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Board of Appeals
NOTICE OF DECISION
SPECIAL PERMIT A2
IN THE MATTER OF:
Owner/Applicant: Jennifer A. Johnson, DVM, d/b/a South Hingham Veterinary Services
Property: 60 Sharp Street
Hingham, MA 02043
Deed Reference: Plymouth County Registry of Deeds, Land Court Certificate of Title No. 109743, Book 471, Page 90
Plan Reference: Plan entitled, "Plot Plan, 60 Sharp
Street, Assessors Map 216 Lot 23, Hingham, Massachusetts," prepared by
Merrill Associates, Inc., 427 Columbia Road, Hanover, MA, dated May 20,
2013.
SUMMARY OF PROCEEDINGS
This matter came before the Board of Appeals (the “Board”) on the
application of Jennifer A. Johnson, DVM, d/b/a South Hingham Veterinary
Services (the “Applicant”) for a Special Permit A2 under § III-A, 4.4
of the Hingham Zoning By-Law (the “By-Law”) to allow for the continued
operation of a veterinary hospital at 60 Sharp Street in the Industrial
Park and the South Hingham Development Overlay Districts. The
Applicant also requested a waiver from special condition 1 of § III-B
that requires the building be located a minimum 40’ from the front and
side lot lines; however, that request was withdrawn following an
amendment to the By-Law that rendered such request moot.
A public hearing was duly noticed and held on June 18, 2014 at the
Town Hall, 210 Central Street. The hearing was continued on several
occasions at the Applicant's request and reopened on May 13, 2015. The
Board panel consisted of its regular members W. Tod McGrath, Chairman,
Joseph M. Fisher, and Joseph W. Freeman. The Applicant was represented
by Attorney Jeffery A. Tocchio, Drohan, Tocchio & Morgan, P.C. At
the conclusion of the hearing, the Board voted unanimously to grant a
Special Permit A2 under § III-A, 4.4 of the By-Law, subject to the
conditions listed herein.
Throughout its deliberations, the Board has been mindful of the
statements of the Applicant and the comments of the general public, all
as made or received at the public hearing.
BACKGROUND
The Applicant operates a veterinary clinic within a 2,850 square
foot portion of an existing 34,000 +/- square foot, multi-tenanted
commercial building located at 60 Sharp Street, Hingham (the
“Property”). The veterinary clinic is operated in such a manner so as
to not affect neighboring businesses. For example, the Applicant does
not groom or board animals, or to allow animals to stay overnight,
except in extreme, and rare, supervised conditions. Appointments are
limited to 3-4 appointments per hour, per doctor when on shift, and
patients being left for day-surgery are dropped-off at the facility
between 8-9 a.m. on two days. Moreover, the radiology suite is a
digital system, thus eliminating the need for chemicals that were
formerly required, and all materials classified as a hazardous waste
(vaccine vials, empty injectable drug vials, needles, syringes) are
collected in hazardous waste containers and the Applicant contracted
with Ecology Recovery Systems for their legal off-site disposal.
Finally, no hazardous materials are or will be disposed of by drain or
other unauthorized means.
A veterinary hospital is a specially permitted use in the Industrial
Park District and South Hingham Development Overlay District. The
Board reviewed a previous request from the Applicant to allow the
animal hospital use in 2013; however, the prior application was
withdrawn when concerns arose with respect to compliance with setback
requirements specified in special condition 1 of § III-B. The Applicant
instead filed for and received a building permit as a "business or
professional office or agency". The use has been in operation since
fall 2013.
Staff thereafter notified the Applicant that the South Hingham
Veterinary Services appears to be operating an "animal hospital" (use
4.4) and not a "business or professional office or agency" (use 4.10)
and as such requires a Special Permit A2. The Applicant refiled the
Special Permit application in May 2014. Considerable discussion took
place during the initial hearing about special condition III-B as it
relates to the business. In December 2014, the Planning Board initiated a
zoning amendment that eliminates the application of Special Condition
III-B to several commercial uses, including animal hospitals, within
the Industrial Park zoning district. Town Meeting subsequently voted to
adopt the amendment. As of April 27, 2015, Special Condition III-B no
longer applies to the use on this property, though the Massachusetts
Attorney General must still review the amendment.
On September 11, 2013, the Hingham Planning Board granted site plan
approval in conjunction with the Applicant's previous Special Permit A2
application under § III-B, 4.4, and approved issuance of a Special
Permit A3 parking determination in accordance with Section V-A of the
By-Law. A copy of the Planning Board’s decision is filed with the
Plymouth County Land Court Registry District, Document No. 717140, as
noted on Certificate No. 109743.
