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Butterfly seeks variance for outdoor HVAC unit storage in floodplain; board asks for mitigation details and keeps hearing open
Summary
Butterfly, an energy-management company, requested permission to store rooftop HVAC units outdoors at 354 North Street despite FEMA flood-zone constraints. The Zoning Board continued the hearing and asked for a flood-mitigation and screening plan as conditions for any variance.
The Zoning Board of Appeals on June 10 heard an application by AS Realty / Butterfly, Inc. to permit outdoor storage of HVAC rooftop units at 354 North Street, a property the applicant described as a longstanding warehouse/distribution site now in the R-18 residential zoning district and within a FEMA AE flood zone.
Applicant presentation: Attorney Kevin Crusadian and company president Albert Sabloy (Butterfly) said the use is a legal, preexisting nonconforming warehouse/distribution facility and that recent business growth requires temporary outdoor storage of commercial rooftop condenser units. Sabloy told the board the units range from roughly 800 to 2,000 pounds and up to 15—20 tons on larger models, and that the business had a recent surge of deliveries that exceeded indoor capacity.
Regulatory issues and board concerns: Counsel cited two local code sections read in the hearing: Section 6.2.1 (expansion of nonconforming use) and Section 5.8.0.6.5 (outdoor storage in the flood zone). The board and staff emphasized the flood-zone variance criteria, including that the board must find the storage will not increase flood heights, cause public-safety risk, impose extraordinary public expense, or create nuisance. Members asked how stored units would be protected from floodwaters, whether units could be elevated on racks, whether they could be moved indoors or secured during a predicted flood, and what screening (arborvitae or fencing) would be added to buffer neighbors.
Public comment: Several neighbors spoke about aesthetics, landscaping/screening and truck traffic. One resident reported an instance when trucks lined North Street early in the morning during a prior surge; neighbors urged a traffic management plan and immediate screening if outdoor storage is permitted.
Board action and next steps: The applicant expressed willingness to consider raised racking, temporary internal storage during flood warnings, and planting arborvitae for screening. The board voted to keep the hearing open to a later meeting to allow the applicant and staff to submit a more detailed plan addressing flood elevation/protection, parking-lot elevations, screening, and traffic control. No variance was granted on June 10.
