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HomeMy WebLinkAbout24SITE12 - Technical Review Comments 121824\\planning\planningoffice$\PZC\Applications\2024\24 SITE 12 - 25 Church Ln - Change of Use\Staff\Assistant Planner\24SITE12 - Technical Review Comments 121824.doc TOWN OF MONTVILLE Department of Land Use & Development Prepared by Meredith Badalucca 12/18/24 Property Address: 25 Church Lane Parcel ID: 095-003-001 Application: 24SITE12 Property Owner/Applicant: MTIC Acquisitions, LLC LS: Steven R. Marien, LS Lot Size: +/- 1.74 Acres (75,825 square feet) Lot Frontage: 28.96 +/- feet on Church Lane Zoning District: R20 and Route 32 Overlay Zone (OZ). Public Water/Sewer: Yes, existing connection Flood Hazard Zone: No CAM Zone: No Public Water Supply Watershed: No. Proposed Public Improvements: Applicant is proposing to use the existing curb cut that served the single family residence. This will need to be re-addressed based on staff and agency comments. Site Restoration Bond: Applicant has indicated a bond is not needed as they are proposing no exterior site work. This will need to be re-addressed when staff receives applicant responses to staff and agency comments. Site Visit: Completed by ZEO Radford and myself on 11/26/24. Photos attached. Legal: Submitted to Land Use Dept. on 11/22/24. Date of Receipt by PZC 12/10/24, Decision Required Date – 2/13/25. Proposal: Change of use from single family residence to business/professional office to be used by the Language Department of the Mohegan Tribe of Indians of Connecticut which may also hold small weekly Mohegan immersion classes for Mohegan families. The applicant states there are currently 5 full-time on-site employees in the department who usually work Monday through Friday from 8:30 to 4:30 with an occasional weeknight or weekend day language class. The classes would likely have five to ten participants. Background: The current use of the property is residential and is developed with a single-family residence, garage, deck and inground pool. • 4/28/1995 – ZBA application number 95ZBA7 for a 71.19 foot frontage variance • 2001 – Zoning permit 201ZP233 for a single-family residence • 6/28/2007 – Home Occupation permit 207HOME11 for Debbie’s Facials, Etc. This application was approved by the PZC on 6/26/07. • 3/7/2011 – Building permit for finished basement with half bath Staff Comments/Review: This property is located in the R20 zoning district and is included in the Route 32 Overlay Zone. The Route 32 Overlay Zone Zoning Regulation (ZR) section 14A.3 a. \\planning\planningoffice$\PZC\Applications\2024\24 SITE 12 - 25 Church Ln - Change of Use\Staff\Assistant Planner\24SITE12 - Technical Review Comments 121824.doc allows for commercial structures which are allowed in any commercial zone in Montville. The C-1 zoning district ZR section 10.2.3 list business and professional offices as a permitted use. Our ZR do not define professional offices. The definition provided by American Legal Publishing is as follows: ““Professional Office” means an office of a practitioner or practitioners of a specific occupation, vocation or calling in which a professed knowledge of some department of science or learning, not purely commercial, mechanical or agricultural, is used in its practical application to the affairs of other, either by advising or by guiding them in serving their interests or welfare. Such uses includes, but are not limited to, office of medical doctors, dentists, engineers, surveyors, city planners, lawyers, real estate brokers, insurance agents, architects, landscape architects, optometrists, and chiropractors, and other like and similar uses.” Law Insider defines professional office as “Professional offices means an office maintained and used as a place of business by individuals in licensed professions and generally recognized professions which utilize training or knowledge in the mental disciplines as distinguished from occupations primarily oriented to manual skills or the handling of commodities.” C-1 ZR section 10.9 states “Off-street parking, including shared parking, shall be provided for each lot in this district in accordance with the provisions of Section 18 of these Regulations.” Shared parking is not defined in our regulations. Law Insider defines shared parking as “parking spaces used to meet the parking mandates for two or more uses, structures, or parcels of land, to the extent that the owners or operators show the overall demand for parking spaces can be met by the shared parking.”. The applicant has stated that 27 Church Lane does not use the ten off-site parking spaces. ZR section 18.3.3 states “For Business or Professional Office or Governmental Office Space: One (1) space for each two hundred fifty square feet (250sqft) of gross floor space.” The applicant has revised the plan to reflect 2,000 sq. ft. of interior space versus the original proposed 3,065 sq ft. Therefore, 8 parking spaces are required. The revised plan shows a total of 12 parking spaces. An interior layout of the proposed space, including square footage, is required to verify the parking calculation. ZR section 18.5 LOCATION OF REQUIRED PARKING SPACES states “Required parking facilities shall be located on the same lot as the dwelling unit, building, or on the use which they serve except as noted in these Regulations. The applicant must provide the minimum number of parking spaces required by these Regulations. The Commission shall limit the number of spaces to those required by these Regulations for the proposed use except as noted in these Regulations. The Commission may approve parking on a noncontiguous lot if the Applicant supplies sufficient evidence that the lot is under the control of the Applicant/Owner by way of easement, lease or ownership. It shall be the Applicant/Owner responsibility to maintain easement, lease or ownership to run concurrent with the approved project.” The proposed 10 off-site parking spaces are located at 27 Church