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Date: 3/23/2023
WILBRAHAM — After two years of consideration and an hour of deliberation, the Wilbraham Planning Board approved a bylaw amendment regarding trucks parked in residential zones to appear on the May 15 Annual Town Meeting warrant.
Planning Board Clerk Gordon Allen said that when the bylaw was written, there were few trucks driven by residents. In the past few decades, trucks and other larger vehicles have become more popular. Planning Board Chair John McCloskey said surrounding towns run the gamut from no restrictions to requiring all trucks be garaged. Wilbraham was seeking to be somewhere “in the middle.”
Currently, vehicles parked in residential neighborhoods must have a gross vehicle weight (GVW) of no more than 10,500 pounds. GVW is the maximum weight of a vehicle when fully loaded with passengers and/or cargo. The amendment would change that to 12,400 pounds GVW. McCloskey said the weight was determined based on research into what vehicles are commonly sold. He said trucks sold today are bigger and heavier than in the past. Allen said the proposed change was fair.
Resident Dan Kurowski expressed concerns that a box truck or other large vehicle could be wrapped in signage or video message boards and parked at the end of a driveway, essentially creating a billboard that would be hazard for drivers.
Meanwhile, resident Keith Hummel was apprehensive about a neighbor who operates a trucking business from home who currently has one truck and two trailers. The bylaw change also allows one commercial vehicle per person at a residence if it is used for a profession off site. He was assured that the bylaw change only pertains to vehicles parked at a residence overnight and home occupancy businesses are not included in the regulation.
By comparison, a zoning bylaw amendment to expand the size accessory structures in residential zones received little discussion. As it exists, the bylaw allows accessory structures smaller than 144 square feet to be placed in a side yard as near as five feet from the rear of the property and 10 feet from the side of the lot. If larger than that, they must adhere to the setbacks required for primary structures, such as houses. McCloskey explained that the bylaw was written when sheds were typically 12-foot by 12-foot in size. He said sheds that are 12-foot by 20-foot are now commonly sold.
“The bylaw needs to be adjusted with the times,” Building Inspector John Walsh commented. Planning Board member Tracey Plantier agreed, saying “Bylaws change,” and must be brought “up to date.”
Starbucks
The Planning Board approved construction of a Starbucks with a drive-through at 2005 Boston Rd., formerly a branch of Berkshire Bank. The 30,117-square-foot property is owned by Kahn-Wilbraham, LLC.
The project to make it a Starbucks has been in the works since the spring of 2022 when the plan was to use the existing building. However, the owners of Home Depot requested changes to the traffic patterns in exchange for an easement allowing customers to come and go through the home improvement company’s lot. Now, the 3,500-square-foot structure in the center of the property will be demolished and a 2,400-square-foot building constructed closer to the western edge of the property with the drive-through lane forming a semi-circle around the building, patio and parking spaces.
The Planning Board specified 25 conditions that were required for the special permit. These included that landscaping be modified to not interfere with traffic visibility, lighting must be shielded and not spill onto neighboring properties and there must be adequate room for vehicles to “stack” in the drive-through lane without impeding traffic. The plan calls for 25 parking spaces and room for 16 vehicles at the drive through.
Another condition requires the exits onto Boston Road and at the west side of the property onto the access road to be for right turns only. The approval is contingent upon approval from the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, as one of the exits turns onto Route 20. The Zoning Board of Appeals, which considered the permit as it relates to food service, added 11 conditions. Among them, that a stop sign be placed at the exit that leads into the Home Depot parking lot and the patio be enclosed by an “aesthetically acceptable” guard rail or fence.
Lia Toyota
Dana Steele, owner of J.R. Russo & Associates, presented preliminary plans to expand the number of vehicles for sale at Lia Toyota, 2145 Boston Rd. He explained that Lia wants to sell more cars, but there is currently no place to display or store them, as the lots at the rear of the property are dedicated to Lia’s service business.
Wilbraham’s bylaws prohibit storing and displaying vehicles less than 50 feet from the street. A change to the bylaw would be preferable to Lia, Steele said, but Planning Director Michelle Buck said a zoning change submitted now would not be on the Annual Town Meeting warrant in May, and if no Special Town Meeting is conducted in the fall, it could be a year before voters could consider the change.
As an alternative, Steel said Lia would be willing to redesign its lot to accommodate more cars. He pointed out that parked cars only require a 10-foot setback, and as such, proposed customer and/or employee parking at the front of the property and the area directly in front of the building. With this shift in parking, the removal of some landscaping and the reorientation of the display vehicles, the business could display 93 vehicles on the lot. Steele did not say how many vehicles the lot currently displays.
To go with the redesign, the business would improve storm drainage and repave the lot, with new line striping, one additional accessible parking space and the addition of a curb cut to allow for incoming traffic to enter. Steele noted the 16-foot curb cut would not be wide enough to accommodate car carrier trailers for delivery.
McCloskey said the Planning Board had previously recommended a curb cut for the property. Walsh remarked that vehicle deliveries require the car carrier trailers to back into the site, disrupting traffic on Route 20. Steele said he would take those concerns back to Lia.
Steele pointed out that if the parking in front is not approved, the company would not be likely to do any of the upgrades to the lot.
Plantier opined that putting parking in the front “makes no sense,” because dealerships generally want to display merchandise near the street. Steele said parking in the front “is better than doing nothing.”
Planning Board Vice Chair James Roone questioned the application of the bylaw. “Why would Lia not be allowed to display cars in the 50-foot setback when [Balise Ford] down the road does it?” he asked. Plantier pointed out that Lia has displayed cars on the grass within the setback in the past.
Buck pointed out that Wilbraham requires 2 percent of the lot to be landscaped with plants. Steele said he would meet the regulation, but McCloskey pointed out that it was more about the look. “Is it going to look like Riverdale [Street in West Springfield] in 10 years or Wilbraham?” he asked. “I’d hope Wilbraham.” Steele acknowledged McCloskey’s point.
McCloskey closed the conversation by saying, “Lia is a good business here in town. We just need to work on [the plan] to make it fit.”
Other topics
Walsh said a shipment of steel had arrived and construction on the Senior Center would begin within the week. He also noted that asbestos was being removed from the “cabins” on Boston Road across from Gregory’s Restaurant as part of plans to demolish them.