Good evening, everybody. It is 6:00, and we are calling the Tuesday, May 19th, 2026, Planning Board meeting to order. First on the agenda is public participation on any matter not subject to a public hearing. Anybody have anything they want to talk about in the city, please come to the microphone. State your name, please. Chris McCreary, 70 Maple Terrace. Good evening. I'm here today to discuss the property at 91 S***w Field Road, which is the location where Burke Brothers Incorporated has operated in a preexisting, legal, non-conforming use in a rural residential zoning district.
I'm respectfully asking the board to consider whether the prior non-conforming commercial use has been abandoned under Section 4-10 subsection 2 of the zoning ordinance. I want to begin by acknowledging the Burke family and the historic role Burke Brothers has played in Westfield. This was a longstanding family business with deep roots in the city, operating here for more than 60 years after being founded by Paul and Lloyd Burke around When I moved to the area in 2011, Burke Brothers Incorporated, and in turn, Tim Burke, who was actively managing the business, became my neighbor. My home shares a property line with them, and although the address is on S***w
Field Road, business traffic primarily accessed the site using Maple Terrace. In December of 2021, Tim unexpectedly passed away. So in early 2022, his brother Steve moved from California to assist Lloyd in winding down the company. Since that time, the trucks and heavy equipment have been sold. Construction, paving, or heavy equipment operations have ceased, and aside from a single backhoe retained for personal use, the property has remained free of commercial activity for nearly four years. For the surrounding neighborhood, this has been a major improvement in quality of life. The truck traffic, equipment movement, industrial noise, and commercial
activity have disappeared. The area has returned to the quiet, rural, residential character intended by the zoning ordinance. Recently, the property has been listed for sale by Park Square Realty's commercial and investment division and is actively being marketed towards attracting a commercial buyer with the expectation that a similar use could continue. The abandonment clause of Section 4-10 subsection 2 of the zoning ordinance states that when a non-conforming use has been discontinued for more than two years, the protected status is lost, and future use must comply with current zoning requirements.
Even if the corporate entity still legally exists, the relevant question before the board is whether the non-conforming use of the property itself has been discontinued. Based on the facts presented, commercial paving, construction, and heavy equipment operations ended by at least mid-2022 and have not resumed. This request is not about disregarding the Burke family legacy. Their contribution to Westfield should absolutely be respected. However, zoning protections also exist to protect neighborhoods and ensure that non-conforming commercial uses do not continue indefinitely after they have ceased operating. For those reasons, I respectfully ask the planning board to recognize that the
prior non-conforming business use at 91 S***w Field Road has been discontinued for more than two years under Section 4-10 subsection 2, and that future use of this property should comply with current zoning requirements. Thank you. Thank you. Anybody else? Next on the agenda is review and approval of previous meeting minutes. We have the five I believe. Yeah. They're not complete. Not out there early. So, okay. Next on the agenda is public hearings.So as I do every meeting, next on the agenda is our public hearings. Today we have zoning, special permits, and/or site plan approvals.
After the applicants present their proposals, board members will begin asking their questions. We will invite the public to ask questions of fact. We will have a separate time for the public to speak in favor of or speak against the motions. When we recognize you, please come to the microphone, give your name and address, and direct all questions or comments to the board, not the applicant. The purpose of our public hearings is to allow board members to collect evidence and testimony supporting or contradicting the published legal findings. We are required to make, on the published
legal findings, we are required to make to approve or deny an application. We cannot act outside the bounds of the zoning ordinance, nor the stormwater ordinance, where also sought. Please understand public hearings are not a community referendum nor a town meeting. We ask you to keep your comments civil and positive, remembering we're all neighbors working to move Westfield forward. While you are free to express your opinion, ultimately and legally, the board can only deliberate on the findings of fact and not on yours or our personal opinion. First on the agenda is a continuation
off-campus housing LLC for a special permit per zoning ordinance Section 420.2 to divide five Clark Street zoned residence B into two building lots by lot size averaging. We do have a request for a continuance to our June 16th meeting. I'll make a motion to continue. Second. All those in favor? Aye. Next on the agenda is- Mr. Chairman? Oh. Are we doing A&Rs at the end now, or- Yes. Next on the agenda is Victor, and I apologize for this,
Mushkovsky for a special permit per zoning ordinance Section 8-10.13.2B to allow a ground sign at 99-103 North Elm Street, zoned core. Is the applicant here? Good evening. I'm Victor Mushkovsky. So we're looking to put a small ground sign to attract more customers for Self-Reliance Bank. I'm representing them since their headquarters are out of Chicago. Okay. I'll start. Is there any animation? What is it? Is there any animation? No, there's no animation, just the name of the bank.
Just Self-Reliance on it. I don't know if you guys have this form there. If you could give a brief description of what you're looking for, that'd be- It'll be a seven-by-four small sign, lighted, four feet from the curb. Okay. Currently, there is no sign. There's just a sign on the building, but it's further away from the road, so you can't really see it if you're coming up from the north side. We're looking to attract more customers and just so customers can see where they go, where the bank is. Could you tell us please how far away the building is from the side of the road? How far back setback is it? It's approximately 100 feet. So it's a long building, and there's
two units to it, and the first one is, I think, I believe it's an upholstery business, and so the bank is out back. Okay. And the sign that's on the building now is very hard to notice from the street, from the main road. And it's a sign for both of the businesses on the building? So the one we're looking for is just for the Self-Reliance Bank. Okay. But the one for the upholstery is closer to Elm Street, North Elm, and the other one is by the front door, further away out back. Okay. Thank you. Yep. Other questions? Anybody in the public have a question of fact, please come to the podium. "There
must be unique features to the structure, the orientation of the structure at the location, and setback from the structure." Okay. We have no other questions. We have a draft decision. Special permit, ground sign, subject property 99-103 North Elm Street. Draft special conditions. The subject is approved as described, cited, and dimensions in the submitted design site plan documents, 103 North Elm Street. The sign may be refaced at any time, provided the internal illumination proportions methods are
generally consistent with this original approval. Any further discussion?Do I hear a motion? I don't know if you want to ask for or against from the public? Say that again, Jay. At the beginning, you said there would be a spot for people to speak for or against. Oh, yeah. Does anybody want to speak for or against the motion? Ground sign at 99 North Elm. No? I say give him the vote. Thank you. Do I hear- I'll make a motion to approve the- Close the public hearing first ... make a motion to close the public hearing. Second. All those in favor? Aye.
Do I hear a motion on the- I'd like to make a motion to approve the special permit for the ground sign at 99103 North Elm Street. Second. Okay. Cheryl? Yes. Ray? Yes. Phil? Yes. Jane? Yes. John? Yes. Bernie? Yes. Thank you very much. Thanks a lot. Congratulations. Oh, before you go, I do have to... Okay. Phil, did you vote on that? What? Did you vote on that one? Yes. Congratulations on getting your special permit approved. As the applicant owner, you cannot utilize the rights granted in this special permit without having met all conditions and requirements of the permit. You have additional steps which must be met before the approval becomes valid.
Per state law, you must wait 20 days after the day the planning board files the decision with the city clerk. This is a 20-day appeal period allowing any aggrieved party to appeal our decision. After the appeal period, you must obtain the city clerk's signature on the decision, and you must record the special permit with the registry of deeds. This will all be spelled out in an instructional sheet mailed with your decision. Most importantly, you must continue to comply with the terms and conditions of the special permit throughout the life of the permit. If you are not in compliance, city, state, and code allow for
various means of enforcement. Should your non-compliance rise to our level, we reserve the right to revoke your special permit. We appreciate and welcome your willingness to do business in our good city. Ask that you cooperate with respected citizens in these procedures. We look forward to your success. Thank you. All right. Thank you. Next on the agenda is Christie Johnston for a special permit for zoning ordinance 3-40.418 to allow the keeping of chickens at 28 Rambling Drive,
zoned rural residential. My name's Christie Johnston. I'm from 28 Rambling Drive, and this is my daughter, Riley Johnston. Hi. First, I want to apologize. When we first got the chickens, we did not realize a special permit was required, so we are now kind of doing it a little bit backwards. You want to pass these out? Yeah. Attached are pictures and a layout of the coop that already exists. For the most part, it does meet the standards that were provided to me. However, the location of the coop does not. The location of the coop is supposed to be 50
feet from any property line. One out of the three of my- Okay ... neighbors, it's about 10 feet from the property line. Unfortunately, we chose this site so it was a little bit closer to the residence and not in the woods because of predators. The other part that we are not in compliance with is we have 16 chickens, but we have found a home for the other 10. At first, I thought we could keep 10, but I've learned that we can only keep six. So we will be re-homing the other 10 immediately. The first picture on page three is a picture of before the coop was built and
after the coop was built from the property line. It is on the far right side of the property, set back behind the trees. It's not very visible from the street, but you can see it a little bit. The hen house itself is a 8 by 10 by 12 shed built out of plastic composite with a... Sorry, I'm very nervous. With a pressure-treated plywood underneath. It has six roosting bars, more than enough for the chickens, and eight nesting boxes for the eggs. It is well-ventilated with a window, two double doors for easy cleaning.
