Town of Otis, Massachusetts
ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS – Meeting Minutes July 1, 2024
Meeting held via Zoom 7:00 pm – 7:19pm
ZBA Members (Present):
• Travis Ward, Chair
• Wayne Woczyna, Member
• Terry Gould, Member
• RoseAnn DeRupo, Member
• Gordon Middleton, Alternate
ZBA Members (Absent):
• Jim Kauffman, Member
Lisa Crozier, ZBA Clerk
Larry Gould, Town of Otis Building Inspector
Public Attendees:
Amy Humphrey, 19 Pine Grove Ridge Road, Otis, MA
Douglas O’Neill, Esquire, 24 Upper Hamden Road, Monson, MA, representing Gregory and Patricia O’Neill
Greg Hurley, 13 Pine Grove Ridge, Otis
Debra Case
Agenda item #1 – Travis Ward, Chairperson opened the meeting at 7:00pm. He welcomed Ms. Humphrey. Introduction of the Board Members was made. Lisa took Roll Call, there was a quorum; there were five voting members. Travis gave an overview of how the meeting will be conducted.
Agenda item #2 –
1) Chairperson Ward read the Public Notice into the record: This is a Public Hearing, to hear and act upon the application of Amy Humphrey, for a Zoning By-Law Special Permit under Sec. 3.3.3 of the Otis Zoning by-laws to remove the existing deck and to rebuild to the specifications outlined by SK Designs of 8’ wide x 28’ long. The lot is listed in the Otis Assessor’s records as Lot 92 on Map 19 D, located at 19 Pine Grove Road in Otis, MA.
Amy Humphrey presented her plan designed by SK Designs and would like to remove the existing deck and to rebuild, adding an additional 16’.
The Chair opened to the Board for discussion:
No comments from The Board
Meeting was opened to the Public:
Immediate Abutters –
Douglas O’Neill – requested that the “stay as close to existing setbacks as possible” be stricken from the Motion and let the SK Designs building plans speak for themselves.
Travis – Agreed with Mr. O’Neill and asked if there were any other comments from the Public and there were none. He asked for a Motion to close the public portion of the meeting.
Motion to Close Public Portion of the Meeting – Terry Gould
Seconded – Wayne Woczyna
Voice Vote – All voted Aye
Travis asked if there were any comments from the Board in respect to the application. Hearing none, he asked for a Motion to Approve Ms. Humphrey’s request for a deck as shown on page 3 of the SK Designs schematic plans dated 5/7/24.
Motion – Terry Gould
Seconded – Wayne Woczyna
Roll Call Vote – All voted Aye
Travis thanked Ms. Humphrey for submitting her application and wished her luck with her project.
Travis – This permit will sit in obeyance for 20 days with the Town Clerk. The applicant can pick up the Notice of Decision and Notice for Filing on the 21st day. The applicant needs to file the permit with the Registry of Deeds in Pittsfield. Thereafter, bring proof of filing to the Building Inspector who will then issue the Building Permit. Failure to file or act upon the permit within two years will render the Special Permit null and void.
Agenda item #3: Approve minutes from prior meeting from May 6, 2024.
Terry noted that Monson, MA was spelled in correctly and asked Lisa to make the change.
RoseAnn noted the correct spelling of her name.
Motion to Approve: RoseAnn DeRupo
Seconded: Gordon Middleton
Voice Vote: All voted Aye
Agenda item #4: Old Business and New Business, Items unanticipated by the Chair.
A) ZBA Candidates for Alternate position on the Board. Travis asked Lisa to check with Lyn and Brandi about reinstituting the website ad.
B) Memorandum on Application Submissions – Applicants have been submitting applications at the last minute, not allowing enough time for Larry Gould, Building Inspector, to review and have any corrections or additions made by the Applicant. This also impacts the timeline for publication in the newspaper and Public Notices. This new policy states that regardless of any date, the application is not considered ready to present to the Board until the application is complete, in good order – quality, legible, schematics make sense – and that Larry has all the information he needs prior to forwarding it to the Board for consideration.
Travis asked the Board if they had questions or comments on the deadline policy change.
RoseAnn – mentioned that she felt it was important that the public understand the importance of advertising in a timely manner and that this will be a factor when an application may be heard by the Board.
Travis – Agreed with RoseAnn. He will work with Larry to determine how it will formally be accepted.
Motion to Accept the Draft of the Appeals Application Submission Policy -Terry Gould
Seconded – RoseAnn DeRupo
Voice Vote: All voted Aye
Agenda item #5: Update from the Building Inspector.
There is one pending application, waiting for a set of existing elevation drawings. Once submitted, the application will move forward. Travis noted that there was still time to get it on the August 5th Agenda should the process go well.
Larry noted that the contractor is aware of the new submission policy.
Travis asked Larry how he envisioned the process now that the Board voted. How does it get out to the public, how is it instituted?
Larry said that the copy on the website needs to be updated to reflect the completion of the application not a timeline and eliminate the deadline on the calendar but keeping the meeting dates open.
Travis requested a quick meeting between himself, Larry and Lisa, to be clear about what needs to be done.
The next meeting will be August 5, 2024
Adjournment:
Motion to Adjourn: Gordon Middleton
Seconded: RoseAnn DeRupo
Meeting adjourned: