Minutes of June 12, 2007

 

Present were: Marilyn Richards, Chairperson; Thomas Morrissette, Vice Chair;

Louis Calabrese, Clerk and Michael Przybylowicz.  Donald Anderson was not present.

 

Request for Waiver of Site Plan Review – Busy Bees Day Care, St. Paul’s Church 

 

Ms. Macdonald explained that a site plan for the church had been approved, however, it was never completed as the church ran out of money.  She said that she had requested an as-built plan so the Board could see the site as it now exists, however, Don Smith has been in the hospital for surgery.

 

Clerk, Louis Calabrese read a request for Waiver of Site Plan Review from Marna Shields.  The Police said that the number of private vehicles entering and exiting the site presented a potential traffic safety hazard for young pedestrians and recommended the following:

 

1.      The sidewalk on the East side of the building should be utilized for the drop-off and pick-up location to allow for additional stacking of private vehicles.

 

2.      It is recommended that a "one-way" traffic pattern be instituted during the school hours to address this safety issue.

 

3.      Vehicular traffic to enter the site from Elm Street, drop students off at the sidewalk with teacher and parent assistance, and exit the site onto Mapleshade Avenue.

 

4.      It is recommended that private signs be installed by the property owner indicating such restrictions complying with the U.S. Department of Transportation Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (see attached sheet) and should indicate the restricted times on the signs.

 

5.      Additional review can be conducted once the school is in operation.

 

Police Chief Mellis said that they want the children to be safe and Sergeant Bates is proposing to pull traffic in from Elm Street and back out Maple Street so it would be controlled by the light.  He said that the day care is going to be in session after the Elementary School has started so it shouldn’t be a problem. Sergeant Bates doesn’t want to see anyone get hurt.  Chief Mellis said that it will be inconvenient but what Sergeant Bates is proposing is that the children will be dropped off at curbside instead of crossing in front of the cars.

 

Mr. Przybylowicz asked if she was going to occupy the entire wing that was added on?  Ms. Shields said no just 2 classrooms.  Mr. Przybylowicz asked where the classrooms where situated in the proposed addition.  Ms. Shields referred to the plan to show him. Mr. Przybylowicz asked if there will be gate on the fence in the play area and if so couldn’t the kids be brought in that way?  Ms. Shields said that they would just be creating a whole mess if it was muddy.

 

Chief Mellis asked how many children a day would there be?  Ms. Shields 32 a day.

 

With no further discussion and upon motion duly made and seconded, the Board voted unanimously (4-0) to approve the waiver of site plan subject to: 

 

1.      The applicant shall provide the Planning Board with an updated as-built site plan showing all the dimensions of the proposed parking spaces.

 

2.      The applicant shall adhere to the requirements set forth by the police department, specifically, the recommendations of Sergeant Richard Bates.

 

3.      The applicant shall install signage according to the requirements and recommendations of the Police Department.

 

4.   The applicant shall provide the Planning Board with a copy of her state license upon receipt thereof.

 

5.   Once the school is operating out of this location the applicant shall contact the fire department for a final inspection.

 

 

Request for Waiver of Site Plan Review – Bob Powell’s Auto Repair, 1 Panama Street 

 

Mr. Morrissette recused himself due to a conflict of interest.

 

Clerk, Louis Calabrese read a request for Waiver of Site Plan Review from Robert Powell II to open an auto repair shop at 1 Panama Street, Bob Powell’s Auto Repair, Inc.

 

Mr. Powell said that his business was strictly for mechanical auto repairs.  Ms. Richards asked how many bays in the facility?  Mr. Powell said that it is just one big open area and you could probably get 4 or 5 cars in there.  He said that he and his wife are the only employees and the hours of operation will be Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

 

Mr.  Przybylowicz asked if there where any designated parking spaces?  Mr. Powell said that there are at least 4 or 5 spaces in the front.  Mr.  Przybylowicz asked if he would ever be keeping cars parked outside over night?  Mr. Powell said maybe once in awhile but most of them are put inside because he doesn’t like to keep them outside.

 

Ms. Powell said that she would be submitting the signage application for approval.

 

Upon motion duly made and seconded, the Board voted unanimously (3-0) to approve the waiver of site plan.  