On the side of the hen house is an automatic door that opens and closes based on the sunlight. The chicken run itself, the chickens are not free range. They do remain in the run. It is a 10 by 20 by 10 chicken run built out of recycled materials from a garage that wasn't built, and then we just put chicken wire over it. We do keep it clean. The chickens love it. Let's see.Preventing predators. We've had the chicken coop for a year next month.
We have not had any predators of any kind at this time. Given that we are next to woods, I can't guarantee any future mishaps, but we're hoping that that's not going to happen. There is an outdoor light attached to the residence that does shine towards the chicken coop, but there is no actual lights attached to the chicken coop. The only part that you can't see at night is behind the chicken coop, which we would access with a flashlight if needed. If more light needs to be provided, that can be done as well. Winter, we did not do heat lamps. Fire.
Yes, we were worried about fire. So we just did a very deep bedding layer method, and checked on them routinely, made sure that there was no frostbite of any kind. We put a dome over it. Yes, and we covered it with a tarp over the henhouse and a white, clear tarp over the run to give them sunlight. In the summer, I do work from home, so I'm able to check on them very frequently and make sure that they are getting adequately hydrated. Insects and pests, again, being close to the woods, there's mice anyways. We live in New England.
But other than that, I've not seen any- Rodents ... any rodents of any kind. Again, the chicken population, I do recognize I have too many. We will be re-homing 10 immediately. So just on my personal statement, I just want to say this was a project that my daughter and her boyfriend started. I didn't realize the outcome at the time that this was required. So my daughter and her boyfriend have actually been trying really hard to help me care for these chickens and maintain them. If you have any questions, please let me know. There is an aerial photo of the property that shows the
house. The blue square is the chicken coop with a green garden. The green square is the garden that is behind the chicken coop. That is where the manure goes from the chickens. It goes to the garden for fertilizer. On that too. I think that's it. I do have a question. Absolutely. How did you become aware of the fact that you needed this special permit? How was that brought to your attention? Apparently, there was an anonymous complaint filed against me, but I don't know what it was for. Okay, and you don't know who did it? No. They wouldn't disclose. Our neighbors said that it wasn't them, but we don't know.
They can be heard if you're outside during the day. No roosters. Absolutely no roosters. I will not have a rooster. Are you able to share what the complaint was? Was it a noise complaint? There was nothing. They just said it was a complaint. They just said it was an anonymous complaint. I think it was just the fact that I had chickens. Okay. It wasn't the noise or the visibility of it, or? No. There's no odor of any kind. It's cleaned weekly. Okay. Thank you. What's your neighbors say? My neighbors haven't said anything to me. They all know I have them. Yeah. They've not made any complaints to me. If there is a complaint, I would be more than happy to address it immediately.
I didn't know if the one that had a coop closer to their house had any issues with it. He told us he didn't. He talked to us about it. Yeah, he goes and visits them. One chicken was born deformed with a crooked beak, but we kept her and she's doing very well. All of them are very healthy. If one of them gets in the tree line we get them anyway. Yeah. You could pay off the neighbors with eggs. Yeah. I was told one of them's allergic, so I don't want to do that. No roosters, correct? Absolutely not. No. I have to say this is well within our- Thank you Great job. Thank you. Can I ask you another question? Absolutely. You said there was a complaint filed against you.
Who made you aware of the complaint? Somebody from the town, from the city came to my door. Okay. I'm so sorry, I forgot his name. He was a very nice gentleman. That's okay. Said that there was a livestock complaint at my property. He lives in that house right down the- Well, no, he lives somewhere. Okay. So, there was a livestock complaint, so he came and I said, "Livestock? I don't have any livestock." And then I said, "I have got chickens." And he said that's what it was. Yeah. But he didn't even know what the complaint was. Okay. It was anonymous. Randolph Road is a cul-de-sac, right? It is, yes. So you don't have them really going out. Are you at the end of the cul-de-sac? I'm at the very end, last house on the left.
So by the shape farm, correct? Correct. Yep. The back of my property is actually Southwick. If you walk straight through my property, you're in Southwick. From the pictures, it looks like you prepared for 16 chickens. Originally, that was not the intent. We prepared for eight, but I overdid it. That's why we got eight more. Mm-hmm. And then I realized, again, I had no idea, so we have no problems downsizing to six. What's the life expectancy of a chicken? I know they produce eggs for about three years. After that, I don't know the answer to that. As long as they're
healthy and maintained. I'm not selling the eggs, nothing like that. Mm-hmm. It was just a hobby. Anybody in the public have any questions of fact? Yeah. She... Yeah. How many pets do you have right now? We have two dogs and just the chickens. So how many hens do you have? Oh, I'm sorry. How many hens? Yeah. All 16. But again, we have a home ready for 10. Okay. So we'll be keeping six. Okay. Maybe I'm out of line here, but she's on a cul-de-sac. Okay? There is nobody around here. The next nearest people is the rails to trails. There's no roosters.
Excuse me. The applicant has space for the 16. Maybe we can allow natural attrition to take care of the 16 of them and bring it down to the ordinance. Like I said, maybe I'm out of line, but... Well, based on the fact that the ordinance is up in the air, it's going to be changed, they've talked about it three or four times, and it keeps falling by the wayside. I think that's a very good idea. Just give her the permit, let her run with what she's got, and by attrition, bring it back to where she thinks she's comfortable with.
I agree. She's in a very large wood lot right here. This is very- There's trees all around that- Yeah ... keep them enclosed. I know years ago I kept chickens, and I had 12 of them, and six or 12 it's not a big deal, especially when you're out in an area like this. I know- I had two roosters, but that was before all this garbage started. Anybody else have thoughts? Jay does. Well, the only thing that I want to comment on, is Rich, you said too, where she feels she's comfortable. I think you should, through attrition, get down to the six. And Rich, you had said, and I'm not sure what you meant
by that, to where she feels comfortable. I mean- Well, if she's comfortable with it, I think six in this area. I think you got to look at each one of these by itself. She's on a big piece of ground for a half dozen chickens. She's out in a rural area. She backs up to nothing but woods. I think the six chickens is just kind of... I don't think it's adequate for... It's probably adequate to give you the eggs you need, but I don't think it's the magic number. Okay? I think if you're comfortable with a dozen chickens,
now you've got more eggs, you got more usage. Especially in an area where you're out in the country like that. If you're in the middle of the city, fine, six is more than adequate. Right. But out where she is, with the woods behind her, on the size of a lot she's got, with the pen she's going to keep them in. If they were free range, it'd be another story. But if they're not free range, they're going to be in the pen. The coop's are big enough, they're not overcrowded. You look at these plans, and they're well cared for. I don't see where a limit of six makes any sense. Except that's what the ordinance says.
Except, yeah. Yeah, that's what the ordinance says, but I disagree with the ordinance. That's probably what I'm saying. Exactly. They're changing the ordinance. They've talked about changing it. If they change it- And they made it so far in the city council, and then it died I guess- Like I said, three times. I guess the way I should've phrased it is let natural attrition bring her down to the ordinance. Okay? Yeah, because I don't think if we start changing ordinances here, I think we're opening up a can of worms, as they say. Yes. Yeah. Well, I'm not going to argue with you. I personally- I just, I think that we have the ability to do that but- ... I'm fair to 40 chickens, but it's not the ordinance, and we really have to
follow what is written. Right. And hopefully if the city changes it, you have to come back to ask for more- I don't see why she would ... or she could just add the number of chickens that the ordinance, it goes up to. Well, if the ordinance changes, it's probably going to be a by right use in rural residential. And then she's all set? So we can keep our 16? I wouldn't put too much stock in the ordinance changing. No. Well, I know, but it is the ordinance, Jay, is my point, and quite personally, it seems fine, but as a planning board member, an ordinance is written for us to follow, and if we change this
ordinance for you, the next person will- I understand ... it can just snowball into- I understand. That's why I was prepared to rehome 10 if necessary. Yeah. But I have no problem you keeping them until you get down to the six. That's completely agreed. So just to be clear, this board has no ability to change the ordinance. Right. The ordinance is what it is. That's what city council adopted, and in your special permit review, you're supposed to find that it conforms to all the rules and regulations. The rules are six hens, a 50 foot setback, backyard, all the
stuff that's listed in the ordinance. So if you can find all those, then you can approve the special permit. So you're saying- But we would have to waive at least the 10 foot setback. You can't waive anything. You don't have any power to alter the requirements. It's not written that you have any wavability. They could have petitioned for a special permit for, I guess, a side yard setback relief. I think the ordinance says it's supposed to be rear, in the backyard. So I don't know that that would change that. So, you can approve it, but it's not going to
change what the ordinance says, and it would still be subject to that enforcement. So are you saying we shouldn't even allow the 16 until- The board can do what it wants, but again, you have to find your findings are that the proposal follows all the rules. The rules are spelled out. Does it or does it not? Okay. If you can find it approves the rules, you can approve that finding and grant the permit. So, okay. So if it does not, okay, and I guess from what they're saying, we have a setback issue on the property side.
