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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1980-03-26 a � TOWN OF GROTON PLANNING BOARD MEETING Held at the Town Hall Groton , N . Y . Wednesday - March 26th , 1980 - 8 PM PRESENT : R . Gleason - Chairman* , G . - Evans - County Planning Board* L . . Raymond - Vice -Chairman C . Twigg - Secretary* J . MacNeil* D . Payne* M . Adams* G . Totman Josephine Bell - Recording Clerk* * - Denotes those present . R . Gleason called the meeting to order at 8 : 10 PM and passed out minutes of the last meeting to all present . R.. Gleason : Are there any additions or corrections to the minutes ? If not they stand approved as written . In a few minutes Mrs . Hahn from the Town Clerk ' s office will be here to talk about what she has done with our files and she has found a lot of our minutes missing . When she gets here will make a list . Does anyone have any reports or anything? O . . K . Why don ' t we go . ahead with Gary ' s presentation and when Mrs . Hahn comes will break in for a few minutes . G . Evans : I need some information . What is the disposition of the material I presented last time ? The subdivision revisions , corrections , and so on? R . Gleason : Lyle and I went down and gave it to the Town Board and they took it and I ' ve heard no more . G . Evans : 0 . K . the reason I was asking that is that we will talk about zoning tonight instead of subdivisions . O . .K . at the last meeting , at which we talked about zoning , we were talking about the general regulations , parking , signs and so on and there were a number of adjustments that were made and I have made copies of those , . as corrected , . so I ' ll first hand these out . (Mr . Evans handed out copies to all present . ) G . Evans : The change here is that Section 440 . 3 was added and . about three pages of parking regulations - - different number of spaces for different kinds of businesses and so on were deleted . I still have those if you want to look them over to refresh your memory . - 1 - R . Gleason : There ' s quite a good discussion of , the whole thing in our minutes . G . Evans : 0 . K . - - the next one has to do with Section 445 which is sign regulations , , and the change on this page is Section 445 . 4 "No sign may be higher than the overall height of the facility to which ' it is : an accessory , or 25 feet / 7 . 5 meters from the ground , whichever is higher " - - before it said twice as high as the overall . . . . . . . so that is an adjustment of the text . 0 . K . , now the next change you made at the last meeting was on Section 445 . 8 sign regulations . What happened there was that you established maximum sign size for 335 , 341 and 342 . And the last of this is Section 445 . 9 , in which the last paragraph of that section was . added and this has - to do with the small signs identifying associations , field cro' s and so on in the agricul - tural area . This didn ' t replace anything , - -this was an addition . R . Gleason : 0 . K . , I guess we can break right here and let Mrs . Hahn tell us what she has done . I told them you found we had some minutes missing . Mrs . Hahn : I suggested to Roger if we took the originals and kept them .all together in one section in the files . and then made copies and put them in the subdivision and public hearing folders , instead of keeping the originals in those . This way you would have a complete set of ori.ginals .all in one place . If you have any suggestions as to what you would like done that ' s why I ' m here . . R . Gleason : Also . you have a list of the ones that are missing ? Mrs . Hahn : Yes , R . Gleason : Another thing is the maps . A lot of them are quite small and possibly could be folded . .and put in with the minutes of the sub - division . On the other hand I ' m not sure that ' s the best place or whether they should be in an index folder . . Mrs . Hahn : I have from 1970 through 1980 . and they aren ' t complete . Each year is not complete so if anybody has any copies that we could use to complete these - - I have , a list of what I do have . R . Gleason : So we can find what we ' re missing . O . K . Mrs . Hahn explained what originals and what photocopies she has of the past minutes of the Planning Board meetings . . She suggested . she xerox copies of the list and the members could check and see what ones they could furnish . . Some discussion was held by all on whether or not to keep copies of the subdivision maps and the best way to file them . Mrs . Hahn suggested the originals of the minutes be kept by year and that the subdivisions :aid maps , with copy of the minutes , be filed by year and alphabetically . R . Gleason : Do you have any other questions ? - 2 - Mrs . Hahn : As 1ong ;as it ' s O . K . with you for me to go ahead and do it the way I ' ve explained . A couple of the maps are in tubes but you have to go through every roll to find the one you want . Do you want them folded up then and put in the file with the subdivision minutes ? R . Gleason : I think so . Co Twigg : It isn ' t something we ' ll be unfolding very often . R . Gleason : And if they do get damaged can