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storage units

    PERMITTING

    Niggel’s Storage Expansion Gets Planners’ OK

    With conditions, two new buildings can go up behind Willy’s Gym

    By

    EASTHAM — After two years of applications and revisions of plans, Willy’s Gym owner Barbara Niggel can expand her self-storage business. The planning board granted her a special permit during a remand hearing on Jan. 19.

    Last August, board bember Joe Manas denied Niggel a permit by casting the only vote against her plan to add two storage buildings to the existing four at 4730 State Highway. The four buildings occupy 11,000 square feet. Two new buildings will add 9,600 square feet.

    The permit required unanimous approval. Manas said he was opposed because of concern that potential spills of hazardous chemicals could contaminate the town’s water supply. The property is within the Eastham Corridor Special District and groundwater protection overlay district.

    The Eastham Planning Board is asking owner Barbara Niggel to repair and paint her existing storage units as a condition of her new permit. (Photo by Ryan Fitzgerald)

    A month after that denial, attorney Ben Zehnder, representing Niggel and her companies Goeroe’s Goldens LLC, which owns the land, and Stow Away LLC, the storage business, filed a complaint in Land Court against the planning board, alleging that Manas’s vote was not supported by facts.

    In the complaint, Zehnder argued that Niggel’s application had included “a comprehensively engineered system and protocols for addressing potential hazardous material spills.” He also argued that groundwater protection is not a criterion for special permit review in the Eastham Corridor Special District. That, he argued, was a matter for zoning, not planning. Finally, he argued, the possible release of hazardous materials could apply to any type of construction, and so could not be a reason to single out storage units.

    The planning board met in executive session on Oct. 20 to negotiate with Zehnder and, according to court documents, agreed to reconsider the case.

    “The advantage of the remand is that the case remains under local control, as opposed to the court making decisions without the town being privy to them,” Town Planner Paul Lagg said. “It’s pretty common that the court will refer it back, basically to give both parties another chance to work it out amicably.”

    During the remand hearing, Zehnder presented the same proposal that the board rejected last summer. But this time Niggel agreed to 12 conditions stipulated by the planning board.

    These include posting a $5,000 bond to ensure compliance with the monitoring and reporting requirements of the special permit. Niggel also agreed to contract for $15,000 worth of landscaping over three years to ensure that plantings around the storage facility take hold. She also agreed to repair and paint the existing storage units.

    The two sides also agreed that, should Niggel skip one of several procedures in the building process, the special permit will be revoked. The planning board also reserved the right to “monitor the ongoing construction for compliance with the approved plan.”

    Planning board members Craig Nightingale, Peter Weston, William Craig, Brian Early, and Dan Coppelman voted to grant the permit. Dave Hobbs recused himself. He had also recused himself during a May 2021 planning board meeting, attending as an abutter to express concern about water contamination. At a February 2020 ZBA meeting, Hobbs questioned Niggel’s application on the basis of her reputation as the owner of Willy’s World Wellness and Conference Center.

    Manas was not present for the Jan. 19 hearing. Asked why he did not participate, he would say only that he could not make the meeting. Town Counsel Carolyn Murray said Manas’s absence was not part of any agreement between the town and Zehnder, nor had she advised him against attending.

    STOWED

    Niggel’s Storage Expansion Rejected by Planning Board

    Possible danger to groundwater cited by one board member

    By

    EASTHAM — Barbara Niggel’s quest to expand her Stow Away self-storage business at 4730 Route 6 ended at the planning board’s Aug. 18 hearing, with board member Joe Manas casting the lone no vote. Because the special permit Niggel sought required five yes votes, the expansion cannot happen.

    Manas said his concern was that the town’s water supply could be contaminated by spills at the storage units. “I don’t feel comfortable,” he said. “Accidents happen.”

    The location, at Niggel’s Willy’s World gym, is within the Eastham Corridor Special District and District J — the groundwater protection overlay district.

    Before the vote, board chair Dan Coppelman, who voted to approve the permit, told Niggel, “I think you’ve done a reasonable job in answering our concerns from the engineering standpoint.”

    The project had been reduced from the original plan to build five 14-foot-tall storage buildings, proposed in May 2020 and then withdrawn without prejudice. The proposal that was voted down on Aug. 18 would have added two sections of storage pods with a total area of 9,600 square feet.

    Noting that he needed a unanimous vote from the five board members, attorney Ben Zehnder, representing Niggel and her companies, Goeroe’s Goldens and Stow Away LLC, said at the start of the hearing that he might request a continuance if he believed he did not have the needed votes.