Am I correct on this? It sounds like. That's how I read it. Okay. So they need a special permit to appeal the setback. We would have to approve that, correct? Well, I think it's setback, I don't have the ordinance up, but I think it says 50-foot setback and in the rear yard or rear of the structure, whatever it said. She made a very good point that looking at her property to get 150 feet off of the street, it would be in the woods that would make the chickens more
susceptible to predators. I agree. It shouldn't be that far back there, and I agree that the rule says that. Well, I mean, I know this board has supported a more permissive chicken ordinance several times. That again, you don't write the ordinances, council does. So that's what it says. Well, I think they- The easiest thing to do, if you're amenable to approving it, is to approve it and just say the rules are the rules, and it's between code enforcement and the homeowner to work out compliance. They will have the permit, so they can have the chickens.
But the details, I guess the billing department would enjoy some discretion in enforcement. But this board can't start rewriting ordinances when you grant permits. I guess my concern is if the person or people who filed the grievance against you, or the complaint, realizes that the ordinance is not being followed. If the ordinance is being followed, and you do everything right, and we approve it, their complaint won't matter. If they, for whatever reason, wanted to push it and they got
enforcement out there, then you would have to comply. Which I totally understand. And you already have the 10 chickens ready to be placed. Is that what you said? Yes. Which my personal opinion might be the plan to file for now. Okay. And then in the future, hopefully, you could scale back up if things change. That's just my personal opinion. I'm not trying to tell anybody what to do. So again, you write the permits, you don't enforce them. So if this board's- Right ... happy that there's going to become six chickens, and the coop's going to move to where it's supposed to be, then you can approve it, and then it's out of your
wheelhouse. There's no problem. How difficult would it be to move that chicken coop? It would just be very labor-intensive. And honestly, to make it so that it's 50 feet from all three property lines, I'm going to have to put it in the middle of my garden. Unfortunately, the garden already exists. I will if that's what we have to do, but- Well, could you switch the coop and the garden? Oh, you should see the garden. It's 20 by 40. It's huge. Yeah. It's made of- Still made of cement blocks. Yeah. It's huge. I know. Sometimes you have to do what you have to do. I know. And again, had I known all these things... I didn't realize the extent, and I apologize for that. Yeah. I think the 50 feet is crazy. And I mean, the whole ordinance is a little
onerous, but it is what it is. So you could build an ADU 10 feet from the property line, but you've got to keep your six chickens 50 feet away. I'm sorry. Say that again, please. If you were to build an ADU, you could put it 10 feet from your property line. Right. But not a chicken coop. But not a chicken coop. But out of curiosity, if they were to build an ADU and they wanted to put it five feet from the line, could we waive that extra five feet? Yeah, ZBA. Well, it's ZBA, and- I mean, we've done it in the past, so I'm kind of confused as to why we can't do it here. We've done it, especially with all the time. When a dimensional special permit is requested. So are you saying they need a dimensional special permit to get this chicken
coop 10 feet waived? I mean, I want them to be able to- Well, there's two parts. One is 50 feet, and the other is in the rear yard. Oh, yes. Right. If somebody called the animal control, I don't want them to call animal control again because it's 10 feet, not 15 feet- Well- ... in the middle of the woods. I mean, and they're doing everything they're supposed to do, and I really feel like I'm punishing them. Well, I would say just don't touch the issue at this board, and let
enforcement work it out. So if enforcement goes out there, she can come back to us with a dimensional special permit asking us to waive the- Yeah, it would be the ZBA, but I mean, that's another whatever- But- ... how it's going to cost $1,000 for a chicken coop. The permit- The reality is you're willing to move the coop if you have to. Absolutely. So your neighbor- Yes ... that allegedly complained, by complaining again about 10 feet, the chickens aren't going anywhere. So what's the point? Well, sometimes people do things with not a very nice motive.
Well. You know? Not talking about you. Oh, I know. All right. We have a draft decision special permit, keeping of chickens, subject property, 28 Rambling Drive. Draft conditions. One, this special permit is non-transferable and shall expire upon the sale transfer of the property unless the listed applicant owner as keeper continue to reside on the premises. Two, the planning board and/or their designee reserve the right to inspect the premise through the first year of use of this special permit. Do we have any conditions about the site, maintenance plans, or anything?
So we can just reference, because this just came in, we'll just reference- Okay ... this material. And again, you can look at your findings that would just say the requirements of the ordinance need to be adhered to. And if the board's satisfied that those will come into conformance, then I think you can approve it if you'd like. And I don't know if you asked for or against again. We have to record what? For or against. For or against from the public. Okay. Anybody want to speak for or against this? Chickens are always a heated discussion here. No? Okay. Do I hear a motion to close the public hearing? Oh, wait. Do we have any other discussion from us?
I just want to clarify something. So when we go to vote, they're going to keep the 16 until they get down to the six, naturally. Is that- That's what I-- Well, I mean, you need to- I don't think we're voting on that. We're not? I think that's kind of a recommendation. Exactly. Yeah. Not that we're voting on that, but I want to know what exactly it is that's being presented, is that- Well, you need to find that there will be six hens or no more than six hens. Over what period of time? There's no period of time in the ordinance.
Normally, this won't have happened yet. So someone's- Yes, and that's part of the problem. If she came before us before, we would say, "Yes, you could have six chickens." Okay. Well, I imagine once the permit's issued, enforcement would have some timeframe to allow them to- To comply ... come into conformance. Yeah, so one of the conditions could be- Again, that's some discretion they'd enjoy ... one of the conditions could be to be in compliance with. Yeah. Okay. Do I hear a motion to close the public hearing? I'll make a motion to close the public hearing. Second. All those in favor? Aye.
Aye. Aye. Okay. Do I hear a motion on special permit? Do I hear any additional draft conditions first? Mm-mm. Do I hear a motion on the special permit? Can I-- Wait a minute. Yeah. Can I ask about a draft condition? That do we condition it that they will not replace chickens as they go to the big coop in the sky- ... until it gets down to six chickens? Do we have to put that in there or we don't? Well, again, then you would be approving- We're endorsing ... a permit with 16 chickens, which you don't have authority to do. Okay. That's all I wanted to know.
Thank you. Okay. Do I hear a motion? I'll make a motion that we approve the special permit for 28 Rambling Drive. Second. Okay. We'll start on that side of this. Bernie? Yes. John? Yes. Jane? Yes. Phil? Yes. Ray? Yes. Sheryl? Yes. And I'm a yes. Congratulations, keep your chickens. Thank you very much. Thank you. Have a great day. By the way, nice presentation. Thank you. Very nice presentation. Thank you. I'll bring you some eggs. Two fresh eggs. Make sure to take the sprout. As long as you're not over $25 worth.