always get a copy from the County Clerk ' s office . Mrs . Hahn : 0 . K . we' ll get it organized here because it '. s getting out of hand . R . Gleason : _ Are there any other questions or observations ? Mrs . Hahn : No , but if anyone has any suggestions just let me know , . O . K . ? R . Gleason : 0 . K . . so you ' ll make some copies of those minutes that are missing so we can take the list home and see if we have any of them? Mrs . . Hahn did this and gave the copies to Mr . Gleason , R . Gleason : On the impact statement , if it ' s done properly and designed to fit our situation then it can be a useful tool that won ' t require a lot of them and will expedite things . G . Evans : That ' s true . A good .application will have the necessary statements on it . R . Gleason : I think if we can get the right one , - - it asks for information in a general way and a person that isn ' t used to filling one out - - the questions aren ' t there so they don ' t get answered so I think we have to come • up with , a check list or whatever you want to call it to this . G . Evans : As long as we ' re off the subject for a minute , I meant to mention the agricultural districts , of which there is one in Groton but there will be another one . District No . 3 is in Groton now and District No . 8 will take up - the western part of the town and will probably be approved by the 1st of May but District 3 , , along with Districts 1 and 2 , have - to have what they call an eighth year review and I ' m on the County Agricultural District Advisory Committee and George is a re- source person . We have been talking about this so we will be in the process of reviewing the .agricultural districts 1 , 2 and 3 in the next 300 days . The process will start sometime this coming summer . R . Gleason : It takes - 300 days before the anniversary of the districts and the Groton one is this July so you may be hearing something , about this so thought I would mention it and if you ' re interested here is some information on it . (Mr . Gleason handed out the information sheets to anyone interested . ) The Planning Board would come in on this only if there are any - 3 - R . Gleason : major changes proposed . G . Evans : The Town Planning Boards -will be polled for any changes they might want to make but it ' s the County Board of Representatives ' function so the Town Planning Board has no official responsibility in this regard but may be called on to make any suggestions or changes they have in mind . One of the possibilities might be to combine agricul - tural districts-1 and 3 together and this would encompass completely around McLean , wouldn ' t it - - pretty much around three sides . C . Twigg : Where does District 8 go to - - - clear down into Caroline? G . Evans : I just have the part that ' s in Groton because I figured this to be the part you would be most interested in , - - it includes the whole western end of the town , - -all the way to the town line north , i south and west . This is District 3 here and District 8 comes up over here to the line on this side and then 8 extends all the way down to the southeast corner of the Town of Caroline and into the Town of Danby - - a total of '38 , 000 acres in it . . Some discussion was held on the . agricultural districts by all present . I R . Gleason : 0 . K . , - -we ' ll go on with Gary again . G . Evans : Now , the materials I just handed out were the changes made by the Board on . the General Regulations . The last section of the General Regulations we reviewed was the section on nonconformance . We completed that . I don ' t have the corrected sections to hand out to you . There was only one section that you made any changes on and if any of you are unclear it ' s been so long - - about what nonconformance regulations are I would be glad to go over them with you . . Basically zoning .is the prospective tool to do anything with existing activities , - - the nonconforming are the ones that do relate to the existing regulation . If you have something that doesn ' t conform with the regulations that you could not build now how do you deal w ith it and it deals with vacant lots , which do not conform to your minimum lot size , buildings that are not 3Permitted , , building types that do not conform to the height requirements and so on . Like , for instance , if you have a building that does not have the minimum required front yard it ' s been therefor years and is a perfectly good building , what does the zoning say ? It says you can make changes .as long as they do not- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -with the existing regulations . You can .add on -at the back - - the overall plan is to permit but not to , encourage them but to treat them fairly and have some reason or other if they discontinue the use to let them establish again . CO Twigg : In other words , if a nonconforming house burned down you couldn ' t rebuild on that same foundation? G . Evans : Nonconforming in what respect ? Co Twigg : Too close to the highway or too small a lot . - 4 - G . Evans : The regulations are it can be rebuilt on the same foundation , as . long as you can get