32C-116 (6) Trash is all over the neighborhood, Clark remarked.
There will either be a dumpster beside the garage,or he will put bins out, Sansom said. Also,he will
put barrels beside the garage rather than right in the middle of the parking lot.
Crystal asked Douglas to indicate the location of the dumpster on the plan.
Crystal asked whether there was enough space in front of the garage for cars to pull in?
Douglas said there is eighteen feet of back-up space.
During the renovation, construction equipment will tear up the driveway, so it will have to be
regraded and will probably drain toward the back of the house, Douglas said.
If drainage goes to Conz Street, DPW approval is necessary, Kuzdeba noted.
Duseau moved to close the Public Hearing. Diemand seconded. The motion passed
uanimously 6:0.
Duseau moved to approve a Special Permit with Site Plan Approval for a mixed use at 33-35
Conz Street because it has met the criteria as set out in the application with the following
conditions: 1) If the parking lot is paved, the applicant shall stripe the lot for the number of
spaces indicated, 2) Plantings along Conz Street shall not exceed three feet in height, and
landscaping shall include a hedgerow along the side as represented on the plan, 3) The
applicant shall file an amended plan showing the location of the dumpster and no ground sign.
Weil seconded the motion.
Douglas said he would also remove the sign from the plan.
The motion passed uanimously 6:0.
Douglas clarified that the business will be handicapped-accessible, but not the apartments. The
applicants will not live in the house, he said.
Crystal pointed out that signs are not allowed in residential districts, and Kuzdeba said she had
informed the applicant that the ground sign shown in the application was not allowed. When
planners changed zoning to allow mixed uses in residential districts, they failed to include a
provision for signage,Kuzdeba explained. The only signage presently allowed in residential districts
is for medical doctors and dental practictioners, or signage to identify a dwelling unit(not to exceed
two square feet).
Duseau said that this ommission should be corrected, since someone driving by trying to find a
business presents a danger. Kuzdeba said a provision for signage could be incorporated into
upcoming changes to zoning.
The way zoning is currently written,the applicant needs a Variance for a sign, Crystal informed the
applicant.
Since a sign is shown on the submitted plan,the Board will have to include a condition stating that
the pylon sign shown on the plan is specifically disallowed, Crystal added.
Crystal asked whether the owners were planning to upgrade the parking area? Sansom said they will
next year if they have the money.
Crystal said the Board would not require paving,but would require that, if the applicant does pave
the parking lot,they stripe the spaces.
x * Douglas said that, although he did not yet have specific landscaping plans,plantings would consist
of a mixture of ground coverage and low shrubs. He confirmed that, as shown on submitted plans,
there will be a hedge row on one side of the property and decorative plantings in front.
The Department of Public Works (DPW) had no concerns.
Crystal asked whether there were any comments from the public?
Karl Heston of 22 Conz Street expressed concern about flooding in the driveway. In the winter,
cars become stuck, and the driveway is full of water, he commented.
Sansom responded that the property's previous owners allowed the old gravel parking lot to wear
away and shallow out. He built up the lot as best he could before winter and intends to do more to
take care of that problem, Sansom said.
Gordon Clark of 36 Conz Street asked where the dumpster would be located?
Sansom said he is hoping to get rid of the dumpster.
3
•
Douglas reviewed the following requested plan waivers:
---- waiver of the requirement to show all properties and owners within three hundred
feet. An abutters list has been provided, Douglas noted.
---- waiver of the requirement to show topography. The site is flat, Douglas said.
---- waiver of the requirement to show the location of stormwater and drainage/detention
facilities and water quality structures. The existing parking lot is gravel, and water
percolates down through the site, Douglas commented.
The accounting business will be pretty low-impact for the neighborhood,Douglas continued. There
are a few other businesses close by, so there is a precedence for businesses on the street. The
business will not have a high traffic flow, since Beaumier is a Certified Public Accountant(CPA)
and does not have a lot of visitors to the office. Planned improvements include rebuilding the rotting
front porch,adding a ramp on the parking lot side of the building to make the first floor handicapped-
accessible, making toilets handicapped-accessible, adding landscaping, and generally cleaning up
the property. The applicant will also add a sign in conformance with the zoning ordinance (not yet
designed). Overall,the impact of the business on the property will be positive, Douglas concluded.