Okay. Oh, that's right. Next on the agenda is Ashran Hussein for a special permit for zoning ordinance section 3-120.33 and 3-177 to allow motor vehicle sales at 962 Southampton Road, Zone Business B and Water Resource. Thank you. It's older than me. We're getting all the good builders tonight. How you guys doing? Hello. We recently acquired this property, and our goal is to provide the Westfield community with
safe, used, and economically affordable used cars. Complies with the Massachusetts inspection, safety standards, requirements. And our goal is to operate it professionally, respectful, and be a respectful dealership that customers can trust.While contributing positively to the community, the city of Westfield, with responsible business operations and a well-maintained property. We used AI to give you guys an idea of what more or less what we're
looking to do with the property. Our vehicle price range that we want to focus on is the affordable $5,000 to $25,000 range vehicles. The place has adequate onsite parking for customers and inventory that can go up to about 55 vehicles if need be. Hours of operation that we're looking for are 9:00 to 5:00. And we just want to have honest pricing, transparent sales processes, reliable customer service, good reputation,
and... What else? Yes. And the place used to be a motorcycle dealer, so we hope that this will fit right in with that building. There is used car sales that are also in the vicinity of the area. There's truck sales, truck mechanics. There's used car sales. So we just want to blend right into there and have a great reputation serving the Westfield community. You guys have any questions? I do. What about maintenance and prep?
So the building isn't outfitted for maintenance, but it is outfitted for... It has a small bay garage that is perfect for wiping down vehicles, prepping a vehicle for delivery, or to show it to a customer, appointments, whatnot. But any maintenance or anything would have to be done in town by a local mechanic, in town. So no oil changes, changing tires- No ... none of that? Nope, it's not outfitted for it. It has just a small bay. Okay. You know? So.
Because it's over the aquifer- Yes ... and that's a big deal. Yes. No oil changes or anything of that nature, so. Now, you would be washing the cars outside or inside in this bay? Outside. Outside. There isn't any water nearby or anything like that. The driveway is paved, and it has... What would you call that? A drain? No, not a drain. It has rocks. Gravel? Yeah, gravel. Gravel at the back. Yeah. And it's pretty well-spaced, maybe it goes for 30 feet.
So water would not be going anywhere it shouldn't be going or anything like that. It being the aquifer district, we could probably get safe soaps or whatnot. That's what I was going to ask you, what type of detergent would you use? Normal- Yeah. Safe, environmentally friendly soaps we could obtain, and it's mostly going to be just for prepping stuff. We're probably going to use an outside dealer or something that washes cars and details them and whatnot. It's just going to be for prepping it for an appointment or
something like that. Okay. Thank you. You're welcome. So this inside right here, this picture in here? Yes. So when you get ready to put these on the market- Mm-hmm ... it looks like a showroom? Yeah. So I wasn't sure if this is a wash station in here or not inside. Yeah. But it looks like you're just wiping it down. Yeah, wiping it down. Exactly. And then shine it up. Exactly. Is there a drain in there? No drain. Floor drain? No drain. No drain at all. In the far back of the property, there's an area that's all stone, gravel. Yes. It's all stone and gravel. What are you going to put back there?
What I was thinking is customer parking. Okay. Customer parking and emergency vehicles if they need to come in for a situation. It's fenced in, right? All the way in the back? It's not fenced in, but it does have separation between the neighbors. It- Because they have openings, right? That's not the- That's not fenced in. Yeah, it's- We used AI to just give a great example. No. I'm familiar with the property. That's- Okay ... so in the far back it's all gravel. It's all gravel. Yes. So I don't believe, Jay, correct me if I'm wrong-
There is a fence back there ... you can't park cars there. You can't park commercial vehicles. Commercial, i.e.? Trucks. Trucks. Things. Yeah. Yeah, big rigs. Yeah. Yeah, and there is a fence back there as well. Right. Okay. You know, so. I just didn't want you parking stuff there and then leaking it into the ground. No. How do you obtain your cars? Do you have big car movers with six, eight cars on it come in? So we're developing relationships with the new, bigger car dealers in the Riverdale area, Hartford area.
So what we want to do is purchase their trade-ins. We don't want to be just another auction... car seller. So we want to buy their certified trade-ins, cars that they have relationships with, people that bought those cars, for example, since new, and it's time for their new car. And so they're well-maintained and give the next owner something that they don't have to worry about, pass inspection and whatnot. Okay. Also on that, you asked about carriers. Currently, the cars will be brought in with just drivers driving them in. Somebody with just... You're not going to be trucking in
eight to 10 cars at a time, I don't think. No. No. They'll be driven individually on dealer plates. And if somebody came to you to buy a car, you would take their trade-in? Yes. Okay. Yes. Definitely. Thank you. You're welcome. So just to note, this was formerly a motorcycle dealership. Mm-hmm. So similar use, which city council approved. At that time, they were granting the motor vehicle sales special permits. That has since transferred to this board, but that was back in 2013, looks like. Anybody in the public want to ask a question of fact? Please come forward. Hi, guys. Speak. Hi, everybody.
I'm the guy that owns the building. Name and address, please. My name is Dennis Boulder. Address is 326 Middlefield Road, Chester, Mass. What's the- And I own the property, and I ran the Indian Motorcycle dealership there since 2013, till when I blissfully retired last July. And he approached me, wanted to lease the place, and he's a young guy, and at first I was like, okay. He had a lot of things he told me he wanted to do, and this and that. And in the last seven months, he's done it all, and he's done
it beyond what he told me he would do. And if I've had any requests or questions, he gets right back to me. So, as a veteran, and I expect a lot out of our young people, this guy has showed me that he's willing to do it. I think that a young fella that wants to come in and run a business and sell vehicles, I think he's an honest and honorable guy. I'm all for it, applaud a young guy that wants to start a business and do this and see it through. And hopefully, he continues my charitable work that I did for the city of
Westfield with veterans and veterans rides and fundraising and stuff like that. So, maybe I'll hold his head to the fire on that a little bit and see if I can get him to help out when people reach out to me, which they still do, and say, "Hey, Dennis, you want to do this?" I'm going to say, "Go talk to Ash, see what he can do." All right. So that's all I got to say. He's come through for me, and I'm proud to have him as a tenant, and I hope that he comes in here. We sold a couple thousand motorcycles out of there. Westfield's been great to us, and I'm hoping he continues the legacy.
All right. That's all I got. Did you get rid of your other building? I'm sorry? Did you get rid of your other building as well? No, I still have the other one. Yeah. Good. Yeah. I like this one. I enjoy it. I like the north side. Fantastic. Cool. All right, guys. Thank you. Thank you, Dennis. With that being said, I would love to do a grand opening, invite the community, a barbecue, maybe have some kind of promotion going on with any cars that are available at that point in time. Give people a chance to get something affordable. Also, like Dennis has said, I do want to continue the charitable events, and the building's great for
it, hosting things of that nature. So, hopefully we can set something like that up. Anybody else in the community? Anybody else want to speak in favor of, speak against, come to the mic, ask questions? Hmm. Have you been in front of us before? Years ago, I attempted to do a- With your license? Yes, sir. Yes, sir. I attempted to do a- I just ... car dealer over there, but the building wasn't adequate, so I voluntarily gave up the license. You came in front of us and we approved for everything. Yes, you did, sir. Yes, you did. Thank you. You're welcome. So, I have a question.
I thought I saw a number of 35 vehicles. Your AI stuff is great, but it doesn't match up with the Google Map layout of the building. How are you going to fit 35 cars? 35? They're talking 55. I'm seeing 35. Well, it's in reading- Project description, sell used cars, 35 vehicles. I think 35 ready to sell and 20 in the works. Okay. Do you think you have the room for that? Yes, pending the fire department checking it out. We counted each space, and easily we can put 45 to
50, and then that's not counting the back gravel parking lot. And that would be mostly for customers and maybe new inventory that's coming in that needs to be, you know what I mean, inventoried before it gets put for sale. So these vans here, are they the neighbor's vans? Or is that just completely AI? That's all part of the same property, that whole lot. So those are your spots to put cars in? Correct. Okay. Yes, that's still the same vicinity I don't know how we determine what the numbers should be.
I don't know. If it's square footage or what, or if it's up to the fire department. So, I don't know if that license commission deals with that or not, but there is a requirement for customer parking based on the use. So that's probably based on building size. But the customer parking should be paved or it's equivalent, is what the ordinance says. So, just trying to find that section. "Surface and maintenance. All off-street parking facilities required by the article shall be surfaced with bituminous concrete or its equal." So the gravel would be okay for overflow parking, but
whatever the minimum parking for customers should be accommodated on some paved surfaces. So that may dictate what is left for car sale space. In the front area here, you're saying. Well, it just says the customer parking needs to be on a paved surface. Just generally, not an aquifer issue. What are you guys- That area, excuse me. That back area you said was gravel. That's recycled asphalt put down by Paver. It's just back there. Okay. What are you guys planning on doing about a sign? Sign. The signs that we used were just for
demonstration purposes. That was going to be something we had to look into with you guys. I haven't had anything made yet. There is a sign up on the street. Mm-hmm. There's a pole, and- On the building ... and on the building itself, there's space for signs. That, I was just going to look into with you guys. It's kind of hard to see, but this is an aerial photo of the shape of the building. Yeah. There's no ..." You can see where we would put a sign on the building. Yeah, so unless the board wants to specify otherwise, the signage would be dictated by the ordinance. Ordinance. Yeah. What they can do.