Health Department approval and if it gets the Board of Appeals Approval . "Should the facility be destroyed by any means . . . . . it may be reconstructed so that the nonconformity as to the . . . . . . . . . . . . . . regulations is not increased" . So you can build it back the way it was but no closer to the road than the way it was . Are there - any fur- ther questions about nonconformance ? C . Twigg : I don ' t think , - - if a house was destroyed , - -I ' m thinking of that one in West Groton - -Reimers - - - . and his garage and that somebody next door ,-and the Grange Hall they are always hazzling and his house -they claim the church property comes about even with the middle of his living room . The house is on the edge of the road , - -no place to park a car , - - can ' t see around the corner because his house is there and his garage is built right on the line and then he !thrpws :stuff out , . of the window that is in the next door guy ' s yard and they are always hazzling - - what I ' m saying is if this garage is built. right on the line and it burnt down , would he be - allowed to rebuild it there or should there be a provision in there to ,apply for re- approval ? D . Payne : Has it been there a long time ? C . Twigg : Yes , , a long time but should it be brought up to the Board of Appeals or maybe a special permit which calls for public hearing or something because - = - but I have often thought that it would be a godsend to the community if something would ,happen there on a good windy night . G . Evans : I think that would be a perfectly reasonable regulation if you would like to include that in this . It ' s really optional . If you want it done as a matter of right or only with the approval of the Board . C . Twigg : I ' m pointing this out as a specific - case that you can see and it ' s not the only one around but a nonconforming situation should be approved by something or other . Like it would be a shame to put that building back if something happened to either one of those buildings without some consideration , - -you would hate to put .a big hardship on anybody but if it ' s destroyed or blown down it wouldn ' t be a big hardship on the individual . I can see the guy living there and you can ' t just go up and say " look we want this thing moved , " but - - - R . Gleason : Does anybody else have any comments on this ? J . MacNeil : Well , if there was : a foundation and then it wasn ' t nonconforming what type of a regulation would you want to force that to become conforming or a special permit or something that says you can rebuild? C . Twigg : This is what I don ' t know - - whether a special permit - - that would bring it to , a public hearing or bring it to the attention of the public and the neighborhood and the officials . - 5 - R . Gleason : Any comments , Jim? J . MacNeil : I was just wondering if this isn ' t something the Zoning Enforce - ment Officer couldn ' t do . i C . Twigg : That puts , a lot of responsibility on him . j R . Gleason : Some nonconforming uses are really not any big deal . D . Payne : I would say most of them won ' t be any problem . I i R . Gleason : I see what you ' re driving at . The thing in the back of my head is I don ' t want some provision in there that would cause a per- son a problem for no better reason than a personal gripe . J . MacNeil : This is why' I thought the Zoning Enforcement Officer could do this better . C . Twigg : I think you would get more of a gripe from that than from a special permit . Some discussion was held on this by all . G . Evans : I think you would be better off just automatically leaving it up to the Board of Appeals . If it is so , cut and dried it would be handled that way by the Board . C . Twigg : You take some of these barns , - - they have widened the road and you i don ' t have room to park a wagon and can ' t do anything around the j barn without having the truck or wagon in the road and it ' s hazardous and you can ' t go to the {guy and tell him to rebuild his barn but if it should burn down or the wind blow it down , well then let ' s bring it up that the barn will have to be set further away from the road . R . Gleason: Is there anything in the zoning law itself that has anything to do with this ? I mean in general if you said . a person can rebuild . f G . Evans : If its only nonconformity £ it isn ' t exactly located on the lot they can rebuild if they don ' t make it any worse than it is already but , of course , if it ' s a safety hazard that is a good reason for not allowing that to take place but I think you can say it can only be reconstructed with the Board of Appeals ' - approval and the non- conformity is not increased . You still would not be giving the Board of Appeals the authority to . allow it to be rebuilt still closer to the road then it was . Further discussion was held on this by all . R . Gleason : We started to deal with that :-- ::I think , as : a matter of fact , that ' s where we left off last summer . The shrub business - -we have a clear vision section . That would be covered in the new ordinance to eliminate that problem . 