6:30 PM Old/New Business
7:00 PM 225 Beal Street, LLC (with ZBA) 225 Beal Street / Hitchcock Shoes
Special Permit A3 and Site Plan Review in Association with Application for a Modification to the Special Permit A2 to waive the requirement to construct 19 unbuilt parking spaces
7:30 PM Epoch Senior Housing – Update/Review Evaluations/Minor Modifications
8:00 PM Continuation of Zoning Hearings:
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Present: Planning Board Members, Paul Healey, Sarah Corey, Judy Sneath, and Gary Tondorf-Dick. Also present was Planner Katharine Lacy.
6:30 PM Old/New Business
1. The Board voted to approve minutes of January 10, 2011.
2. The Board discussed the appointment of a Planning Board Member to take the place of Susan Murphy on the Harbor Task Force. No decision was made.
7:00 PM 225 Beal Street, LLC (with ZBA) 225 Beal Street / Hitchcock Shoes
Form A Plan and Modification to Special Permit for Hitchcock Shoes.
Present for the Applicant: Attorney Robert Devin, William Flately (for the Flately Company) and Scott Cohen, Hawthorne Partners.
Mr. Devin presented a Form A plan showing a simple land swap between Epoch Senior Housing (former Flatley Property) and the Hitchcock Shoes property at 225 Beal Street intended to square off the property lines for both properties. Board members reviewed the plan, and concluded that it was not a Subdivision. It was moved, seconded and SO VOTED to endorse the plan entitled “Approval Not Required Plan of Land on Sgt. William B. Terry Drive and Beal Street, Hingham Massachusetts, Plymouth County, Prepared for Hawthorne Partners” dated December 7, 2010 and prepared by Reed Land Surveying, Lakeville, MA.
Following endorsement of the Form A plan, Mr. Devin explained that the portion of Hitchcock Shoes to be “swapped” was designated, in a 1991 ZBA decision, as surplus area to be held for extra parking should such a need ever arise. Based on our off-street parking regulations, Hitchcock Shoes would need 87 parking spaces; in the 1991 ZBA decision they were allowed to build only 67 spaces, but reserved room for an additional 19 spaces to be held in case they should be needed. To date the need has not arisen, and, in fact, even the built portion of the parking lot is underused. At this point the owners of Hitchcock Shoe are looking for a Special Permit A3 to ask for a permanent reduction of 19 of the remaining un-built reserve spaces, which would allow for the aforementioned land-swap.
Board members asked what would happen if another type of land use occupied the building that actually did need the extra parking. Mr. Devin explained that there was ample extra room on the property to accommodate extra parking in the front and rear, but reiterated that there seemed to be plenty of parking.
It was moved, seconded and SO VOTED to grant a Special Permit A3 to reduce the total number of parking spaces required by the Zoning By-Law by 19, subject to the condition that sufficient area be reserved on site to replace these spaces should the need for additional parking be identified by the Inspector of Buildings.
7:30 PM Epoch Senior Housing – Update/Review Evaluations/Minor Modifications
Scott Cohen, from Epoch Senior Housing, came before the Planning Board and ZBA to 1) request a minor modification to the site plan relative to the configuration of the service area at the rear of the building and 2) to show the Board the proposed elevations for the building as required by a condition in the Site Plan approval.
8:00 PM Continuation of Zoning Hearings:
ARTICLE 1: To Review and Update Use Table
The Planning Board and ZBA determined that they would limit the scope of this article to reviewing permitted uses in all Residence Districts, and Business A and B.
ARTICLE 2: To Amend Dimensional Requirements for Business B
Board members reviewed various aerial photographs of the four areas in Town designated as Business B. Discussion focused on identifying what measures would improve the appearance, safety and functionality of these area.
Zoning Administrator Sue Eddy reported on what issues had been identified through the course of ZBA hearings over the past few years that might prompt a change to the Use Table. Discussion focused on Section III-A, 1.8.1, 1.8.2, and 1.8.3, relative to how many “commercial” vehicles you can have on a residential property, which had resulted in some confusion relative to requests for enforcement made to the Inspector of Buildings. Joe Fisher suggested that the term commercial vehicle be replaced with the term “non-private passenger vehicles. This would include school buses, and private livery services.
ARTICLE 4: Amend Definition of Street
To see if the Town will amend the Zoning By-Law at Section VI (Definitions), to clarify the definition of “Street”. The Board reviewed a variety of definitions from other Zoning By-Laws. After a long discussion they settled on the following language:
1) A public way or way which the Clerk of the Town certifies is maintained and used as a public way or 2) A way shown on a plan therefore approved or endorsed in accordance with the Subdivision Control Law, or 3) A way in existence when the subdivision control law became effective in the Town of Hingham having, in the opinion of the Planning Board, sufficient width, suitable grades, and adequate construction to provide for the needs of vehicular traffic in relation to the proposed use of the land abutting thereon or served thereby and for the installation of municipal services to serve such land and the buildings erected or to be erected thereon.
The meeting was adjourned at 9:00 PM.
Respectfully Submitted,
Katharine T. Lacy, Town Planner