AUGUST 20, MEMBERS ABSENT: Mr. John Borden and Mr. Gene Kohls, Alternate.

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1 T o w n o f P o r t s m o u t h Z O N I N G B O A R D O F R E V I E W 2200 East Main Road / Portsmouth, Rhode Island (401) AUGUST 20, 2015 MEMBERS PRESENT: Mr. James Edwards, Chair, Mr. James Nott, Vice-Chair, Mr. James Sherrod, Secretary, Mr. James Hall, and Mr. Allen Shers, Alternate. MEMBERS ABSENT: Mr. John Borden and Mr. Gene Kohls, Alternate. OTHERS PRESENT: Town Solicitor Kevin Gavin was present as legal counsel for the Board, Building Official George Medeiros, and Barbara Ripa as recording secretary. Mr. Edwards opened the meeting at 7:00 p.m. I. MINUTES: The minutes of the July 16, 2015 regular meeting were presented for approval. A motion was made by Mr. Shers and seconded by Mr. Nott to accept the minutes as presented. The motion carried with all in favor. II. CHAIRMAN S REPORT: Mr. Edwards told the Board that Mr. Kohls had turned in his resignation to the Clerk s office due to his work obligations, so the Board will need a new member. III. CONTINUED BUSINESS: 1. (TC) A petition by Daniel Keating (applicant) & Pearce Anthony Farm LLC (owner) 2503 East Main Road, Portsmouth, RI for a special use permit to allow a new retail business on tax assessor s map 36, lot 14, Art V, Sec E.1 & 14. The Board received an from Mr. Keating requesting to postpone the hearing until September because the petitioner still had a couple of to do s and the Planning Board advisory opinion is not ready. A motion was made by Mr. Nott and seconded by Mr. Hall to continue the petition to the regular meeting of September 17, 2015 at 7:00 p.m. 1 of 6

2 IV. NEW BUSINESS 1. (R) A petition by Edward Demerest, 1190 Anthony Rd, Portsmouth, RI for a variance and a special use permit to construct a deck and stairs closer to property line and would exceed allowable lot coverage on tax assessor s map 1, lot 36 Art IV, Sec B & Art VI, Sec A. Before the petition began, a discussion took place regarding the issue of notice and whether the Common Fence Point Improvement Association (CFPIA) was notified. Dennis Macedo, President CFPIA and Chris Museler, a Trustee were both present and satisfied with notice. Edward Demerest, 1190 Anthony Road was sworn in. Mr. Demerest stated that he has a new, raised leech field and it has distorted the back yard enough that he is trying to get some beneficial use out of the yard by constructing a deck. It will exceed lot coverage by 12%. The stairs exist on the north side of the house already and will not encroach further. Mr. Edwards reviewed the special use permit criteria with Mr. Demerest, and Mr. Demerest testified that the project met all special use permit criteria. Mr. Edwards called for abutters or interested parties. Dennis Macedo, President of CFPIA, 1188 Anthony Road stated that the dimensions on the plan that Mr. Demerest has is not correct. He s concerned that the porch is too big and that he will want to enclose it eventually. Robert Torres, 1194 Anthony Road has a recorded survey that shows the actual property lines. He showed it to the Board and it seem ed to show a difference to the back yard boundaries from Mr. Demerest s plan. Deborah Torres, 1194 Anthony Road, her concern is that they personally complied with everything the town, CRMC, and all other agencies required. His lawn is not as distorted as he claims. She has an objection to the raised deck and the stairs don t need to be extended. Landscaping design can be used to help his lawn. Chris Museler, 1271 Anthony Rd, Trustee of CFPIA, said he is in charge of the swath of property that goes around the point. Encroachment issues are what they deal with and he is just here to observe. Mr. Demerest stated that he had a survey from the previous owner because he replaced the septic in Because of the concern over the location of the house and the measurement to the back lot lines, Mr. Demerest asked for a continuation to the next meeting so he could get the stamped septic plan and submit it to the Board. A motion was made by Mr. Nott and seconded by Mr. Sherrod to continue the petition of Edward Demerest to the regular meeting of September 17, 2015 at 7:00 p.m. 2 of 6

3 2. (R) A petition by Vanessa Campos, 54 Dorothy Ave, Portsmouth, RI for a variance and a special use permit to construct a garage closer to property line than zoning allows on tax assessor s map 51, lot 107 Art IV, Sec B & Art VI, Sec A. Vanessa Campos, 54 Dorothy Avenue was sworn in. Ms. Campos said that she needs a 2 10 side yard setback variance on the south in order to construct a garage. Ms. Campos stated that the house was supposed to be built 43 from the southerly property line to allow for a garage to be built, but it was constructed about 36 away in error. She stated that she had a survey done and she could not build the garage without a variance. A 21 garage would be too small. She stated that most houses have garages in her area. Mr. Edwards reviewed the special use permit criteria with her and she testified that the construction of the garage met all the special use permit criteria. Mr. Edwards called for abutters or interested parties. There were none. Mr. Nott: Vanessa Campos, 54 Dorothy Ave nue, map 51, lot 107 is seeking a 2 10 variance and a special use permit to construct a 24 x 29 garage closer to the property line than zoning allows. They erred in the location of the house. The hardship is not of her action. It will not alter the character of the neighborhood. I approve of both the dimensional variance and the special use permit. Mr. Sherrod: Approve/Approve. A 2 10 variance is reasonable, so I approve both. Mr. Hall: I approve both for reasons previously stated. Mr. Shers: The variance request is reasonable. I approve for reasons previously stated. Mr. Edwards: The Chair a lso approves. It is the least relief necessary and I approve both for reasons previously stated. 3. (R) A petition by Jeffery Kielbasa, 94 & 96 Seaconnet Blvd, Portsmouth, RI for a variance and a special use permit to construct two new dwellings that would exceed allowable lot coverage on tax assessor s map 21, lots 135 & 135A, Art IV, Sec B & Art VI, Sec A. 3 of 6