    “I am going to be paying particular attention to the members’ questions and their demeanor toward the project,” said Zehnder.

    About one hour later Zehnder said that, while he normally has a sense of how board members would vote, this time he was at a loss.

    “I would really hate to have this go to a vote and have one member holding an ace that I haven’t seen and we have a denial,” said Zehnder.

    Coppelman noted that, while he normally would allow a polling of board members, he did not think it was appropriate “in this particular case.”

    “I don’t know where we are,” said Coppelman. “You have a choice — ask for a vote or wait another month.”

    Zehnder asked if there were any further questions that board members needed addressed and, finding none, asked for the vote.

    Coppelman, Craig Nightingale, Jim Kivlehan, and Brian Earley voted to approve the special permit, with Manas, holding the ace, voting no.

    CONTRACTIONS

    Stow Away Storage Expansion at Willy’s, Continued

    Attorney Zehnder won’t promise not to come back for more

    By

    EASTHAM — A proposal by Willy’s Gym owner Barbara Niggel to expand the number of storage units at 4730 State Highway has been scaled back after a Cape Cod Commission (CCC) staff report indicated that the storage pods would be considered buildings, and their proposed size would have triggered an automatic CCC review of the development.

    Attorney Ben Zehnder, representing Niggel and her companies Goeroe’s Goldens LLC and Stow Away LLC, told the planning board at its July 21 public hearing that his client had assumed the storage pods were “personal property” and not buildings.

    For that reason, said Zehnder, Stow Away’s project engineer, John O’Reilly of Brewster, “went back, yet again, and redesigned to remove storage pods so that the total pod area, consisting of two sections of pods, was under 10,000 square feet.”

    storage units
    The existing storage units on the Willy’s Gym property. (Photo Ryan Fitzgerald)

    The thresholds for triggering a Cape Cod Commission review as a development of regional impact (DRI) are 10,000 square feet for building projects and 40,000 square feet for disturbed open area.

    Planning board member Jim Kivlehan pointed out the revised total area was 9,600 square feet, 400 feet short of triggering a review as a DRI.

    “What do we gain as a town if we go through the Cape Cod Commission review?” Kivlehan asked. “What would happen there? You’re trying to avoid it because, I can imagine, it’s bureaucratic.”

    Town Planner Paul Lagg replied that the CCC uses a different set of review criteria if the thresholds for a large project have been met. “They look at it not just through the lens of Eastham, but of the region,” said Lagg.

    A 4,800-square-foot storage unit building was dropped from the plan by Niggel earlier this year after an informal poll of planning board members indicated their intention to refer the project to the Cape Cod Commission.

    Zehnder commented that projects are typically engineered to come in under the DRI thresholds. “The Cape Cod Commission Act was passed in 1989,” he said. “And this 10,000-square-foot threshold — you can start in Orleans and go to P’town and count on both hands the number of projects that have been referred as mandatory DRIs.

    “There’s a presumption in the Cape Cod Commission Act in the DRI threshold,” he continued, “that if you keep under 10,000 square feet of building and 40,000 square feet of open area use you don’t have any regional impact.”

    Planning board member William Craig asked if Niggel, having avoided the DRI review by reducing the size of the project, might return to the board later with a plan for more storage units.

    “Are we going to be nibbled to death by ducks?” asked Craig.

    Zehnder replied that the Cape Cod Commission looked at segmentation and whether there was an intent to segment a proposal. “I think, in this particular case,” he said, “if the applicant were to come back and say, ‘Look, we want to add another 9,600 square feet of building on the property,’ I think it would get tagged as segmentation immediately.”

    Planning board chair Dan Coppleman asked Zehnder if he would agree to a condition that would forestall segmentation.

    “We have the right to come back and ask for it,” replied Zehnder.

    “I didn’t say you didn’t,” responded Coppelman. “We have the right to say no — if you were segmented.”

    The hearing was continued until Aug. 18. A work session was held on the project on Aug. 2.

    COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT

    Niggel Hits Roadblock in Storage Unit Review

    Zehnder threatens suit to challenge regulators’ interpretation of plan

    By

    EASTHAM — A new 4,800-square-foot storage unit building proposed by Barbara Niggel, the owner of Willy’s Gym, will be dropped from the project currently before the planning board after an informal poll of the members showed that they intended to refer the project to the Cape Cod Commission.

    Representing Niggel and her companies, Goeroe’s Goldens LLC and Stow Away LLC, attorney Ben Zehnder disagreed with an opinion from the commission that the new building’s area should be included in calculating the “disturbed area” of the development. If that number hits 40,000 square feet, referral to the Cape Cod Commission is automatic as a development of regional impact (DRI).

