issues, if it were a lower sign. We are just talking about putting a sign panel on an existing sign? If the sign cannot be used, with the cost of removing the sign, they would just leave it. Joe Levis 154-160 Pleasant Street is at the podium. Adjacent to the property. The sign has been there probably 30 years, it was always used to this day there has never been a complaint about the size, the height, the width, anything about it. They purchased the property about 2 years ago, what they have done to the property, the investment they enough of it. They run a really nice operation, great neighbors, it is a family run business. They are investing in this town, they are doing a fantastic job and we need to help them. Changing the size of the sign will cost them money. Is in favor of it. Curious about the illumination. There is an illumination bar, LED illumination bar that was changed when we did the construction to the building. They are on a timer, so they will mostly be working during the winter, pre-opening hours, shut off approximately an hour or two after it gets dark. We do not allow by zoning internally illuminated signs in North Andover, so if they were to make it internally illuminated, they would need to come back to us, so it would be a new variance. They are not looking for that. The external illumination the Board does not control. Sees the value to light the parking area pre- opening and closing picking up the kids. Just to identify that it is a daycare and no longer a medical facility. If you are comfortable proceeding with four voting members, we can do that, the 4 voting members would be J. Testa, M. Lis, F. Killilea and M. Ginsburg, if you would prefer to wait until next month. Comfortable with proceeding tonight. J. Testa makes a motion to close public comment. M. Ginsburg seconded, J. Testa, aye, M. Ginsburg, aye, F. Killilea, aye, M. Lis, aye. Board deliberates F. Killilea makes a motion to approve a variance, reads notice into the record. Incorporates, plans that were submitted with the application, including: (a) A plot plan, dated November 12, 2024 by Andover Consultants, Inc.; and (b) A proposed sign plan, dated May 21, 2025 by Fastsigns. ZBA Minutes for July 8, 2025 Page Ќ ƚŅ Џ Town of North Andover ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS J. Testa seconded, M. Ginsburg, aye, J. Testa, aye, M. Ginsburg, aye, F. Killilea, aye, M. Lis, aye. 4. New Public Hearing of 326 Forest Street Clerk reads Legal Notice into the record. Mark Biondi 326 Forest Street, is at the podium, his wife Maryanne is in the audience. They are looking to construct a sunroom off the back of their house, come straight out from their feet required but are looking for 10.7 feet relief in order to get this done. It is a 20 x 16 foot sunroom, 10 feet high, all glass solarium. What is the setback currently from the edge of your house. Thinks it is 19.3 No, it is 26.1. Is it at the height of the deck? Yes The neighboring house is considerably further into the lot. It is set way back. Narrow lot has limited frontage and then it gets wider as it goes back. Correct. Where you are placing the solarium is not directly across from s? No. Where the sunroom is going to end, home is set way back to the right. Did speak to them about it, they did not have any objections. Screening or fencing There is a fence, a rod iron fence, they have six dogs, a fenced in backyard. There are trees along the property line? In the back area. So that screens it as well? There is a buffer between them and the neighbors. In fact, when the trees are all filled in, you can barely see the neighbors house. So they ? No. Not a fan of double digits, in terms of people asking for relief, thinks it is pushing the limits. is a bunch. Appreciates the want for a sunroom, but it is a want versus a need. Understands making the sunroom match up with the deck. Was the plans discussed with the neighbors? Yes, with the neighbor in back of them, the neighbor directly on the side of their property. They had no issues. They thought it would enhance their property values. It is a very expensive sunroom. they think this is a great project, in terms of people who are directly affected. The house directly next to them is set way back and it is abutting mostly their driveway. There are some options, they can make it smaller. If the lot were rectangular, would be more willing to say you could shave a bit off of it, but the lot is bonkers. Were other spots or locations considered? Did not, it is the only way it flows within the house. ZBA Minutes for July 8, 2025 Page Ѝ ƚŅ Џ Town of North Andover ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS Would need to reconstruct the deck if the Board were to insist and put it on the back of the house. The support it gives them to have a beautiful room to go into with plants, it would mean a lot to them. Fully appreciates that, in some ways, wishes there was a letter from neighbors saying that they think it is a great thing. Given the fact that you have talked to your neighbors and they are thumbs up, if you move for continuance, and the Board apologizes for the delay of time and come back with letters. Looks like a greenhouse not just a sunroom. dilapidated porch, they closed it in and made a room out of it, where they have plants, they want to bump out that room and just extend it out, the sunroom would extend off that room and it would be parallel to the deck, it just happens to be all glass, pitch roof. You are asking for a double digit variance, greenhouse whereverFlorida room that happens to be glassed in and it just happens to be where the plants go, but its not truly a greenhouse and the roof does not ventilate then maybe manufacture a few tomato seedlings, feels that it is a different functionality. Strictly nice house plants. What is the pass through back and forth between the rest of the house? French door, goes out from the family room into the existing room, the wall would come down at the end of the room into not be a separate door room. Can you go into from the deck? No access to the deck. House is the way it was originally built. Always non-conforming because of the side yard? Correct. that. Does that room start at the back of the house or the front edge of the deck. It was an existing porch deck, it came out from the house a little bit. The beginning of this room where you enter from the family room does start at the back of the house. If they were asked to bring it in 2 feet, it would be short of the deck. Angle of the house, shape of the lot. The front setback is 50 feet. Closest house is more than twice that. No public comment When are you planning to do the project. As soon as we get the variance, we have a signed contract, we would like to go ahead as soon as possible. They want this for fall. It will be at the elevation of the existing deck? Correct. Putting Sonotubes!in and posting up off of that? Cement basis and open underneath. At the point where the Applicant has the option to proceed at which point the Board would close the public comment, deliberate and vote. Asks if the Applicant is comfortable moving forward? Agrees to move forward. ZBA Minutes for July 8, 2025 Page Ў ƚŅ Џ Town of North Andover ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS M. Ginsburg moves to close the public comment, J. Testa seconds, M. Ginsburg, aye, J. Testa, aye, F. Killilea, aye, M. Lis, aye, A. Jacobs, aye. Board deliberates. F. Killilea makes a motion to approve a variance, reads notice into the record. Makes reference to the plans included with the application that include: (a) A plot plan dated May 21, 2025 by Andover Consultants, Inc.; and (b) One sheet prepared by Four Seasons Solar Products, Inc., which is undated. J. Testa seconds. J. Testa, aye, M. Ginsburg, aye, F. Killilea, aye, M. Lis, aye. A. Jacobs, aye. 5. Miscellaneous 40 B Correspondence regarding Merrimack Condominium, no action is needed, just for the public record. There will be a meeting from KP Law on the 40B process as that is a possibility for the zoning board th going forward. That will be held on July 17 at 7 p.m. It will be virtual. It will also be made available to the public on North Andover Cam and will be posted on YouTube after the fact, so it will be available to the public, they can get every bit of input that we get. Lastly the Chair would like to congratulate L. Craig-Comin, J. Testa and M. Rutherford on being reappointed to the Board. 6. Adjournment 8:30 p.m. A. Jacobs makes a motion to adjourn, J. Testa seconds. J. Testa, aye, M. Ginsburg, aye, F. Killilea, aye, M. Lis, aye. A. Jacobs, aye. ZBA Minutes for July 8, 2025 Page Џ ƚŅ Џ