So. So what are you thinking? Are you thinking of putting a sign on the building or putting a freestanding sign out in the front? There's a place for both. Or both. There's a place on the street, and it's got electricity going to it for lights at night. I'd love to be able to put a sign there. I was thinking about maybe a sign that can show sales, clearances, whatnot. While the place is closed, give customers... There's people that just work night shift. Give them a chance. But whatever we're able to
do. I think when it was an Indian Motorcycle, there was one on the street, and there was one on the building as well. Yeah, I think you're right. Yes. So by ordinance, you can have a ground sign and a sign on each side of the building. So the board could limit or reduce that if you feel... This is kind of- So we have a sign ordinance. As long as you meet the sign ordinance requirements, you can have a sign. Okay. So just, you can't have animation, no cars zooming across the screen- Oh, okay ... and things like that. It's got to be fixed if you get it electronic.
Okay. But we have a sign ordinance. Okay. Would we be able to put pictures, not moving pictures, but that change? That would be a separate special permit. They can come back for that. Yeah. Yeah, you can put up a sign according to the sign ordinance. If you want illumination, and if you want signs that will change, and they have to be static. So if you want to put a picture up of a car that says, "Hey, for $5,000, buy this car." Yeah. Right? And then they'll have to be at least 10 seconds before they change, and there can be no moving. But that is a separate permit you'll have to request.
Thank you. All right. Can I just ask one more question? Yeah. Absolutely. Just so I understand, where is the customer parking going to be at, and how many parking spots are there going to be? Any vehicle preparation because- Is it over on this side here? Yes. That picture that you're holding, all the cars that are parked there. Yeah, these are all going to be for sale, correct? Yes, but there would be spots for customers, like where they are next to the building. All the cars next to the building. Oh, somewhere here you'd have some customer spots. Yeah. Those are customer parking. Yes. The only reason I was saying that because a lot of dealerships will have spots here for customers. Yes. Because I know some dealerships, for instance, Key, they'll have the customer parking back here as well.
That's why I was wondering if you're going to have a majority of the customer parking on this side, how many would there be, and how many would be here? I know a lot of the dealerships will have a lot of these vehicles here for sale, but they also have customer parking spots as well here. Especially- Handicap ... handicap. Thank you. Yes. So I'm just trying to get a little bit of a feel of this. So we were thinking there is handicap parking spots available, so that's going to stay open and clear. I know there's two, I believe. Yes. Yes. Yes, there is. We were thinking, if it's okay, to have the vehicles for sale on the pavement and the customer
parking in the backOn the ground So off to this side here? Yes. Okay. And on the other side that- On this side here as well? If you might- Yeah, that's fine. Yeah. Right here. That's where- I see cars back here. This fence is non-existent. Right. That's just... But there's more parking here. Okay. So you- There's a lot more parking there. Right. So would you have more of the customer parking here, or would be off to the side? This is where there's actually a garage here. Okay. You want to show everybody, so everybody can see on the- Yeah. Yes. I'd like to see that. I just got a little more of that. Yes. I'm sorry. Okay. So, there's a fence
here. Yep. All this is gravel. All of this. Mm-hmm. So what I was thinking is there's handicap parking here. We'll leave that accessible, and we'll have the customer- That will move, correct? What was that? The handicap stays right where it's at, correct? Yes. Okay. Stays right where it's at. And what I was thinking is customer parking along this area right here, and we were going to get it lined, so it's sufficient. And just any overflow, like extra inventory that is new, that needs to be
inventoried and whatnot, will also be parked on the other opposite side. So cars for sale here, cars for sale here, and then customer parking here. And there's plenty of room there. You could probably fit 20 cars if need be, if it ever got that busy. That's what I was trying to find out, was how many you were looking at for customer parking. Probably like 20. But that's just to have extra, have enough. But I don't think that... I hope so, but 20 customers at one time is very busy. That's for a cookout. Yeah. Barbecue. Yeah. So the ordinance dictates
how many parking spaces they need. So for outdoor auto sales, it's one space per 1,000 square feet of lot area used for such. So whatever that calculates to, that's enforceable by the building department. They will need to provide that amount of parking. Okay. And again, that required parking should be on bituminous asphalt concrete or its equivalent. And we've had this discussion before of what equivalent means. So if the board's okay with the gravel area, then consider that equivalent, that's fine. So Mr. Bolduc said it was millings? Yes. It's millings in the back.
Well, I mean, it's not asphalt, so if you think of it- Yeah, sorry. I'm just calling it gravel. It's not real gravel. It's not a solid pavement, I think, as the ordinance envisions, but it does say or equivalent. So if you think that's equivalent, then that's fine. Doesn't give the square footage in here either, does it? No. I didn't see it. I can look at it right now. Okay. Do you have a proxy mark it with? He's just looking at the square footage. With the- So this- He's looking at the square footage. I can't get in. Jay, we normally make a comment about household use-
Chemicals ... chemicals, yeah, in household containers. So we're not storing big drums of soaps and cleaners. And I do like Jane's environmentally friendly soaps and cleaners. Yeah. I think the condition usually is hazardous materials or oils and things. So, all right. We need anything else? No. 54,880 square feet total. Lot size with the building. The whole lot. The whole lot. Mm-hmm. Yeah, I think you'd probably calculate it based on the part that's used for- So- ... for the sales, but this isn't a site plan approval.
It's not triggered for changing the use in this case. So, again, parking requirements are enforceable by building, so they should meet that. If this board wants to see a more specific site plan, you could ask for that, but... That's where I'm a little uncomfortable. It's not just a switch of businesses, it's a switch of uses and we don't even have a site plan, we don't have a sketch, we don't have anything. So those 55 cars can increase by 25% without even coming back here, and basically it's a free rein and they can do whatever they want.
There's not anything on a plan. So you could- If they wanted to put 200 cars there- Yeah ... they could do it. This board could limit the amount of vehicles if you want, or again, you could ask for a site plan. It's not technically a site plan approval. Mm-hmm. So it's not- The chicken coop had to show where it was positioned, and we have 55 cars and we have no idea where they are. You guys willing to come back with a site plan? It doesn't have to be professionally drawn, but a do it yourself would be fine. And then we can
see that maybe that rear area is not used for parking, and the front area will hold 55 cars. Yeah. This is separatedThere's a fence here Right. But if you don't have a plan that shows that area is not being used, then you can do whatever you want there. Oh, I don't have access to it. Yeah. Yeah, I'm just leasing the property. That's Dennis's... So it's fenced off. You know what I mean? So it's fenced off to you, so you can't use it, is what you're
saying. It's for his personal belongings- Okay ... his own personal storage. He has machinery there, and all kinds of personal belongings. I've been leasing since November, and I haven't had any access to it, so it's not part of the lease plan. So if he moves to Florida and moves his stuff down to Florida, you would have access to it? No, I wouldn't. It's fenced off. It's fenced off. It's not part of the lease plan. In the lease agreement- Mm-hmm ... I don't have access to it. I- Is it the owner's stuff you're talking about?
The- Yeah, the owner's stuff. Yeah. I understand what Phil's asking about, and he is correct in that. I would like to see a site plan. I'd like to be able to know that firetrucks can get in, get out. I know the property. I've been up there. Mm-hmm. I've been up there. I've been on it. I'm not adverse to the use that you guys are proposing. Mm-hmm. I just want to make sure that if you're selling an electric vehicle and it catches fire, firetrucks can go there. Mm-hmm. Okay? Or if something occurs on there,
okay... So I just want to be able to at least see something. Mm-hmm. You guys understand one of the conditions here is vehicle preparation, detailing, washing, waxing, and the like will take place indoors. There's nothing outdoors. Mm-hmm. You guys are okay with that? They did talk about washing outdoors. Yeah, that's what they gave. Okay. Tonight they brought that up, so if the board's okay, we can revise that. If the board okay with that. I am. Yeah. I actually agree with Phil, because that's my only concern with the parking, that
I'd like to see more of a view of what it looks like. And also to make sure that if there's customer parking, it's not going to be used as an overflow for additional vehicles. And again, doesn't have to be professional, just something that we can attach to the application and say, "Okay, if enforcement needs to go up there, they need to know what they're looking at." Mm-hmm. Okay? So more or less, you guys are looking for something like that, just with drawing where the cars are going to be. So an aerial view- Yeah ... where customer parking is going to be, and where vehicles for sale.