FINDINGS
Based upon the information submitted and received at the hearing, the Board made the following findings:
a. The proposed use will be in harmony with the general
purpose and intent of the Zoning By-Law, for the following
reasons:
The Applicant’s proposed uses are in harmony with the general
purposes of the By-Law. The use is allowed in the Industrial Park
District/South Hingham Overlay District under a Special Permit A2, and
the use is controlled and regulated so as not to adversely affect the
health, safety or welfare of the prospective occupants, neighbors, or
the Town generally. The veterinary clinic utilizes previously
existing utilities and infrastructure and is contributing to the
overall economic viability of businesses within the South Hingham
Industrial Park Overlay District.
b. The proposed use complies with the
purposes and standards of the relevant specific sections of this
By-Law, for the following reasons:
The Applicant’s use has not altered the footprint of the Building
and the Building continues to remain in compliance with the
requirements of Section III-E: South Hingham Development Overlay
District, including all intensity standards for floor area ratio and
building height. In addition, the Planning Board issued a Site Plan
Approval and a Parking Determination for the previously filed
application.
c. The specific site is an appropriate
location for such use, structure, or condition, compatible
with the characteristics of the surrounding area, for the following
reasons:
No alteration to the footprint of the existing Building or parking
area is proposed or has taken place. A sound-dampening wall was
installed between Units 5 and 6 in the Building. Exterior work is
limited to placement of a 10’x20’ outdoor enclosed area to the rear of
the space to be used as a supervised recovery area, installation of a
“pee post” outside the Building, and a 4’ access walk way to allow
access to the rear door of the space (for mortuary transport).
d. The use as developed and operated will create positive
impacts or potential adverse impacts will be mitigated, for the
following reasons:
The footprint of the existing Building as well as all existing
ingress and egress access to the Property has not and will not be
altered in connection with the Applicant’s use. A 4’ access way will
provides safe and level access to the rear of the Property for mortuary
transportation purposes.
e. There will be no nuisance or serious hazard to vehicles or pedestrians, for the following reasons:
The Property’s current ingress and egress access, as well as the
Property’s current traffic circulation, have not and will not to be
altered in connection with the Applicant’s use.
f. Adequate and appropriate facilities exist or will be
provided for the proper operation of the proposed use, for the
following reasons:
The Applicant has already received approval from the Board of Health
for the use of the Property. The Applicant’s use does not require any
alteration of the Property’s current storm water drainage system. The
radiology suite is a digital system, thus eliminating the need for
chemicals that were formerly required. All materials classified as a
hazardous waste (vaccine vials, empty injectable drug vials, needles,
syringes) are and will continue to be collected in hazardous waste
containers and the Applicant contracted with Ecology Recovery Systems
for their legal off-site disposal. No hazardous materials are or will
be disposed of by drain or other unauthorized means.
g.The proposed Project meets accepted design
standards and criteria for the functional design of facilities,
structures, stormwater management, and site construction, for
the following reasons:
The Applicant already has a Building Permit and Certificate of
Occupancy for use of the Property. The Applicant also holds a
Radiology Permit for the facility issued by the Commonwealth of
Massachusetts. Furthermore, the veterinarians practicing at South
Hingham Veterinary Services are licensed by the Commonwealth of
Massachusetts.
DECISION
Upon a motion made by Joseph M. Fisher and seconded by Joseph W.
Freeman, the Board voted unanimously to GRANT a Special Permit A2 under
§ III-A, 4.4 of the By-Law approving operation of a veterinary
hospital/clinic at 60 Sharp Street, subject to the following conditions:
- The Applicant shall operate the animal hospital/clinic in a
manner consistent with the representations made in the application and
at the hearings before the Board;
- Regular hours of operation shall not exceed the following: Monday
- Saturday from 8:00 AM to 9:00 PM and Sunday from 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM.
- The Applicant shall seek additional relief if the Massachusetts
Attorney General rejects Warrant Article 20 of the 2015 Annual Town
Meeting or modifies the same in a manner that the Zoning Administrator
deems is material to this decision.
This decision shall not take effect until a copy of the decision
bearing the certification of the Town Clerk, that twenty (20) days have
elapsed since the decision has been filed in the office of the Town
Clerk and no appeal has been filed, or that if such appeal has been
filed, that it has been dismissed or denied, is recorded with the
Plymouth Registry of Deeds and/or the Plymouth County Land Court
Registry, and indexed in the grantor index under the name of the record
owner or is recorded and noted on the owner’s certificate of title.
For The Board of Appeals,
__________________________________
Joseph M. Fisher
May 26, 2015
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