Richard Marquis disclosed the fact that Mr. Douglas is working for him and his wife as an architect
on his house. Crystal said this should not present a problem since Marquis has no interest in the
project before the Board.
Blatt said that, although parking is not an issue, the proposal appears to require four new parking
spaces, since the office is twelve hundred(1,200) square feet.
Crystal asked if anyone wished to speak in favor of or in opposition to the application? No one
spoke.
Members asked questions, eliciting the following additional information:
---- The existing garage will remain. The owners intend to give one garage space to each
tenant and also to require tenants to park on the far side of the parking lot to keep
front spaces open. No signage is proposed for the parking spaces.
---- As part of the proposed improvements, the back deck will be rebuilt so that
residential traffic can take place in back of the apartments. Residents will access the
upstairs apartments through a staircase in the rear of the building. The owners will
provide a second means of egress through the front of the building and are discussing
a stair in front of the house, Douglas added.
---- There will be some sort of lighting in the rear for tenants.
---- Low shrubs are proposed as plantings along Conz Street.
2
. ,
City of Northampton, Massachusetts OV-1"14B2-
Office of Planning and Development
City Hall • 210 Main Street # #
Northampton, MA 01060 • (413) 586-6950 1"! ►�; �
FAX (413) 586-3726 r , JWe
• Conservation Commission•Historical Commission .-�►��q�T�;
• Housing Partnership• Parking Commission•
Board •Zoning Board of Appeals
Northampton Planning Board
Minutes of Meeting
September 11, 1997
The Northampton Planning Board held a meeting on Thursday, September 11, 1997 at 7:00 p.m. in
the Council Chambers, Wallace J. Puchalski Municipal Building, 212 Main Street, Northampton,
Massachusetts.
Present were Members: Chair Andrew J. Crystal, Jody Blatt, Paul Diemand, Nancy Duseau and
Associate Members Richard Marquis and Sanford Weil,Jr.
At 7:03 p.m., Crystal called the meeting to order.
* At 9:00 p.m., Crystal opened the Public Hearing on a request from Frank Sansom and Sarah
Beaumier for a Special Permit with Site Plan Approval for a mixed use permit(residential&
offices) under Sections 5.2, 10.10& 10.11 of the Zoning Ordinance, for property located at 33-35
Conz Street, Northampton, also known as Northampton Assessor's Map 32C, Parcel 116.
Crystal read the legal notice and explained the procedure he would use in conducting the hearing.
Tom Douglas of Tom Douglas Architects presented the application,accompanied by Frank Sansom
and Sarah Beaumier. The applicants are requesting a permit to allow a business use(Beaumier's
accounting business) to occupy part of the first floor in a URC district, Douglas explained. The
existing house is one hundred years old and presently has four apartments. The applicants intend
to renovate the two apartments on the first floor,making them smaller to make room for the office,
and also to renovate the two apartments on the second floor.
Douglas presented further details as follows: The accounting business will have four offices. The
use requires two additional parking spaces, but available parking is more than adequate. There are
seventeen existing parking spaces, nine on one side of the parking area, four on the other, and four
in the garage. The four apartments require eight parking spaces, and two more spaces are required
for the business, for a total of ten required spaces.
ORIGINAL TEC O RFC;YCLEN PAP'R
Pursuant to Massachusetts General Laws (MGL), Chapter 40A, Section 11, no Special Permit,
or any extension, modification or renewal thereof, shall take effect until a copy of the decision
bearing the certification of the City Clerk that twenty days have elapsed after the decision has
been filed, or if such an appeal has been filed that it has been dismissed or denied, is recorded in
the Hampshire County registry of Deeds or Land Court, as applicable and indexed under the
name of the owner of record or is recorded and noted on the owner's certificate of title. The fee
for such recording or registering shall be paid by the owner or applicant. It is the owner or
applicant's responsibility to pick up the certified decision from the City Clerk and record it at the
Registry of Deeds.
The Northampton Planning Board hereby certifies that a Special Permit with Site Plan
Approval has been GRANTED and that copies of this decision and all plans referred to in it
have been filed with the Planning Board and the City Clerk.
Pursuant to Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 40A, Section 15, notice is hereby given that
this decision is filed with the Northampton City Clerk on the date below.