Yeah, but you do have to create realistic parking spaces, so you can't just sit there and say, "Okay, I'll make one space four by five," okay? Because a car doesn't fit in that. Sure. There are dimensions for this. Mm-hmm. Okay? So you guys can go in there. John originally said, "We got 35 cars." I said, "No, it's 55." Mm-hmm. So we're not even sure how many cars are going to be up there. So we need to know that. What I do know is, is I can
look at Google Maps and say, "I got one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine," it looks like 10 or 12 spots right up in front. Okay? But I'm not sure you're going to be able to stack three cars deep on the width of between the building and the property line. I've been up there. I've never really got- I think a site plan will be good for you guys, just so you have a better idea how many cars you can actually fit, because I don't think you're going to fit three with the travel lane.
No. That picture was AI. It wasn't to be taken literal, just to give an idea. But we understand what you were trying to say- Yeah ... for sure. More detail on signage would be good, too. What was that? Do you think- More detail on signage would be nice as well. Yep. Again, I'm not adverse to the use. It was a motorcycle place. Mm-hmm. It was a successful motorcycle place. But I just think I agree with Phil. So is that something that we can come back to maybe- Yes ... next week? Um- What would be the timeframe on something like that? Next meeting is June 16th. June 16th. So we can get you on the agenda for June 16th.
Okay. Okay? That works. Yeah. And- So site plan and signage. Yep. Anything else we want from them? Said no maintenance, right? Zero maintenance. No, zero maintenance. No break, no oil. It's not fitting. No. No. Maybe the board, if you could bring some examples of some biocompatible soaps or something- Soaps. Yes ... that would be- The only reason I ask is that other one on the other road kind of went off the rails. Yeah, a little bit. Yeah. Yeah, the parking wasn'tI'm
going to get the... Is there anybody that can advise me on what is possible for parking over there? Because I want to get the parking lot relined. Is there anybody that I can talk to in the city that can give me pointers on that? Like, for example, there's a lot of space here that's paved. So what I was thinking is making lines here and having cars facing the general public, and then also using this back parking space for the dealership. That's- Yeah. You can talk with me about requirements and stuff, and we can-
Yeah ... look at that. Let me see. Okay. See Jay. If Jay can help you. That's not in our realm, okay? But see Jay, talk to Jay. If Jay can help you, may be able to point you in the right direction. Okay. Okay? All right, perfect. You guys want to request a continuance? Yes, please. Yes. June 16th? Yes, please. Okay. I'd like to make a motion to continue 962 Southampton Road to June 16th. Second. Just confirming before we vote. Signage, site plan, anything else we want from them? Environmentally friendly soaps- Environmentally friendly surfaces ... surfaces. Okay. All those in favor? Aye. Aye.
Anybody opposed? We'll see you guys on the 16th. Thank you so much. Thank you very much. I appreciate your time. Thank you for complying. Thank you. Thank you for complying. Thank you so much. Next on the agenda is Matt McKelleney for a special permit, Zoning Ordinance 3-170.71B, to exceed 15% impervious coverage at 1898 East Mountain Road, zoned rural, residential, and water resource. I just want to put in a little pool for my kids. Nothing crazy. I know Jay has the site. It's literally going to go right behind the house.
I don't have anything to print it up for you guys. It's right here. But you see it goes up from 14 and a half to 15 and change. So it's not even above 16% of the permeable level. It's just a small little pool we're throwing in. And because it went above the 15%, I'm here in front of the board right now. So this is triggering the aquifer district, which I don't think we've ever seen before for residential use. But probably because there's a couple of driveways and- Okay ... it adds up to the 15% that triggers the special permits. In ground or above ground?
In ground pool. Yeah, it's nothing huge. Just a pool to keep my kids wet on the hot summer days. My parents use a garden hose. You can come over if you want. Just don't pee in my pool. No. It'll get you. It'll turn blue. Any questions? I have no questions. What? I have no questions. Anybody in the public have any questions? Anybody in the public want to speak in- You're welcome to come over. Anybody in the public want to speak in favor of, speak against this? Okay. We have a draft condi- Oh, wrong one. Can I ask one question, please? I'm looking for... I don't see information. What's the size of the pool? It's a 14 by 26 or 16 by 28.
I think it's 16 by 28. It's a small pool. 16 by 28. 16 by 28. I just- It's on there somewhere. Yeah. Okay. Typical pool. A normal pool. Typical. Okay. Thank you. We have a draft condition, special permit, subject property 1898 East Mountain Road. We have one draft condition as required by Section 3-170.11 ( 1 ) . "For aquifer protection, stormwater runoff from new pavements and impervious surfaces shall be routed through areas of natural vegetation and/or devices such as rain gardens, infiltration
basins, infiltration trenches, or similar systems allowing recharge to groundwater. Such features shall be maintained in functioning order." Out of curiosity... Oh, they're in-ground pools. They don't get drained. Do I- I thought you were going to ask the diving board question because you're an insurance guy. No. Not at all. Not at all. That's a wink thing for me. I don't know nothing. That's right. That's a wink thing for me. So the pool is technically impervious. But the walkways or deck that, in theory, make sure that water's not running off the property, that there's mechanisms
to allow it to infiltrate on site. You're going to protect our aquifer, right? What's that? You're going to protect our aquifer? Oh, of course. Yes. Okay. All right. Do I hear a motion to close the public hearing? Motion to close the public hearing. Second. All those in favor? Aye. Aye. Do I hear a motion on- Motion to approve the permit for 1898 East Mountain Road. Second. Okay. Ray? Yes. Phil? Yes. Zip Phil. That's okay. We'll start this way, I guess. Ray, Cheryl. Huh? Cheryl. Yes. Okay. Phil. Yes. Jane. Yes. John. Yes. Bernie. Yes. Nama, yes.
Did you hear what I read to you earlier? I can't hear. Did you hear what I read earlier? I'm partly deaf because of the machines. Say yes. Yes. I have to read this again. All right. He heard you. Brad. He heard you, Phil. Yes. Oh, you heard? Yes. Okay. Get out of here then. I'll see you at the football game. I want to go home. All set. All set. Congratulations. Now I got to run over to La Crosse. Next on the agenda is Dominic Guy for a special permit for zoning ordinance 5-100.2 to allow machine shop home-based business at 752 North Road, zoned rural
residential. Hello, Dominic from 752 North Road. Mm-hmm. Just interested in seeing if I could put a machine shop in my garage. I've been doing machining my whole life, and it's kind of like to start off as a side nights and Saturdays. And if it takes off, I'll replace my full-time job with it. Yeah. Can I ask you what type of a business it's going to be? A machine shop, you're going to be making something? Yeah, just more or less replacement parts. That's what I've been doing for local machine shops for 30 years now.
Okay, replacement- Replacement parts, smaller parts. Not- For- ... not whole ... vehicles, for other machines? For other machines, yes. For other machines. Yeah. Okay. Thank you. What kind of machines are you going to put in? A milling machine, a lathe. Manual milling, or are you going to put- NC. It's not full-blown CNC, but it's not- Not CNCs? Well- Or CNC ... it would be a CNC, I guess. CNC. CNC miller, CNC- Doesn't have the tool changers and all that, but it's the kind- So it's going to be CNC miller, CNC lathe. Yeah. One of each, yeah. Okay. It's a Bridgeport. Oh, Bridgeport CNC? Yep. Yeah. Yeah. So it's a- Oh, okay ... you still got to do stuff manually. I see. They call it NC more than a full-blown CNC.
Okay. It doesn't have tool changers to it. Okay, so it's only going to be the two major machines. Yes, yes. Okay. And then of course, you'll have your grinders and whatever, but no grinding machine? I would have a surface grinder. A cylindrical grinder? I'd have, yeah. You will have a cylindrical grinder also. That would just be for sharpening tools or whatnot. It wouldn't be used much. Oh, okay. Not a- No, I wouldn't make parts with it. No. I do not like surface grinding, so that's just for tooling. Okay. This is going to be out in your garage? My garage, yes. Yeah. Where I see this right here, looks like there's a car in the garage. Is that where you're going to transfer into- Yes, in the shop. Yeah. Well, there's two of them. Is this on your property, or is this on-
Can I see what you're talking about? Sorry. Oh, never mind. I just saw it. I just opened it up. So this is your next door neighbor. Oh yeah, that's the neighbor's. Yeah. So that one- And that's mine there, and there's actually a- But that noise, they won't be able to really hear that, so. No, there's a driveway between there. There's a flag out behind there. Right. But I don't think this machinery is loud enough to carry- I don't think so. But I'm- What it makes now- ... not familiar with these machines. That's why I was asking. Yeah. You put down the- I don't believe they're that loud enough to cause- I guess that the noise by the, uh, Googled it, but I don't think it even gets that noisy, unless you're really roughing something out. But I really would rather not be on the machine like that. Could you tell me a little bit about the cutting fluid, please? How is it used?