0 . K . , - -what is the concensus here , - - do we want to include a review 6 - R . Gleason : by the Board of Appeals of nonconforming structures where they , have been destroyed ? CO Twigg : I ' m not too sure that , - -maybe even .a business that was nonconforming . R . Gleason : Anything . G . Evans : We were looking here just to facilities , - - let ' s see what we said here : "A nonconforming activity if discontinued for 65 days or more from the date determined by the Zoning Enforcement Officer the facility or lot may not thereafter be used except in conformance with the - ordinance . " You have a year to get back in business and if you don ' t make it then you ' re out of business . Any decision or ruling made by the Zoning Enforcement Officer can be appealed to the Board of Appeals even if it ' s , a matter of interpreting what the ordinance says . i R . Gleason : A year is pretty well cut and dried and the Board of Appeals have Ithe authority to allow a longer period of tune if he did come to them and ask ? G . . Evans : It ' s not exactly clear to me that they would . I also have the feeling that they would take it upon themselves to grant it anyhow if they felt the - person was making a determined effort to get back into business and was just being delayed in someway . Further discussion was held on .this by , all . G . Evans : The wording of this was changed by this Board from discontinued for six consecutive months or . . . . . . . . . . . period . This Board changed it to 365 days . { R . Gleason : Does that meet everybody ' s approval or do we want to make any { changes ? { Further discussion was held on this by all . G . Evans : The general position I take on that sort of thing and I would suggest you consider it and that is if the business is of the type that is beneficial to the community and does not harm the neighborhood and .so on .it ought not to be nonconforming it should be - a permitted activity with a special permit . We have a situation in the Town I live in where there .area number of restaurants , gas station , grocery store - - all of which are highly regarded in the community and th:ey . are considered to be assets and they are all nonconforming and this , . in my opinion , , is error in policy because let ' s say one of these businesses decides it wants to expand a little bit - - add a room or something or maybe tear down a wing and replace it with a j better one they couldn ' t really do - it legitimately because they are a nonconforming facility and can ' t expand . I would urge you to make that sort of thing permitted with a special permit . We got in such a jam over there because the zoning officer who was just new on the job got a request for expansion of one of them and he looked it over and thought it was a perfectly reasonable thing so he issued a special permit and he didn ' t have any authority to do that but he did .and the guy hustled around and made his addition and so on and - 7 - G . . Evans : the neighbors , - - some of them , - - saw what had happened and all kinds of trouble happened because everything - they -had done was illegal . The guy who owned the place and applied for the permit , - -he had done everything perfectly alright , - - it was the Town officials , - - none of them had done what they were supposed to do . If this was permitted with a special permit what they would have done was taken his request for expanding his facility , reviewed the site ,and so on and could have required he expand his parking too . As it turned out the addition is just fine but he really needs more parking and unintentionally he has created a hazard because the parking is inadequate so if you have that situation here I think you should . seriously consider some way of dealing with it other thani.nonconformance . C . Twigg : Yes , - - so how do you word that ? This is what we dummies don.' t under- stand . G . Evans : In your district regulations have that activity permitted with a special permit . R . Gleason : This is what we ' re saying , - -we don ' t know what . activities . Further discussion was held on this by all . R . Gleason : What do we want to do ? It ' s up to you people . G . Evans : I think it would be very helpful in making a decision like this to know what you have in the town that might fit into this category . . R . Gleason : So we really need to make a survey . . D . Payne : Cecil would be , a g)od one to do that . C . Twigg : I mentioned one thing that ' s a bummer but you take Sheldon Clark over there . It ' s a real good example , - -what if either one of those barns burnt ? Trucks stop and when he cleans his stables the tractor sits halfways , across the road . It ' s alright , - -he can park one in there but when he cleans it the tractor is :a good halfways across the road . Further discussion was held on this by all . R . Gleason : The one thing we ' re interested in is not only just use but some -of these other situations where the buildings are too close and this sort of thing like . a safety hazard . This should be considered in the planning we want to do - - if some nonconforming should be nonconforming and others safety factor . D . Payne : Probably this could