 

Informal meeting with Chief Doug Mellis regarding towing businesses in town

 

Clerk, Louis Calabrese read a letter into the record from Chief Mellis informing the Planning Board of the towing companies that submitted bids for the towing services for the Police Department – those being Mascaro’s Towing, Storage/Tow Lot; Roadside Towing, Storage/ Tow Lot; Bach Towing, Inc Storage/Tow Lot and CJ’s Towing Unlimited. 

 

Chief Mellis said that he would appreciate if the Board could research the addresses in East Longmeadow to make sure that they are legitimate addresses and are properly zoned for office and storage capabilities.  He said that Roadside Towing is a new one on the list and is owned by Ronald Mascaro Jr. and Ronald Sr. runs Mascaro’s on Walnut Street in Springfield.  Chief Mellis said that Roadside went out of business earlier this year due to financial difficulty so they gave up their towing services. 

 

Chief Mellis said that he wanted to clarify some of the comments made at the Planning Board meeting on March 6th, 2007, regarding Roadside Towing’s Request for Waiver of Site Plan Review to occupy 14C Shaker Road.  He then read a portion of the minutes from that meeting.  He said he thought that Bach Towing was towing to 174 Shaker Road and knows they are towing for Longmeadow and that they were looking to tow to different areas in our town.  He said East Longmeadow doesn’t want to be someone else’s junk yard and he is just looking for some clarity on the issue and whether or not towing companies needed to have office space in East Longmeadow.

 

Ms. Richards said that she was on the Board of Selectmen when that requirement was added and that Lyndale was towing for the town and they were grandfathered as an exception to that rule.  Chief Mellis wanted to clarify this requirement as he does not want to “sic” the dogs on Bach Towing because he has vehicles towed to the property.  Chief also added that after checking with Robyn and finding out that these vehicles were not to be stored at the Shaker Road location, he asked the building inspector to have the vehicles removed and he did.  Ms. Richards said the original arrangement with Bach was that absolutely no vehicles - not even their vehicles were to be stored at this location.  The guys from Bach told the Board that they were parking their vehicles elsewhere or they were taking them home because they were doing AAA towing and responded from their homes.  She said that they started parking their vehicles there after their other lot dried up as well as putting the towed cars there.  Bach came to the Board and the Board voted 4 to 1 to allow the trucks to be parked at the Shaker Road address, however the issue was that they wanted to tow vehicles to Boucher’s property on Maple Street.  She said that they asked Mr. Boucher to come in and talk to the Board because the Board needed to understand what was happening with that location.

Chief Mellis said that the town gets no money from this and he checks to make sure that they are certified by the state, that they have certificate numbers and he is now checking to see if they are a legitimate business in town and that they meet the Planning Board’s requirements.  He added that Mascaro’s is saying that they are going to store vehicles and the Board said that there are no cars allowed to be stored on Shaker Road. 

 

Ms. Richards said the only lots in town that are able to store vehicles is Boucher’s Custom Auto and Tommy’s Auto Body.  Chief Mellis said that he needs clarification from the Boucher’s that it is going to the towing area for Bach Towing.

 

Request for Waiver of Site Plan Review – Jack Chen Restaurant, 59 Maple Street  

 

Mr. Morrissette recused himself due to a conflict of interest.

 

Clerk, Louis Calabrese read a request for Waiver of Site Plan Review from Robert Price for 59 Maple Street.  The request is for the change of ownership to Jian Bo Chen who will continue to operate the restaurant under the name of the Jack Chen restaurant and that no changes will be made.

 

Upon motion duly made and seconded, the Board voted unanimously (3-0) to approve the waiver of site plan and if Mr. Chen desires to make any changes he will be required  to apply for a Special Permit and to appear before the Planning Board. 

 

Miscellaneous

 

Ms. Macdonald informed the Board that they have all been invited to Premier Source Credit Union’s open house on June 14th from 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.

 

Ms. Macdonald informed the Board that Mr. Calabrese will be going to the detention basin meeting that the DPW is conducting because they want the developers to put underground detention basins in.

 

Therefore, with no further business and upon motion duly made and seconded, the Board voted (4-0) to close the meeting at 8:30 p.m.

 

                                                                        Very truly yours,

 

 

 

                                                                        Louis A. Calabrese, Clerk