    Zehnder said Niggel had intentionally planned to locate 160 portable metal storage pods of various dimensions to cover 39,615 square feet, just below the 40,000-foot threshold, to avoid the mandatory referral.

    “I don’t think that’s a correct interpretation,” Zehnder said of the commission’s opinion. “That’s not an argument I’m going to prevail on in front of this board. That’s an argument we may prevail on in front of the Superior Court if, in fact, there’s a referral to the Cape Cod Commission based on those calculations — or we may elect to present this lower intensity proposal and then seek a declaratory judgment from a Superior Court about that mandatory DRI threshold.”

    With the building off the table, discussion focused on potential contamination of groundwater from hazardous liquids or petroleum products that might be stored in the units. The storage units would be located on a gravel surface.

    storage units
    The existing storage units on the Willy’s Gym property. (Photo Ryan Fitzgerald)

    The property, located in the Eastham Corridor Special District, is also in the groundwater protection overlay district, including the protection area for the town’s wells.

    “If the applicant wants to prove his property does not drain into the aquifer protection area, he’s more than free to do that with documentation,” said planning board chair Dan Coppelman. “I don’t believe he’ll be successful, but that’s what it does say in the rules.”

    Zehnder said leases would prohibit the storage of hazardous materials and petroleum products.

    “From what I’ve seen of self-storage facilities, nothing is regulated,” said Coppelman. “People go in and out as they wish. Nobody’s monitoring the situation.”

    Coppelman said he would ask for a monitoring program to ensure tenants are abiding by their leases.

    Zehnder said a program of inspections could be put into the leases but that it would be difficult to implement, as people put their own padlocks on their storage units. “You’re talking about us having a protocol for every key to every unit,” asked Zehnder.

    “I’m asking you to solve the problem,” replied Coppelman.

    “I don’t think there is a problem,” replied Zehnder. “We’re not allowed to store dead bodies in there either, but we’re not having a protocol of ‘Do not store dead bodies.’ ” He added that a recent Google search found no news in the last 30 years of hazardous waste being spilled from storage units on Cape Cod.

    The monitoring program could be a reporting system signed by the owners of the storage units annually, indicating there wasn’t any hazardous material in their units, noted Coppelman.

    “I will tell you, I am relentless on protecting this aquifer protection zone,” said Coppelman.

    The hearing was continued to the board’s July 21 meeting.

    BUSINESS

    Niggel’s Storage Saga Continues

    Her application for a special permit is withdrawn after planning board poll

    By

    EASTHAM — After an informal poll of the planning board revealed that four of six voting members — one short of the needed supermajority — would approve Barbara Niggel’s application for a special permit to build five storage buildings adjacent to Willy’s Gym, the application was withdrawn.

    Attorney Ben Zehnder, representing Niggel and her companies Goeroe’s Goldens and Stow Away, performed the maneuver at the board’s May 20 meeting in order to preserve the right to come back with a new request. If the board had taken a formal vote that went against the applicant, the case could not be reopened for two years.

    Zehnder’s request to withdraw the proposal “without prejudice” was granted.

    A supermajority is required from the planning board for site plan special permit approval under town bylaws. The planning board has seven voting members, which means five would constitute a supermajority.

    Even though there were only six members voting at the meeting, the project still needed five yes votes for supermajority approval, according to Town Planner Paul Lagg.

    Niggel’s special permit application to construct five 14-foot-tall storage buildings at 4730 Route 6, the site of Willy’s Gym and four existing storage buildings, all of which Niggel owns, has come before the planning board and zoning board of appeals a number of times since the beginning of the year. The ZBA unanimously rejected the application on April 2.

    The location of the project is in the Eastham Corridor Special District (ECSD). Creation of that district was approved at town meeting in 2019. Its purpose is “to enhance and protect the character of Eastham’s commercial areas, encourage mixed-use development, support and enhance the economy in North Eastham, improve bicyclist and pedestrian safety and access along the Route 6 corridor, minimize traffic conflicts and improve access management throughout the District, expand opportunities for creation of affordable housing, and adopt best management practices to manage nutrients discharged through storm water within the district.”

    The construction of storage buildings in this district requires a special permit, and the planning board is the permit granting authority. A special permit is also required from the ZBA because the project would result in an intensification of the existing nonconforming storage use on a mixed-use property.

    Art Autorino, chair of the planning board, was one of the four members in favor of the project.

    “I think it’s a good use of the property,” Autorino said. “It’s not really being utilized right now. I think it brings more revenue to the town, it brings more employees to the town, and I don’t think it’s a burden on the neighbors.”

