Walpole Zoning Board of Adjustments

Minutes: May 20, 2015

Present: Board members: Chair Myra Mansouri, Jan Galloway Le Clerc Vice-Chair, Ernie Vose, Clerk, Bob Anderson, Mary Therese Lester.  Alternate: Stephanie Stoughton. Absent: Alternate Judy Trow.

Recording: Marilou Blaine Recording Secretary.  These minutes are unapproved and will be reviewed at the June 17, 2015, meeting for corrections, additions and/or omissions.

Call to Order: Chairman Myra Mansouri opened the meeting at 7:38 pm. Since there was a full board, an alternate was not needed to fill in.

Minutes: Mr. Vose moved to accept the minutes of the April 2015 meeting as presented. Ms. LeClerc  seconded the motion and the board voted in the affirmative.

Public Hearings:

Signage for the Burdick & Burns LLC building on Main Street.

Mr. Shawn Doyle represented Burdick & Burns LLC. He showed photographs of the signs that needed the special exception. There were two new smaller double-sided signs pointing out the entrances to the restaurant and chocolate shop; a third sign hanging down from a larger sign that says Professional Offices says EOS Study Tours. Since the signs were within 100 feet of other signs, a special exception was needed.

The sign ordinance, Article 4 No. 6 says signs in the commercial district shall be placed not less than than one hundred (100) feet from another sign unless the party gets a special exception from the Zoning Board. The smaller signs were less than six (6) square feet and the EOS sign is 60 inches-by-8 inches.

Ms. Lester said the signs are not interfering with another signs, all are under six square feet and I don’t see any reason not to grant a special exception.

Ms. Mansouri brought a letter from Galloway Real Estate saying it approved of the signage.

Ms. LeClerc made a motion to approved the special exception as presented. It was seconded by Ms. Lester and approved unanimously by the board. 

Signage for the Cafe in the Dennis Pellegrino building.

Mr. Jesse Carr requested and received a variance for the signs he and Ms. Kathy Mazziott want to put outside the building. It will be a cafe and open for breakfast and lunch. The double-sided, free-standing sign will be a little larger than 9 square feet and hanging between two posts. A sign on the side of the building, just above the window will say Bake Shop and be about seven (7) feet long and 14 inches high. The lettering will be within that rectangle. The sign is black with gold leaf and simple block lettering.

The  board went through each of the five criteria and answered unanimously in the affirmative.

New business:

Signage: Ms. Snow Frye, who had been scheduled to attend, had called Ms. Mansouri to tell her she could not make the meeting. She was going to explain her signage on and at the Pellegrino building. She’ll be at the next meeting

Yard requirements: Mr. Chris Ballou, 25 Dearborn Circle, wanted approval to put a 12-foot-by-20-foot-shed on his property 12 feet from the adjacent lot. Yard requirements in a Residential B neighborhood state that the shed should be 20 feet from the lot line. Article 5, Part C – Land Standards.

Mr. Vose asked how large the property was. Mr. Ballou said his lot was .69 acres. Mr. Vose said that these lots were approved before zoning so they are a little smaller than the regular lots in Residential B.

Mr. Ballou had signed permission from his immediate neighbors approving the placement of the shed.

Ms. Mansouri asked why he wanted to put it there. He explained that there were bushes about 8 feet high between his neighbor and him and he wanted the shed where it would be most convenient to get things from in it. It would be in the turnaround area.

He wanted to use if for his tools, some of his child’s playthings, and garden and snow equipment. He didn’t want to put it in the middle of the backyard because that was where his son played and it would take up a considerable amount of area.

The board told him he needed a variance and the board voted to to hold a public hearing next month.

Signage: Walpole Youth Baseball Foundation wants to put a free-standing, 42 square-foot, double-sided sign at 30 Upper Walpole Road. Mr. James Neal, a trustee of Walpole Youth Baseball, Foundation, represented the group. The sign is red and white and says Hubbard Park. Below it is a much smaller sign saying Hubbardpark.org. A baseball is at center top. Lighting would be from the bottom on the ground and on a timer.

Mr. Neal was told that the sign regulations in the commercial district are 32 square feet and this sign is just 10 feet over that amount. If his group decides to stay with this size sign, they could apply for a variance but would have to prove hardship, which may be difficult considering there are no signs nearby competing with this sign.

The distance from the edge of the traveled roadway complies with the corresponding zoning ordinances.

Mr. Neal will let the secretary know if the group wants to consider asking for a variance and a public hearing was scheduled next month in case the group did.

Signage: Mr. Azariah  Acker said he was before the board to ask for two signs at 28 Main Street where there is a Victorian house and an art gallery in the carriage house on the back of the property. One sign would be on the building and the other would be a free-standing sign, 15 square feet. It says CYNTHIA – REEVES Contemporary Art The Barn at 28 Main  CYNTHIA – REEVES.COM. One sign is 60-inches-by-24-inches. The other is 40-inches-by-16-inches. The property is owned by Mr. Bruce Carruthers.

The footage of the signs falls within the allowed requirements in a commercial district but one sign is closer to the edge of the road than the mandatory footage requirement.

The ordinance states:  Article IV No. 6. “signs shall be placed not less than 60 feet from the edge of the traveled roadway and not less than one hundred(100) feet from another sign.”

The distance between the two signs is more than 100 feet, which is in compliance.

Mr. Acker said he will apply for a variance and a vote to schedule a public hearing in June was approved.

Correspondence: Several requests for excavation at the gravel pits in Walpole were read as was a request from Ms. Patricia Rodrigues for information and the 2014 inspection report of the George Graves gravel pit. The Gravel Pit owners who received permits were: Cold River for a 155,330 expansion; Whipple Hill 300 cubic yards of sand; Hodgkins 2,400 sand; Lane 200,000 stone products, 20,000 sand; and a pending permit for George Graves of 500 of gravel, 1,500 loam, 1,000 stone products and 1,000 other fill for a total of 4,000.

Board members were given the updated 2015 version of the Walpole Zoning Ordinances after the vote on the changes to the water ordinance to check it for any mistakes before printing copies for other departments..

They were also given a new copy of the Bylaws, to which corrections were made last month.

The meeting adjourned at 9 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Marilou Blaine

Posted: Inside the Town Offices, bulletin board outside Walpole Grocery.

Cc: ZBA board, Town Offices, Walpolean