be handled through the Zoning Board of Appeals . G . Evans : I would think so . If something was so hazardous everyone would be aware of it . . R . Gleason: On the other hand , I was thinking if there was some regulation - - a map like this - - the Board of Appeals could look at the map . - 8 - G . Evans : One of the things you might surprise yourselves with here - - is someone familiar with the town might be able to look . at that map and tell what has been changed without even going out in the field but there might be areas you would have to check out but you wouldn ' t have to start from scratch . Co Twigg : But it would be better - - • - rather:"than specific problems now - - if there was something put in the ordinance in kind of a general way - - rather than some specific thing in operation now - - if there was -someway we could do it more generally so that in the future something came up that we don ' t have - - G . Evans : Well , - -I ' m not familiar enough with the town , - - therefore any study of the kinds of activities you ' re talking about - - - R . Gleason : The only place would be in your low intensity zone possibly and I ' m not sure I can think of any at the moment . G . Evans : If you think that the problem is somewhat concentrated then maybe you could just look in the areas you intend to have in the low . intensity designation and see if it does constitute a problem of any scale . R , Gleason : So probably what I should do is talk to Teresa and see if she has any suggestions . That might be the best way of handling it . G . Evans : I think so . R . Gleason : 0 . K . This would be existing activities . G . Evans : : Yes that are nonconforming as to the type of activity . C . Twigg : And also nonconforming to the measurements . D . . Payne : That ' s a different situation . C . Twigg : Like we ' re talking about this house in West Groton - - G . Evans : That ' s nonconforming as to dimensions . R . Gleason : I don ' t really care about the nonconforming dimensions . D . Payne : It seems to that would be more important . J . MacNeil : I think so , too . R . Gleason : 0 . K . so you want to get the nonconforming dimensions G . Evans : The suggestion I made about things that are nonconforming and per - haps should not be nonconforming - - I ' m really talking about activity types - the matter of dimensions is another matter . As a matter of policy in your district regulations a business that is to the benefit of the community and is a desirable business and so on , it ought to be permitted so I suggest if such things exist you ought to deal with them as permitted with special permit rather than leaving them as nonconforming . C • Tw gge I think that ' s settled well enough . But on the dimensions thing , - - 9 - C . Twigg : if one of these buildings is destroyed what do we do ? The way the ordinance reads now they can build it back on the same foundation , - -now that ' s the thing we want to change . D . Payne : Wasn ' t that what we were talking about before . That if it was destroyed they would have to go through the Zoning Board of Appeals before it could be rebuilt . I think that should cover it . . R . Gleason : We don ' t really have to know anything more about this specifically . . What we ' re really looking . at is the ,.activity . C . . Twigg : No , we ' re not worried about the activity now , - -we ' re just worried about the dimensions . G . Evans : Roger is trying to get at the question is a survey needed . CO Twigg : I don ' t think , a survey is needed for the dimensions ' thing . G . . Evans : What about activities ? Is a survey needed for that ? C . Twigg : I don ' t really think so , - -not if they are put on a special permit . D . . Payne : I think we went through that on the list of activities . R . Gleason : So you think we ' re covered and don ' t have to worry about it ? J . MacNeil : I think so . Further discussion was held by all . G . Evans : Are we finished talking about nonconformance now? Another issue we have touched on time and time again is are there sufficient number of districts in the town . There are three now and the question is , - - is three enough or too many or just right ? We have never really gotten a grasp on this and I don ' t know how to proceed on it really . I have to rely on what you think about it . I can help you draw up district regulations if you tell me what you want tondo and how to do it . The three districts now are agricultural , medium and low intensity". ) The medium zone is on the Groton-Cortland Road , and downtown McLean and this is what precipitated the debate as the two areas are quite dissimilar and does it make sense to have them in the - same district? J . MacNeil : I think the situation in McLean has changed considerably since that map was drawn up . The only business there now is the Elm Tree Inn , G . Evans : Is it possible to , or is it reasonable , to put downtown West Groton , Peruville , McLean , and any other of these hamlet areas , into the same category ? Do they share similar characteristics ? C . Twigg : What is the advantage of a medium intensity area ? Why designate one- - ", Da .' Payne * I