Date: Fri 27-Dec-1996

Publication: Bee

Author: ANDYG

Quick Words:

Autumn-Ridge-Butterfield-P&Z

Full Text:

Subdivision Off Butterfield Rd Fails To Get P&Z Approval

B Y A NDREW G OROSKO

The revised Autumn Ridge residential subdivision proposal for land west of

Butterfield Road has gained Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) approval in a

3-to-1 vote.

On December 19, P&Z members approved creating nine building lots on 42 acres

as requested by applicant David Kaufman, and others. The initial application

sought 10 building lots.

In making the approval, P&Z members placed several conditions on the

development, the major one being that the proposed Lot 2 and Lot 3 be combined

into one building lot.

P&Z member Daniel Fogliano asked whether having the two lots combined into one

lot would prevent the lot's owner from eventually seeking to resubdivide it

into two lots.

Member Heidi Winslow responded that if the lot's owner should seek to

resubdivide it in the future, that resubdivision application would be separate

and discrete from the nine-lot subdivision project.

The P&Z's decision on a nine-lot subdivision instead of a 10-lot subdivision,

in effect, defers action on the merits of having 10 lots on the site, she

said. Acting on nine lots instead of 10 lots finesses the 10-lot issue, she

added.

In voting on the nine-lot proposal, Mr Fogliano opposed it and members Ms

Winslow, Thomas Paisley and Chairman John DeFilippe favored it.

After the vote, Mr Fogliano said that open space issues which had been raised

about the development hadn't been addressed by the developer. Also, the wisdom

of creating an intersection with a 60-degree angle where the planned Autumn

Ridge Road will meet Butterfield Road wasn't addressed, he said.

In conditions placed on the nine-lot approval, P&Z members are requiring that:

a proposed stormwater detention basin be moved farther away from the planned

1,200-foot-long Autumn Ridge Road; wider road shoulders be constructed where

possible; underdrain structures be installed; a footing drain's water flow not

be directed toward an adjacent building lot; the path of a planned driveway be

reconfigured for safety reasons even if it requires moving a utility pole; and

a road construction bond of $165,000 be posted by the developer.

Autumn Ridge drew an unusual 2-to-2 tie vote from P&Z members in November,

requiring that the tie be broken.

Mr DeFilippe listened to audiotapes of a past public hearing on Autumn Ridge

to make him eligible to vote on the proposal.

When the development project came to a vote in November, Ms Winslow and P&Z

member Thomas Paisley voted in favor. However, recently-appointed P&Z members

James Boylan and Daniel Fogliano voted against the project, resulting in the

tie vote. Mr Boylan didn't attend the December 19 meeting.

In November, Mr Boylan had expressed concern over the presence of a natural

gas transmission pipeline at the development site.

Mr Fogliano then said the proposal was "not prudent," adding that the wetland

area proposed as the subdivision's open space isn't usable land.

Four-bedroom houses ranging in size from 2,500 to 3,000 square feet are

planned for the site.