4 Jeffrey Kielbasa, 1220 Fish Road, Tiverton, RI was sworn in. Mr. Kielbasa stated that they would merge the three dotted line lots to form two lots, tear down the Quonset huts on the property, and build two, two-story, three bedroom homes that would need special use permits and lot coverage variances. Mr. Kielbasa had a letter from late attorney Vernon Gorton that stated that the Planning Board Administrative Officer would stamp the merger approved when the Quonset huts were demolished. Approval could be conditioned upon the lot lines being changed. The petitioner testified that the homes would be in compliance with all special use criteria. Mr. Edwards called for abutters or interested parties. Greg Delong, 619 Park Avenue was sworn in. Mr. Delong said he has no problem with him building on his property, but he objects because there is no hardship at least one house is for speculation (he intends to sell for profit) and Mr. Delong believes financial gain is not a hardship in the Zoning Ordinance. Frank Sardinha, 112 Holliston Avenue was sworn in. Mr. Sardinha said he has an existing automotive business across the street and he is concerned about people moving into the newly built homes and then being unhappy because his business makes noise. Mike Corrado, 87 Seaconnet Boulevard was sworn in. He asked for clarification of the lots. Elizabeth Peper, 95 Seaconnet Boulevard was sworn in. She stated that they have two lots and they wanted to put two bedrooms in and couldn t because of the size. She believes they all should conform with zoning. She is concerned about the lot coverage. A motion was made by Mr. Nott and seconded by Mr. Hall to place a condition on the petition that if it is approved it is subject to the three lots being merged into two as shown on the plan prepared by John Braga dated January 4, The motion carried with all in favor. Mr. Nott: Jeffery Kielbasa, map 21, lots 135 and 135A is before the Board seeking to combine the three lots to two and to build two homes in order to make the property more conforming. It is in keeping with the characteristics of the neighborhood. It meets special use permit criteria. H e needs a 4% lot coverage variance, and I approve both. Mr. Sherrod: Approve/Approve. I agree with the statements made by Mr. Nott. It will be more in conformance with zoning and I approve. Mr. Hall: I approve for reasons previously stated. 4 of 6

5 Mr. Shers: I also approve for reasons previously stated. Mr. Edwards: The Chair also approves. I believe it s reasonable and exceeding lot coverage is usual in Island Park and I approve both for reasons previously stated. The Board called a five minute break at 8:30 p.m. The Board was called back to order at 8:35 p.m. 4. (R) A petition by June Borges, 63 Atlantic Ave, Portsmouth, RI for a variance and a special use permit to construct a dwelling closer to property line and to exceed allowable lot coverage on tax assessor s map 29, lot 62 Art IV, Sec B & Art VI, Sec A. June Borges, 66 Atlantic Avenue was sworn in. Ms. Borges said they would like to raze and replace the dwelling at 66 Atlantic Avenue. Attorney Eric Chappell, 171 Chase Road was present to represent Ms. Borges. Mr. Chappell asked to amend the petition to correct some errors. The lot coverage request was 8% and the side yard setback variance request to the south is 5. A motion was made by Mr. Nott and seconded by Mr. Sherrod to allow the peti tioner to amend the petition to change the lot coverage to 8% over and the side yard setback variance request to the south to 5. The motion carried with all in favor. Exhibit A is a picture of her the neighborhood and her abutting neighbor on the other side that shows their stairs in the road. Exhibit B is the building plans that are preliminary only. Exhibit C is a previous petition from her abutting neighbor that was about five years ago and it shows the distance of their front yard. Ms. Borges will use the average of the neighbors front yards for her petition. She wants to rebuild this home take it down and rebuild it to 24 x 36 with a deck and a new OWTS. It is a non-conforming lot. It will be a three-bedroom. Mr. Chappell went over the special use criteria with Ms. Borges and she testified that the petition would meet all the criteria. Mr. Edwards called for abutters or interested parties. There were none. Mr. Nott: June Borges, 63 Atlantic Avenue, map 29, lot 62 is seeking to remove and replace a dwelling which will be 10 larger. Actually the house is smaller but she would like a farmer s porch on 5 of 6

6 the front which is understandable. She meets all the special use permit criteria and it meets the criteria for a variance so I approve of both. Mr. Sherrod: Approve/Approve. The 5 dimensional variance is the least relief necessary and she meets all the special use permit criteria so I approve of both. Mr. Hall: It is the least relief necessary, she has met the special use permit criteria and I agree with Mr. Nott, so I approve both. Mr. Shers: I vote to approve both the dimensional variance and the special use permit for reasons previously stated. Mr. Edwards: The Chair also approves. I approve both for reasons previously stated. A motion to adjourn was made by Mr. Hall and seconded by Mr. Nott. The motion carried with all in favor. The meeting was adjourned at 8:55 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Barbara A. Ripa, Recording Secretary 6 of 6