    Niggel’s original was to build six storage buildings containing 180 units. She modified it to involve five buildings with fewer than 180 units, but did not specify the exact number. Zehnder said that Niggel paid $10,000 to conduct a market feasibility study to show there is a need for more storage units in that area of town.

    The two board members who said they would vote against the proposal, Lauren Barker and Joe Manas, had differing reasons. Manas said he wasn’t comfortable with the possibility that hazardous substances might leak from the storage units into groundwater.

    The project also falls within the town’s Groundwater Protection District. This is an overlay district superimposed on other zoning districts and applies to all new construction, reconstruction, or expansion of existing buildings and new or expanded uses, according to town bylaws.

    Barker took issue with the feasibility study conducted by consulting company Self Storage 101.

    “I don’t see a clear market need from that study,” she said. “We talked about jobs in terms of economic benefit previously, but I’m seeing now in the budget information that those are $26,000-a-year jobs, which does not seem like a very good paying job.”

    The special permit criteria include the planning board’s evaluation of the adverse effects of the proposed use and whether they outweigh its potential benefits to the neighborhood.

    Barker said she didn’t think the economic benefit was enough to outweigh a loss of neighborhood character. Numerous abutters of the proposed project have complained in the last few months about trash at the four storage buildings Niggel currently operates, as well as concerns that groundwater at the site could be affected by hazardous materials.

    Zehnder argued that the market study did show an unmet need for the storage buildings in town.

    “If this need weren’t there for storage units, Barbara wouldn’t be spending all this money to build them — it’s really that simple,” he said. The market study compared the proposed operation to Wellfleet Sun Self Storage, but did not include Magnum Moving and Storage in Eastham.

    Attorney David Reid, representing Steve Magliano of Magnum Moving and Storage, said his client does not believe the use is appropriate for the proposed site.

    “My client’s business is located only a half mile away,” Reid said. “They have over 30,000 square feet of storage capacity, and they tell me that they’re only about two-thirds full.”

    Zehnder said the proposed operation is different from Magliano’s business.

    “This is not a warehousing application,” he said. “This is where individual retail customers come in in small vehicles. That’s a very different use.”

    The project application can be brought before the planning board again, while the ZBA’s rejection would have to be appealed by the applicant to move forward.

    ZONING

    ZBA Rejects Bid for More Storage Units at Willy’s Gym

    Board cites a cluster of concerns in denying special permit

    By

    EASTHAM — The zoning board of appeals has decided that no more storage units will be coming to North Eastham. At its April 2 meeting, the board unanimously voted to deny Barbara Niggel’s special permit application to construct five storage buildings at 4703 Route 6, the site of Willy’s Gym and four existing storage buildings, all of which Niggel owns.

    Niggel, represented by attorney Ben Zehnder, and her companies, Goeroe’s Goldens and Stow Away, initially proposed constructing six storage buildings on the site of the outdoor tennis courts on the Willy’s property. But the final proposal presented on April 2 had only five.

    Along with an updated site plan, landscaping plan, and other documents, Zehnder also presented a market feasibility study that indicated there was an unmet need for storage in a five-mile radius of the site. The study was conducted by Self Storage 101, a consulting company.

    The document compared the proposed operation to the nearby storage facility called Wellfleet Sun Self Storage but did not include Magnum Moving and Storage in Eastham.

    “A broader net needs to be cast for an examination of the market to be valid,” ZBA member Steve Wasby said.

    storage units
    The existing storage units on the Willy’s Gym property. (Photo Ryan Fitzgerald)

    Questions had been raised previously by board members and the public about the need for more storage units in the area, runoff and groundwater protection, and the maintenance and cleanliness of the existing storage buildings.

    The ZBA determined that there was not a need for more storage buildings in the area, that the size and scale of the proposed facility (31,000 square feet) and its visual character would be detrimental to the neighborhood, that the existing storage facility is in a state of disrepair and has become a nuisance, and that the application failed to include restrictions on hazardous materials.

    “I’m a strong believer in past history as an indicator of future performance,” board member Brian Ridgeway said.

    Storage units are not allowed in Eastham’s transitional commercial zoning district, so Niggel needed special permit approval from both the ZBA and planning board. Existing storage units in the area were built before the town restructured its zoning districts and allowable uses.

    “In the history of this property, there has never been a report of the release of hazardous materials,” Zehnder said, referring to the groundwater protection issue. “There’s just no evidence that these storage units are a potential harm to groundwater.”

    But ZBA chair Ed Schneiderhan said the lack of plans from the applicant to ban storage of hazardous materials in the units posed a risk.