If anyone wishes to appeal this action, an appeal must be filed pursuant to MGL Chapter 40A,
Section 17, with the Hampshire County Superior Court and notice of said appeal filed with the
City Clerk within twenty days (20) of the date of that this decision was filed with the City
Clerk.
Applicant: Frank Sansom and Sarah Beaumier-33-35 Conz Street
DECISION DATE: September 11, 1997
DECISION FILED WITH THE CITY CLERK: October 2, 1997
11t�1
77
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The following conditions were imposed on this Special Permit:
1) If the parking lot is paved, the applicant shall stripe the lot for the number of spaces
indicated on the plan entitled,"Renovations to 33-35 Conz Street, Site Plan"
Prepared by Thomas Douglas Architect, dated August 5, 1997.
2) Plantings along Conz Street shall not exceed three feet in height, and landscaping
shall include a hedgerow along the side as represented on the above-referenced plan.
3) The applicant shall file an amended plan showing the location of the dumpster and
no ground sign.
•
•
B. The requested use will promote the convenience and safety of vehicular and
pedestrian movement within the site and on adjacent streets and minimize traffic
impacts on the streets and roads in the area. The applicant has met the parking
requirements of the Zoning Ordifsice, and the requested use will generate minimal
additional traffic.
C. The requested use will promote a harmonious relationship of structures and open
spaces to the natural landscape,existing buildings and other community assets in
the area because the applicant has added plantings to help the structure blend with
the natural landscape.
D. The requested use will not overload, and will mitigate adverse impacts on, the City's
resources, including the City's water supply and distribution system, sanitary and
storm sewage collection and treatment systems, fire protection, streets and schools.
E. The requested use meets all special regulations set forth in the Zoning Ordinance
under Section 10.11.
F. The requested use bears a positive relationship to the public convenience or welfare.
The use will not unduly impair the integrity of character of the district or adjoining
zones because it is in keeping with the character of the district.
The use will not be detrimental to the health, morals, or general welfare and shall be
in harmony with the general purpose and intent of the Ordinance.
G. The requested use will promote City planning objectives to the extentpossible and
will not adversely affect those objectives, as defined in City master or study plans
adopted under M.G.L. Chapter 41, Section 81-C and D.
In reviewing the Site Plan submitted with the Special Permit, the Planning Board found
that the requested use complied with the following technical performance standards.
1. There are no new curb cuts.
2. Pedestrian, bicycle and vehicular traffic have been separated on site to the extent
possible.
,
e id
City of Northampton, Massachusetts <,:cKA1►f p1,
Office of Planning and Development �,0 �;�7,.5 O�
City Hall • 210 Main Street '
Northampton, MA 01060 • (413) 586-69 L L5
FAX (413) 586-3726 z 1;14*-4■% l
• Conservation Commission • Historical Commissi nl �•� ����;;
• Housing Partnership•Parking Commission OPT ' T •
• Planning Board•Zoning Board of Appeals NAT AR,,f+p,T►nMpG i�`SP tai
DECISION OF
\ 1 : . : u ' IL ' : \ ► \ LARD
APPLICANT: Frank Sansom and Sarah Beaumier
ADDRESS: 10 Fort Hill Road
Haydenville, MA 01039
OWNER: Frank Sansom
ADDRESS: 10 Fort Hill Road
Haydenville, MA 01039
RE LAND OR BUILDINGS IN NORTHAMPTON, ,' ;`NA "`' t
MAP AND PARCEL NUMBS ' iw #3s6
At a meeting conducted on September 11, 1997, the Northampton Planning Board unanimously
voted 6:0 to grant the request of Frank Sansom and Sarah Beaumier for a SPECIAL PERMIT
with Site Plan Approval under the provisions of Sections 5.2, 10.10 and 10.11 in the
Northampton Zoning Ordinance, for a mixed use in a URC District at 33-35 Conz Street.
Planning Board Members voting were: Chair Andrew J. Crystal,Jody Blatt, Paul
Diemand, Nancy Duseau and Associate Members Richard Marquis and Sanford Weil,Jr.
In Granting the Special Permit, the Planning Board found:
A. The requested use as a mixed use(a professional office and a residence) protects
adjoining premises against seriously detrimental uses because it is in keeping with
the character of the neighborhood,which contains other businesses, and will
upgrade the appearance of the property.
FRHTEN OR PC n1 PAPER