would think they do all fit in the same general area . J . MacNeil : Right . - 10 - R . Gleason : They are sort of residential . G . . Evans : If you were to have - - say a hamlet district or some special name - - it might be one that would permit businesses to be established but would be already designated residential .area and if a business was to be established there would be regulations for say landscaping concern about offstreet parking so you wouldn ' t be parking and some p g y p g in people ' s front yards : and that sort of thing that would be appropriate for that kind of environment . These are concerns which I think will guide this from what you have on the Groton- . C . TWigg : That ' s why I didn ' t see the similarity between McLean and 222 . . R . Gleason : At the time we did this there were some similarities , D . Payne : I don ' t think they were ever similar . I think what happened there was someone said we have to have some place for industries to start and that ' s the place . R . Gleason : And people won ' t sell up there . D . Payne : No , it ' s all farm. Some .discussion was held on this by all . G . Evans : Let me make a suggestion - - just something to .kick around , - - I think it would be reasonable to recognize these hamlets Peruville , West Groton , McLean , Groton City that would be 4 hamlet . areas - which would have some designation that would recognize the possibility of commercial where non-residential activities could be established there . In the peripheral of these areas , , at least some of them , say at least McLean , - -the low intensity designation as you have it now extending up Stevens Road and so on - - and then relying on the most recent statement of development in the town that is the agricultural district designations to leave - the rest of the town in your agricultural category with the exception of this area up in here which is evidently not considered to be potential agricultural land and more appropriate for other kinds of development . The matter of potential land for industrial use can be handled through the planning . and development procedure ., Let the developer find the site and sell the site to the town , - - the '- location and the whole thing . C . Twigg : Sounds : a lot more reasonable . J . MacNeil : Yes , it does . R . Gleason : What we ' re doing is changing McLean to all low intensity ? G . Evans : My suggestion was that the densely built -up part be designated a hamlet district and the roads leading from it would be low in- tensity , designation . R . Gleason : So the hamlet really would be a separate district then-,* I see . G . Evans : This is just an idea and I would be glad to sketch it out and show you what it looks like . - 11 - Y C . Twigg : Why wouldn ' t these hamlets be the same as these areas on 38 ? D . , Payne : The hamlets would be fairly restricted as far as businesses go . G . Evans : But it would be possible . Some discussion was held on this by all . G . . Evans . When I say hamlet I ' m talking about a mixture of houses and local businesses such as a small grocery store . D , . Paynee Or a gas station or something like that . R . Gleason : They do have .a business there , - -they have a gas pump , - - that ' s a business . J . MacNeil : Right . R . Gleason : And you have the Elm Tree and the Fire Hall . J . MacNeil : And the Post Office . G . Evans : O . K . , - -well I ' ll do that . C . Twigg : But I ' m still not sure that would come out much different than along Route 38 there , - - actually it ' s not much different . D . Payne : Except I think in McLean and Peruville probably there are more houses in a bigger area . You know streets going out of it instead of houses ; lined up .along the road . There would be a cluster of housing . C . Twigg : But I ' m not sure about the activities affecting something like that . R . Gleason : Now if you ' re going to look into that we have - - of course the agricultural district here - - the -zoning map would list this . G . Evans : This is the present zoning map . R . Gleason : The question is - -.I ' m wondering d)out whether there ' s any reason to even have this district . G . Evans : What I ' m suggesting is ; there ' s not a reason for that . 1, Further discussion was held by all . G . Evans : Alright , I ' ll sketch something out so we can see what we ' re talking about . R . Gleason : Any other business tonight? G . . Evans : I can stop right now . R . Gleason : Does anybody else have anything they want to bring up ? The next meeting will be 23rd April , 1980 , J . MacNeil moved the meeting be adjourned which was seconded by D . Payne and carried . The meeting adjourned at l&:,0510 Respectfully submitted , - 12 - Section 440 Offstreet Parking Requirements • 440 . 1 Offstreet parking facilities must be provided for new facilities and for newly established activities as specified in this Section . An offstreet parking space must be paved or graveled , drained , - maintained , and provided with necessary access driveways . The minimum size of an offstreet parking space is 8 feet/ 2 - 5 meters by 20 feet/6 meters . Offstreet parking requirements may not be met with spaces on the public right - of - way . All required parking space is considered to be required i space on the lot on which it is located , unless other - wise stifulated , and must not be encroached upon in any way that impares its function as required offstreet parki; 440 . 