What's it used for? I can mainly do most of it dry, the majority of it. To do tapping, I need some kind of fluid. I would use Tap Magic if possible. If not, I could find some other. But you use it when you're cutting the material, like to lubricate? You put it on with a brush on the tap and- You brush it on. It's not- Yeah ... being sprayed on- No ... or it's not coming out of the machine? Yes, the tapping fluid is. If I had to do some roughing, I'd have to use coolant, which would come out of a- As- That would be on the lathe. It'd be like a flood coolant. And how far would that spread? Does it go just where you're cutting? Would it- It would stay contained inside the machine. There's a door. It's enclosed. Inside the machine where-
Yeah. Okay. You would have to wear some type of a mask, though? No. No. You don't? No. Okay. Thank you. Any of the fluids get outside of the machine onto the floor, onto anything else? I mean... It shouldn't, no. If it is, because the door isn't shut or something, it's not. For the most part, no, it should stay all contained in the machine. And what do you do with the oils and the lubricants once they're used up? Because they don't last forever. I don't think they go bad. They don't go bad? No. They just keep using them over and over and over again- Yeah ... in perpetuity? The coolant is, you'd probably have to add coolant to mixture.
For the coolant, it would be like a five-gallon bucket. You probably put an inch in the bottom, mix it with water. So for the most part, you're adding water to it because the water evaporates off until the mixture gets too thin, you add a little more coolant. But you never have to get rid of the coolant. So you don't ever have to change it out then? You don't have to drain it from the machine and put different fluid in there? No. No. Can I ask a question? Yeah. I see here on your application, I'm looking at hours Monday through Saturday, 7:00 to 9:00 PM, and he just brought up, because I wanted to see what those decimals are, where it's sitting at. Yeah. 70 to 80.
So I might have a disagreement for that late at 9:00 PM, where you have a neighbor that's that close. Mm-hmm. And if you're going anything above 80 decimals, that might end up, especially on a quiet night, when you don't have the traffic, that noise is going to carry. Yeah. So that's where I might have the problem with the 9:00 PM, because I think it's pushing it a little bit out- Yeah ... into the evening. Yeah, I was just pushing after to start off to be able to work at night after my full-time job right now, but I understand that. I know you have buses go down there, a lot of traffic. I know that area very well. Yeah, we got motorcycles and whatnot, but.
So. You might have similar concerns at 7:00 AM too. Oh, that's true. Yes. Especially on a Saturday, so thank you. Yeah. Would it be fair for, and anybody can jump in too, if we went to 8:00 AM? Or 8:00 AM on a Saturday is still too early, and it's still quiet. We can discuss this after, but I think the hours need to be changed. Yeah. Okay. So- Is that just noise-wise or working-wise? Yeah. Just have to keep the noise down. And I can't... When you're using that kind of machinery, I can't see you keeping the doors completely shut all the time. Yeah.
And are you making something specific to sell this through another- No. I figured I'd get set up before I look for customers, but I figured I'd go after some of the- Say that again? I don't really have customers yet. I don't really know exactly what I'm making. You don't have customers yet. But I have worked for a machine shop for 30 years, so I have a few ideas where I can go after for some work. Okay. But. The reason why I'm asking it, because that's a lot of hours Monday through Saturday, so that's- Oh, no, I wouldn't work that many hours. But yeah. Okay. So you could have a general hours of operation, 7:00 AM to 9:00 PM, and then
maybe machinery hours more constricted or something like that. Yeah. You're going to be having businesses come to you and asking you to make a specific replacement part for a machine that they have. Is that what you're saying? I'd probably subcontract from other machine shops or go after a business itself. Okay. So another machine shop would come to you and specify what they need you to make. A lot of it would be quoted online. Okay. So then I'd just have the parts delivered or whatnot. I don't see too many people coming and listening to the rush job because they had to come pick up. Okay. Thank you. Anybody in the public have a question of fact?
Anybody want to speak in favor of, speak against? I support it. Okay. Any other questions? Just the only thing is I have is adjusting the hours. No signage, right? No signage? Not at this point, no. Maybe in the future, but not now. You mind, any issues if we condition no signs? Yes. We could add the conditions of it now. That would be good, yeah. Okay. Well, if you're considering signage, you should probably get it in the permit now. Okay. If- I can either take a roadside sign, whatever size I could, or put something on the
face of the garage. Does your garage face the street? Yes. It's set way back. It's set way back, yeah. Okay. We have a draft condition, special permit, home-based business, subject property 752 North Road. Draft condition, special conditions. One, this special permit is non-transferable and shall expire upon the sale or transfer of the property, unless the listed applicant owner as principal practitioner continues to reside on the premises. Two, the planning board and/or their designee reserves the right to inspect the premise throughout the first year of the use of this
special permit. Three hours of operation are limited to between... What did you want? Well, I was trying to be fair to him is, I think 9:00 PM is way too late. I would look at 7:00 PM. Go with that. 8:00 AM to 7:00 PM? Sounds fair. Does the board have any objection? Well- So that would be maybe machinery operation within- Say that again? Machinery operation within the more restricted hours. He could do certain stuff at 7:00 AM that's not- Sure. Yeah ... loud. So he could take orders and things like that between-
Right. Yeah, I imagine there are other things that don't involve so much noise. But if you wanted to say machinery operation is limited- Correct ... within the 7:00 to 9:00 PM, between, I don't know, 9:00 to 7:00 or whatever you think is... Yeah, that seems fair. That seems fair. Thank you.It's just, yes, correct. Just the machinery, that's all I'm asking. Yeah. Is that agreeable? Sounds good. Was that those hours? No, I'm asking if the hours are agreeable. Oh, okay. Yes. I mean, I just threw those out there, but... So, 9:00 to 7:00 within that for machinery? 9:00 to 7:00 for machinery. Sounds fair. Okay. Thank you, sir. I personally go as early as 8:00. There's
guys running lawnmowers at 8:00 in the morning. Say that again, what time? 7:00. I mean, I don't mind him running the machines at 8:00 in the morning. There are people running lawnmowers at 8:00 in the morning. And it's next to an airport. What? And it's next to an airport. And it's next to an airport, right. 8:00 to- Run those shredder machines out there at 8:00 at night. And they're turning directions. So, yeah, I'd push it up to 8:00. 8:00 to 8:00? What's that? 8:00 to 8:00? I don't care, 8:00 to 9:00 even. 8:00 to 9:00. I think 9:00 PM is too late. Okay, 8:00 to 8:00. 8:00 to 8:00? Machinery 8:00 to 8:00? I think he already- Yes, sure. He doesn't care.
I'm just surprised about the noise because we're on a main road with the cars opening loud exhaust- Uh-huh ... and the airplanes. I'm kind of surprised at that. That's an airport. An issue with some noise on my street, but it'd be fair either way, if you disagree with it. What do you think? No, I just... But I have to- I say we keep it at what he applied for, but... That would work for me. So, back to 7:00 to 9:00? I don't agree with it, but it's up to the rest of the board, but I don't agree with it. I think 9:00 is just too late for machinery. Machinery's in your garage, right? Yes. Yeah. Okay. Other than summer hours, the garage is closed when you're operating the machine.
Other than summer hours where it's really, really hot out- Yeah ... I'm assuming it's enclosed inside the... It'd probably be closed in summer, too, because I have AC in the garage. Most likely a day like today would be all closed up. So, he has AC in the garage. Must be nice. I'm not sure what your, back, you mean middle summer, I don't know what you're recommending for nighttime. 9:00's too late. What were you recommending? What were you considering? I didn't hear what you said. Oh, I know what you were considering. I lost track. How late could I run machines you were suggesting, if 9:00 is too late? He's already said 8:00. He's already said machinery.
