TOWN OF GRANBY
ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS
MINUTES
March 15, 2011
Present: Wayne Chapple, Kelly Rome, Suzanne Yucha, and William Percival
Chairman Wayne Chapple convened the meeting at 7:30 p.m. and secretary William Percival read the Legal Notice. The Legal Notice was published on March 4, 2011 and March 11, 2011 in the Connecticut Section of the Hartford Courant.
REGULAR MINUTES
ON A MOTION by W. Percival, seconded by S. Yucha, the Board voted (4-0-0) to approve the minutes of the regular meeting of February 15, 2011 as presented.
Chairman Chapple explained the procedure of the meeting and noted to those in attendance that decisions would generally be mailed to the applicant within 10 days. Approval, when granted, shall be null and void if not filed within 90 days of the approval date.
PUBLIC HEARING
The hearing on the appeal by Valley Free Masonic Associates, seeking variances to the minimum required; front yard setback, lot frontage, lot area, and lot depth as outlined within Section 5.0 of the Zoning Regulations for property located at 19 East Granby Road, opened at 7:34 p.m.
Terri-Ann Hahn, LADA, P.C., appeared on behalf of the Valley Free Masonic Associates showing maps of the property and surrounding area. This building is owned and operated by the Valley Free Masonic Associates. The building is on a small, non-conforming lot and is considered to be a pre-existing lot under Section 2.7 of the Zoning Regulations. Ms. Hahn stated the issues are with the area and bulk requirements. She gave a printed map to the Board members, showing this parcel and surrounding parcels in an effort to show how small this parcel is. She outlined the series of variances that are being requested in this application.
Chairman Chapple asked for clarification on the specific need for the requested variances. Ms. Hahn explained there is a lot of gray area regarding the existing non-conformity and this request would help to make the existing conditions clear in establishing the non-conformity.
Chairman Chapple went on to say that this application does not show that there is a plan in place to make any changes to the building, which would require a variance. If and when an addition or changes to the outside of the building were to be proposed, then an application for a variance would be appropriate. Normal maintenance of a building doesn’t fall under the jurisdiction of Zoning Board of Appeals.
Public comment: Although there were about 12 people in attendance, there was no public comment.
The public hearing closed at 7:58 p.m.
ON A MOTION by W. Chapple, seconded by S. Yucha, the Board voted unanimously (4-0-0) to deny the appeal by Valley Free Masonic Associates seeking variances to the minimum required; front yard setback, lot frontage, lot area and lot depth as outlined within Section 5.0 of the Zoning Regulations for property located at 19 East Granby Road as follows:
the appeal for variances is denied on the grounds that the applicant has not brought an application upon which the Board can reasonably act within the regulations. The Zoning Board of Appeals is not authorized to vary zoning regulations without any identifiable change being made to the property.
The meeting adjourned at 8:05 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Susan Christian
Recording Secretary
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