2 The requirements for offstreet parking are based on the type of building ( e . g . , apartment house ) , the type of activity taking place in the building ( e . g . , grocery stor' or a combination of the type of facility and - the type of activity ( e . g . , shopping plaza ) . The parking requirements for a combination of two or more activity types or facility types on one lot ( e . g . , retail store and office space ) are determined by establishing i the requirements for each component activity or facility ' . from the schedules and adding them together . For detailed descriptions of the facility types and active types on which the regulations are based see Section 3231I Residential Buildings , and Sections 332 through 342 , the nonresidential activity types . 440 . 3 Parking facilities are required according to the I following schedule : ( 1 ) 2 parking spaces per dwelling unit , plus ( 2 ) 1 parking space per rooming - unit , plus ( 3 ) 1 parking space for every 2 residents in group quarters , plus ( 4 ) 1 parking space per employee , plus ( 5 ) 1 parking space per 400 square feet/40 centares of floorspace used for a Commercial Activity ( see Activity Classifications , Section 311 . 3 and 312 ) , plus ( 6 ) additional parking facilities as required by the Board issuing a Special Permit . I DEG l 979 Section 445 Sims 445 . 1 Purpose The intent and purpose of this section is to establish specifications for the provision of signs in the Town of Groton which will permit proper identification , preserve and enhance the visual character and quality of the area , and prevent installations which are particularly distracting and hazardous to vehicular traffic , 445 . 2 Location Unless otherwise specified in this section , signs must be located on the premises they advertise . No sign may be located closer than 10 feet/3 meters to any road right - of - way line or overhang any woad right - of - way . 445 . 3 Illumination No illuminated sign shall be permitted or installed or allowed to continue which , by its design , would be distracting or hazardous to vehicular traffic . Signs illuminated by or incorporating flashing lights are not permitted . 445 . 4 Height No sign may be higher than the overall height of the facility to which it is an accessory , or 25 feet/7 . 5 meters from the ground , whichever is higher . 445 . 5 Maintenance All signs must be properly repaired and painted as necessary to maintain their appearance . If such repairs or painting is not provided by the owner the Town Board may order removal of the sign after the owner has received written notice . 445 . 6 Area of Sign Face The permitted total area of the face of signs , counting doublefaced signs as one face , is the same for all districts but different for different . types of signs and for different activity types . On lots with more than one type of sign the size restriction for the type of sign with the largest permitted total area applies . L rqe, DCC 1979 445 . 8 Business ' Sign Size and Number Limits by Activity Type The maximum number of signs is one per lot unless indicated otherwise in the following schedule . Activity Type Number and Size Limit 333 Commercial Activities : 333 . 00 Personal service 9 sq ft/0 . 9 ca 333 . 10 Retail sales 50 sq ft/ 5 ca 333 . 20 Repair and cleaning 50 sq ft/5 ca service 333 . 30 Business service and 50 sq ft/ 5 ca administration 333 . 40 Goods handling 50 sq ft/5 • ca 333 . 50 Group service 2 signs , 90 sq ft/9 ca total 333 . 60 Vehicle sales or rental 2 signs , 90 sq ft/9 ca total 333 . 70 Vehicle service 2 signs , 32 sq ft/3 . 2 ca each , • plus 2 signs , 6 sq ft/0 . 6 ca each 333 . 80 Traveler ' s service 2 signs , 100 sq ft/ 10 ca each 333 . 90 Mliscellaneous : 333 . 91 Animal care 50 sq ft/ 5 ca 333 . 92 Building and yard 60 sq ft/6 ca service 333 . 93 Construction sales 2 signs , 90 sq ft/9 ca total . 334 Industrial Activities : 120 sq ft/ 12 ca 335 Agricultural Activities : 60 sq ft/6 ca j 336 Extractive Activities : 60 sq ft/6 ca I 341 Secondary Residential Activities : 9 sq ft/0 . 9 ca I • 342 Adaptive Reuse Activities : 9 sq ft/0 . 9 ca V979 445 . 9 Supplemental Sign Regulations Development signs ( 325 . 3 ) must be removed after construction is completed . Business signs ( 325 . 6 ) for Home Occupations ( 341 ) shall bear only the name of the person residing on the premises • and the profession or occupation being conducted on the > premises . Business signs ( 325 . 6 ) for Commercial Activities Serving ' ra.velers ( 333 . 60ff ) shall not be closer than 15 feet/5 meters from any road right - of - way . Advertising signs ( 325 . 7 ) may not be located closer than 50 feet/15 meters from any road right - of - way . Signs smaller than 4 sq ft/0 . 4 ca identifying association membership , field crops , security services , and the like are exempt from these regulations in the RA District . -) 6c 19