I don't see the doors closed all the time, because I- Yeah, the doors won't be closed all the time ... I've never seen that happen, but I don't agree with 9:00. I don't mind going an extra early earlier for machinery, for 8:00 PM, but not 9:00. So, what hours do you want? I'm also trying to be fair to the applicant as well. So, I wouldn't go past 8:00 PM at night. Okay. What about starting hours? 8:00 AM. I'm fine with that. Sounds good. Okay. 8:00 to 8:00 then. For machinery. For machinery. For machinery. Yeah. Yes. We didn't talk about customer times or deliveries or things like that. I don't know if- It's at his house, right? What's that? Yeah. I mean, sometimes you condition those things.
How does your stuff come in? It's not coming in on tractor trailers and flatbeds, is it? It's a UPS or FedEx. UPS? Yeah. So, as long as Amazon's or UPS isn't parking and making me slow down on that road. Yeah. You'll get a lot of that already, though. Okay. And you said no signage for now? Well, again, if signage is a consideration, it would need to be... You can come back, but- Then we should condition that, that he has to come back for the sign. If he's okay, yeah. He had said maybe in the future, that's why. So, what if we just say if that is still sign according to the
final ordinance? Works for me. Well, so the ordinance, I think it says you have to specifically state it in this permit. So, you can allow a sign up to six square feet if you want. And you said you'd probably attach it to the garage, the sign. It wouldn't be freestanding. Well, either way, I'd be happy with the front of the garage or a curbside, double-sided on the curb. Okay. So, if you're okay with up to six square feet of a standing sign, you don't have to come back. Okay. And then if you want to change it in the future- So, six square feet, that would be a three-foot by two-foot sign?
Correct. Double-sided is okay? Yeah. But it's not six square feet of, it's not a four by eight sheet of plywood that's cut down. It's six square feet for the entire sign, feet, everything. It's three feet wide, two feet tall. Yeah. Or whatever makes six square feet. Yeah. Right. I figured. Non-illuminated, usually you do these? Yeah, if it's that, I would probably want it on the curb. A three-foot by two-foot sign on the garage would probably be hard to see. So, we'd write in, "May install one sign up to six square feet, non-illuminated," at his discretion, whether it's at the street or on the garage.
If he wants more than that, he can come back. Yeah. Well, he can't do more than that. He can only do up to that. You good with that? I'm good with that. Okay. Anything else we want? Do I hear a motion to close the public hearing? I'll make a motion to close the public hearing. Second. All those in favor? Aye. Aye. Do I hear a motion on the special permit? I'll make a motion to approve the special permit for 752 North Road for a machine shop home-based business. Second. All right. Bernie? Yes. Cheryl? Yes. John? Yes. Ray? Yep. Yes. Jane? Yes. Bill? Yes. And I am a yes. You sat through my reading earlier.
You know you have to wait 20 days and you have to file this. Okay, you're going to receive a packet, but there's a 20-day appeal period. Okay? I'll get something in the mail about the whole thing? Yep. Okay. Congratulations. Thank you. Thank you. Thanks, everybody. Good luck. Thank you. That concludes our special permits. Next on the agenda is review of ANR plans, 288 Route Road, New England Public Radio Foundation, Inc. So, pretty straightforward ANR, carving up several lots, 150-foot frontage here.
Do the towers fall into each one of those lots? How do they fall? There's three towers in there. Yeah. They're not shown. I don't know if maybe they're- That one, where the two towers are. Mm-hmm. There's three of them in here in this piece. I got the sense that may be going away if this property's being divvied up, but I don't know. You mean they're looking at opening that up? Well, the plan is to carve up the property. I didn't hear what you said, Jay, sorry. The plan carves up the property, so I don't know what the- Divide up the property. Yeah. I assume house lots. It's all three of the towers across the street. So this is all. Yeah, the tower, there's one here someplace. There's one here, and there's one here.
Right. That's on the same lot across. These are all wetlands. Nothing on the top, anyway. So you're saying they want all that, they're going to split up where the towers are? Yeah, it's one big piece now. And then they want to subdivide it. Yeah. So again, with an ANR, you just look at frontage and adequacy of the road. So obviously, it's Route Road. And they all meet the 150-foot minimum. So is 50-foot frontage a requirement? Is what? Is 50 foot of frontage the requirement? One fifty. One of them is 144. Plus that 8.97 to the left
there. Got it. It's not good enough. This conceivably could've been a little more creatively done, maybe with an open space subdivision or something like that. But- Oh, everything's got this recently. This is the easy way to do it. That's what you're waiting for there, because you get the random R-15. And here you got 24 plus 36. That one's got the signage. Yeah. But this is all here. There's no wetlands. So what they're doing
there. Do I hear a motion on the ANR? Yes. Okay. So is there a public hearing for this? No. Okay. Can they speak? Because they're abutters. Sure. You guys want to speak? Are you here to speak on this? Yeah. They also weren't notified, Jay. It's an ANR. It's just board business. Okay. Angelo Roselli, 31 Radisson Lane. We are the abutter of V&A Route Realty, which would be on the southern side of this parcel. I guess the big question is, do we have any
other details about what this subdivision, what we're trying to do here? Is it housing, I'm assuming? Is the towers and the existing structures all being taken out? Just kind of what's going on with the piece? This was more of a Q&A for us. That's why we were hoping that maybe somebody was going to do a quick presentation to you guys to get a little more information. But it appears from looking at The plan that it's just seven house lots for residential use, because I believe the whole lot is still rural residential.
Yes. Okay. There's seven lots. I don't... Seven? Six. There's seven lots, I believe. One, two, three, five. Five, right? Five. Excuse me. Yeah. Five. Sorry. So the matter before the board is: Is this a subdivision or not? And that's determined by frontage and road accessibility. So we're not privy to anything else. Okay. Then I guess at this moment, I don't have any other questions because there's no questions I can ask because there's no information available, I guess. I appreciate it, guys. So Jay, lot number two says it's 144 frontage.
Did you say that the 150 was the frontage requirement? If you see, there's a little strip of 8.97 to the left where you'd add that. So they're all... Okay. If you want to review the ANR flowchart just to keep- I'm going to- ... abreast of your limited purview. Would you classify this as a subdivision? Well, that's what it's asking you. So- Yeah ... go to the flowchart. I can't get on there. And we can run through it. Does it show a division of land into two or more building lots? Yes. Does each lot contain a building built prior to 1967? No.
Is the street a public way? Yes. Does each lot have the required length of frontage? Yes. Does the frontage allow for practical access to the bill of a portion? Yes. Approval is not required. Endorse the plan. If we do nothing, it automatically endorses anyways. What's that? If we do nothing, it automatically endorses anyways, correct? Yeah. I guess deciding to do nothing is doing something. Right. So do I hear a motion? Well, the only thing we could do is stop it, and we can't stop it. Do I hear a motion? I'll make a motion to approve the ANR. Second. All those in favor? Aye. Aye.
Anybody opposed? I only heard one aye. No, I heard three. Oh, I'm yes. What? Yes. I'm a yes. So that's seven. All right. We only need four. Okay. Thank you very much. Next on the agenda is other business. So we have BEST Green Energy Ordinance Development. Yeah. So, our BEST moratorium with its... expires in September. So, Counselor Fannion reached out to me and would just like to be part of the group drafting the ordinance. So it would be helpful maybe to have a planning board member or two
participate in that. I don't know if anyone is interested. I know I was, and I thought possibly John. Yeah, I'll do it. But when are we getting started? Don't really have a particular- Sorry? There's no particular schedule, so we can just kind of get together sometime and raise-- So John and Cheryl? Is that- Say that again, Jay. It sounds like John and Cheryl are willing to- It sounds like it ... help out. Thank you very much. We'll be in touch. We start our summer schedule now, so we won't meet for once a month now, June, July, and August. Anybody
else have any announcements, future agenda, anything like that? I'd like to get a discussion on future agendas about minimum lot sizes for lot size averaging. I think we're running out of space in the city, and we're going to start cutting up really small lots to make really smaller lots. I think there's a point where it doesn't make sense anymore. So I'd like to have a discussion about that at our next meeting. Okay. I like that. I think that's a good idea. So the infill ordinance. Yeah. And you had some- I want to just let everybody know that I had a
nice cup of coffee with ZBA chair, Sophia Bitsis, and I offered our site plan review services to the ZBA if they have a project that they think is kind of muddled between the two of us. If they're looking for us to review it before they vote, I told her we'd be happy to make a recommendation. She seemed extremely receptive to that. So just want to let everybody know. Go from there. Anybody else have anything else? Motion to adjourn.
Motion to adjourn. Is there a second? Second. All those in favor? Aye. Aye. Aye. See you all on the 16th. Can't get on this at all.