Lane which is owned by The Mohegan Tribe of Indians of Connecticut. The applicant states The Mohegan \\planning\planningoffice$\PZC\Applications\2024\24 SITE 12 - 25 Church Ln - Change of Use\Staff\Assistant Planner\24SITE12 - Technical Review Comments 121824.doc Tribe of Indians of Connecticut is the sole member of MTIC Acquisitions, LLC. Therefore, they are under the control of the applicant/owner as required by ZR section 18.5. The applicant further states these parking spaces are not being used by 27 Church Lane. ZR section 4.10.1.A states “Sidewalks abutting any street, driveway, access or interior circulation road on which the development is located may be required by the Commission if (1) such sidewalk interconnects with existing or proposed sidewalk system on the adjacent street and (2) the project is located within 1,000 feet of an existing commercial center, school or place of public gathering. All sidewalks shall be privately owned and maintained.”. The adjacent church at 27 Church Lane is on land that is in trust for the Mohegan Tribe of Indians of Connecticut. Staff suggests that a sidewalk or pedestrian path be provided from the northwestern parking area to the building to prevent visitors from having to walk along the access drive. ZR section 18.8.1 “The entrances and exits to all parking areas shall be clearly marked. Access drives for one way traffic shall have minimum width of fourteen feet (14’) where one way traffic is anticipated and a minimum width of twenty-four feet (24’) where two way traffic is anticipated.”. The applicant states “The Fire Marshal has waived the requirement of a twenty-four-foot access driveway and Applicant is requests approval of the Fire Marshal’s waiver of the existing width as there will be essentially be no two-way traffic-traffic will be similar to that of a single family.” Staff has explained that the Fire Marshal is only able to waive their requirements. The plan entitled “Site Plan Prepared for The Mohegan Tribe of Indians of Connecticut, Showing Property of MTIC Acquisitions, LLC, 25 Church Lane, Montville (Uncasville) CT, Prepared by The Mohegan Tribe, Steven R. Marien, LS, Dated 11/18/24, Revised 12/3/24” indicates only one means of ingress and egress. Therefore, the minimum of a 24’ access drive is required. Staff Technical Review Comments: 1. Provide interior layout, including square footage, of proposed space to be used as offices for the Language Department of the Mohegan Tribe of Indians of Connecticut as well as, the area to be used for Mohegan language immersion classes for Mohegan families. This information is needed to determine required parking spaces per ZR section 18.3.3 listed above. 2. Revise plans to show a minimum of 24’ wide access drives and clearly mark entrances and exits per ZR section 18.8.1 “The entrances and exits to all parking areas shall be clearly marked. Access drives for one way traffic shall have minimum width \\planning\planningoffice$\PZC\Applications\2024\24 SITE 12 - 25 Church Ln - Change of Use\Staff\Assistant Planner\24SITE12 - Technical Review Comments 121824.doc of fourteen feet (14’) where one way traffic is anticipated and a minimum width of twenty-four feet (24’) where two way traffic is anticipated.”. 3. Revise plan to show existing lighting located in the off-site parking area. As stated in the application documents, there will be an occasional weeknight language class. Per ZR section 18.14 “Adequate lighting shall be provided in all lots of more than fifteen (15) spaces except where the Commission may determine that such parking areas will never be used at night. Required lighting shall be arranged and installed to minimize glare on adjacent property, and adjacent streets and highways. Full cutoff luminaries shall be installed where commercial or industrial uses abut residential Districts or uses. In this instance all external lights shall be fitted with opaque shilling which shall prevent direct light emission above a horizontal plane through the luminaire’s lowest light emitting part.” 4. Revise plan to indicate the size of the proposed handicap space. 5. Revise the first sentence of General Note #1 as follows: “This project involves changing the use of a residential single-family house in the Route 32 Overlay Zone Area (OZ) to a commercial use for the primary offices of the Language Department of the Mohegan Tribe of Indians of Connecticut which may also hold small weekly Mohegan Language immersion classes for Mohegan families. Agency Comments: Town Engineer: Revised comments pending. Fire Marshal: See comments dated 11/25/24 Building: See comments dated 11/25/24 WPCA: 11/25/24 comments “There is water and sewer hooked up. No concerns unless they add bathrooms.” Uncas Health: 11/25/24 comments: “If they decide to open the pool, it will likely become a Public Pool and will need to go through the State Health Department for approval + registration through the Health District.” Police Department: 11/25/24 comments “No issues or concerns from the Police Department.” Public Works: 12/5/24 comments “No issues on public works end.” \\planning\planningoffice$\PZC\Applications\2024\24 SITE 12 - 25 Church Ln - Change of Use\Staff\Assistant Planner\24SITE12 - Technical Review Comments 121824.doc Access drive, 2 way traffic requires minimum width of 24’. Parking spaces to the southeast of the property are not visible from the street. \\planning\planningoffice$\PZC\Applications\2024\24 SITE 12 - 25 Church Ln - Change of Use\Staff\Assistant Planner\24SITE12 - Technical Review Comments 121824.doc \\planning\planningoffice$\PZC\Applications\2024\24 SITE 12 - 25 Church Ln - Change of Use\Staff\Assistant Planner\24SITE12 - Technical Review Comments 121824.doc \\planning\planningoffice$\PZC\Applications\2024\24 SITE 12 - 25 Church Ln - Change of Use\Staff\Assistant Planner\24SITE12 - Technical Review Comments 121824.doc Off site parking located at 27 Church Lane. Applicant states not currently used by 27 Church Lane.