PROVINCETOWN — For nearly a year, an ambitious workforce housing project known as the “Barracks” has been stalled in Barnstable Superior Court by a suit filed by neighbors who argue the planning board made unwarranted concessions in granting a special permit last June. Both sides are now finalizing their arguments for a trial set to begin June 22.
The trial will be before a judge rather than a jury and is expected to last three days.
Businessman Patrick Patrick proposes to build the Barracks mainly for seasonal workers at 207 Route 6, with 28 four-person dormitory units with private bathrooms and a common kitchen. Plans also call for five studio units and 10 one-bedroom apartments that would be year-round rentals, plus one two-bedroom manager’s unit.
The select board issued an economic development permit in 2019, allowing 9,645 gallons per day and hookup to the municipal sewer system. The zoning board approved relief from parking requirements and building scale in 2020 and 2021. The planning board unanimously approved the site plan and issued a special permit last June. It’s that last approval that drew an appeal from neighbors.
A group of abutters sued the planning board and Patrick’s company, Shankpainter Associates, in July, claiming the panel had “made unsupported findings of fact and generally disregarded the requirements of the zoning bylaw in order to reach the result of approving needed workforce housing.”
The appellants are Julie and Alison Gray of 12 Ship’s Way Extension, which directly abuts the target site; John Crowley III of 6 Ship’s Way Extension, which also directly abuts the site; and Jay Gurewitsch of 35 Province Road. Crowley was removed from the case after not responding to interrogatory questions submitted by the defendants, but attorney William Henchy, who represents all the plaintiffs, said Crowley is being reinstated.
Under the state’s new Housing Choice Act, judges can require those opposing affordable housing projects to post bonds of up to $50,000. In December, Judge Thomas Perrino required the plaintiffs in the Barracks case to post a $15,000 bond, which they did.
Last month, all the parties involved outlined their positions and listed their expected witnesses in a joint pretrial memo.
Henchy wrote that the case “is the result of an overwhelming bias and prejudgment by members of the Planning Board that they desired workforce housing no matter how and where proposed, and in the case of some members, for the benefit of their own businesses.” He added that there is “documentary evidence of this bias in the record that will be introduced at trial.”
In his long list of issues, Henchy argues the proposed building violates height and other dimensional limits. He also contends that Patrick does not have access rights to Province Road, a private way. And he claims the project should have undergone review by the Cape Cod Commission as a “development of regional impact.”
Gregory Boucher, Patrick’s attorney, touts the benefits of the project, saying those outweigh any adverse effects. Boucher said he will present evidence to show Shankpainter Associates’ legal right to use Province Road. Shankpainter plans to use Province Road only intermittently during construction, the developer argues. Access would be limited to emergency vehicles once the development is complete.
Boucher also argues that the Cape Cod Commission “said this didn’t need a review.”
On behalf of the planning board, attorney Amy Kwesell argues there was no need for a traffic study, which the board had waived, since “the vast majority of occupants are not expected to have motor vehicles, and there is adequate public parking nearby.”
The board, said Kwesell, was within its authority to grant a waiver of residential design standards because the project involves expansion of a commercial property.
The plaintiffs’ list of witnesses to be called includes Town Planner Thaddeus Soule, Building Commissioner Anne Howard, board of health chair Stephen Katsurinis, and Patrick Patrick.
Shankpainter’s list includes 29 people, including project engineers and architects, the former and current town managers, the town planner, the building commissioner, the community housing specialist, representatives of the region’s affordable housing agencies, two select board members, and two real estate experts.
