Zoning Board – Meeting Minutes

Thursday, November 8, 2023 - 6:00 p.m.

Westerly Town Hall | Town Council Chambers

45 Broad Street, Westerly, RI 02891

 

 

 

A.    CALL TO ORDER -

Mr. Pawelkiewicz called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. He read into the record the process for hearing applications from the Zoning Board’s Rules of Procedure.

 

B.     ROLL CALL AND REVIEW OF STAFF ATTENDANCE

 

Members Present:     Chair Walter Pawelkiewicz, Vice Chair Larry Cioppa, and Members Jeffrey Russo, Dawn Robinson, and Larry Burns, and Alternate Member Alan R. Martone and Lori Moore

 

Members Absent: None.

 

Staff Present:             Zoning Official Martin E. Loiselle, Jr., Assistant Solicitor for Planning & Zoning Scott Levesque, Minute Taker Stephanie LaSota, Information Technology Technician Lanny Fuller

 

C.    APPROVAL AND REVISION OF MINUTES

 

1.      October 11th, 2023 and November 8th, 2023 minutes to be approved at the December 13th, 2023 meeting.

 

D.    CHANGES TO AGENDA – Consider, discuss and act upon schedule change for Applications

 

There were no changes to the agenda.

 

E.     APPROVAL OF DECISIONS - Consider, discuss, and act on application decisions referred to staff for writing.

 

There was no discussion.

 

1.       2024 Annual Zoning Board Meeting Calendar

 

There was no discussion on the calendar. Mr. Russo made a motion to accept the calendar as submitted. Ms. Robinson seconded the motion. The motion CARRIED by unanimous vote with no abstentions.

 

 

F.     PUBLIC HEARINGS Continued Business - Consider, discuss and act on application(s).

 

1.      Westerly Post Road 16 LLC (former Staples property), 16 Post Road, AP ‘99’ Lot ‘3’ Proposed Mini-Storage Facility. (§260-34) Special Use Permit – Vote on application and Decision (Continued from the October 11th Zoning Board meeting.)

 

Mr. Pawelkiewicz reminded everyone that the public hearing is closed. Mr. Burns was recused from the application. He left the meeting at 6:06 p.m. Atty. Levesque reminded everyone that at the last public hearing, the Board’s direction was to have he and Mr. Loiselle prepare a written decision for the application. That written decision was marked as Board’s Exhibit A.

Mr. Cioppa made a motion to approve the Special Use Permit application, reading into the record from Exhibit A. Mr. Russo seconded the motion. The motion CARRIED by unanimous vote. Mr. Burns returned to the meeting at 6:10 p.m.

 

G.    PUBLIC HEARINGS - Appeal to the Zoning Board of Review – Consider, discuss, and act upon appeals.

 

There were no appeals to discuss.

 

H.    PUBLIC HEARINGS - New Business - Consider, discuss, and act on application(s).

 

1.      Margeson, 6 Cattail Drive, AP ‘133’ Lot ’22-2’ The construction of an open porch and expansion of living room located within the front yard setback. (§260-33) Dimensional Variance

 

Mr. Loiselle described the application request for a 10.4 foot front yard setback variance to renovate and expand the single-family dwelling at 6 Cattail Drive. He described the property, which has no wetlands and is not in a flood zone. He said the 1,649-square-foot dwelling was constructed in 1938 and the renovation will modernize home, add an open porch, and expand the living room. Mr. Loiselle said the Zoning Department supports the application.

Present on behalf of the application, were the property owners John and Michele Margeson.

They were sworn in for public testimony. Mr. Margeson described the intentions of the application and a history of their ownership of the property. There was no public comment.

Mr. Russo made a motion to close the public hearing at 6:16 p.m. Ms. Robinson seconded the motion. The motion CARRIED by unanimous vote with no abstentions.

In a poll of the Board members, all were in favor of approving the application and complimented the design of the project.

Mr. Russo read into the record the details of the application request for a 10.4-foot front yard setback variance for the renovation and expansion of the single-family dwelling at 6 Cattail Drive, specifically the construction of an open porch and expansion of the living room located within the front yard setback, including information heard at the public hearing and made a motion to approve the dimensional variance request with no conditions. Mr. Pawelkiewicz noted that the lot was incorrectly referenced in Mr. Russo’s motion and should be corrected to lot 22-2. Mr. Burns seconded the motion as amended. There was no further discussion. The motion CARRIED by unanimous vote with no abstentions.

 

I.       STAFF COMMENTS

 

There was no discussion.

 

J.      Applications Declared Complete, Waivers Granted and Scheduled for Public Hearing at the Wednesday, December 13th, 2023 Zoning Board Meeting. Informational only; no action to be taken.

 

1.      Anderson, 27 Crestview Drive, AP ‘87’ Lot ’28’ To establish a beauty shop in the P-15 Zoning District (§260-34) Special Use Permit

 

K.    ADJOURNMENT –

Mr. Russo made a motion to adjourn the Zoning Board meeting at 6:24 p.m. Ms. Robinson seconded the motion. The motion CARRIED by unanimous vote with no abstentions.

 

Next Regular Meeting: Wednesday, December 13th, 2023, 6:00 P.M. at Westerly Town Hall

 

Next Regular Meeting – 6:00 P.M. at Westerly Town Hall and Zoom.

 

Respectfully submitted,

 

 

 

Stephanie J. LaSota

Minute Taker

 

 

Approved by vote of the Board on March 13th, 2024.