    “There’s little ability on the part of the town to ensure that hazardous materials are not being stored in any of the storage units, or, in fact, the existing storage units,” Schneiderhan said.

    The zoning board’s decision can be appealed. The application is still scheduled to be heard by the planning board on April 15, according to Town Planner Paul Lagg.

    Editor’s note: Because of a reporting error, an earlier version of this article misattributed a statement to ZBA member Steve Wasby; the statement was made by board member Brian Ridgeway.

    currents

    This Week in Eastham

    By

    Meetings Ahead

    Thursday, March 12

    • Nauset Regional School Committee, 6 p.m., Brewster Town Hall

    Saturday, March 14

    • Board of Library Trustees, 9 a.m., Greg Turner Room, Eastham Public Library

    Monday, March 16

    • Elementary School Committee, 5:30 p.m., Small Meeting Room, Town Hall
    • Select Board, 5:30 p.m., Earle Mountain Meeting Room, Town Hall

    Tuesday, March 17

    • Charter Review Committee, 5:30 p.m., Earle Mountain Meeting Room, Town Hall

    Wednesday, March 18

    • Board of Cemetery Commissioners, 10 a.m., Earle Mountain Meeting Room, Town Hall
    • Planning Board, 4:30 p.m., Earle Mountain Meeting Room, Town Hall

    Conversation Starters

    Meetup on School Renovation

    The regional school committee will discuss the Nauset High renovation project at its March 12 meeting. Pictured is the school’s courtyard. (Photo Ryan Fitzgerald)

    Finance Committee Chair Jerry Cerasale said his peer in Brewster has contacted him about getting together all four finance committee chairs from the Nauset School District towns to discuss holding a joint meeting of the four committees on the high school building project. “It’s not something that’s hidden,” he said. “It’s an important issue for all of us, and a very important issue for Brewster. They’re looking at paying half the cost potentially.” At its meeting March 12 in Brewster Town Hall, the regional school committee was to receive an update on the project from the building committee, hear from its adviser on the alternatives regarding number of years for bonding the debt, and hold public hearings on next year’s budget and participation in school choice. —Ed Maroney

    Decision Coming on Storage Buildings

    At its March 5 meeting, the zoning board of appeals again discussed the proposal from Barbara Niggel and her companies, Goeroe’s Goldens and Stow Away, to construct six storage buildings at 4730 State Highway. The buildings would contain multiple storage units.

    Attorney Ben Zehnder, representing Niggel, requested a continuance to April 2. The ZBA is expected to make a ruling then. The proposal must receive special permits from both the ZBA and planning board. “Bringing this permit to two different boards in different cycles is creating significant problems for us,” Zehnder said at the meeting.

    The ZBA has received letters for and against this project. One letter of support, submitted by Deb Mangelus in early February, was read into the record at that time. At the March 5 meeting, ZBA member Steve Wasby said that Mangelus is Niggel’s partner but did not so identify herself in her letter. He said this presented a conflict of interest that should have been made clear at the time. —Ryan Fitzgerald

    Residential Development

    The planning board may vote on special permits for two residential development proposals at its meeting March 18. Cedar Banks Landing LLC wants to build a 16-unit apartment complex at 4615 State Highway, while 4655 State Highway LLC wants to demolish buildings at that address and put up a mixed-use (retail and residential) commercial building and accessory storage building.

    Who’s Running?

    The last day to pick up nomination papers to run in the May 19 town election is March 30. They need to be returned to the town clerk’s office by April 1.

    Of those who have returned papers, Aimee Eckman is seeking another term on the select board and Arthur Autorino is a candidate for the other available seat. Scott Kerry is running for moderator and incumbent Cindy Nicholson for town clerk. Library trustees Mary Shaw and Al Alfano want another term, as does elementary school committee member Judy Lindahl. Papers have not been taken out for the other school committee seat, now held by Joanne Irish.

    New Restaurant in Old Box

    Select Board Member Jamie Rivers expressed concern March 2 when Natacha Krum applied for common victualler and beer, wine and malt on-premise licenses for her new business, Basco Grill, at 4205 State Highway.

    “It’s where Box Lunch used to be,” said Krum, who plans to serve burgers, seafood, and hot sandwiches for lunch and dinner year-round. “We’re looking for a beer and wine license,” she said. “It’s good with a burger.”

    Rivers said that “liquor licenses are very easy to distribute and very hard to revoke, so when we’re making a decision to approve one, we have to be very diligent about that process.” Asking to see at least a tentative menu as well as specific plans for how beer and wine would be served, she said, “I need more information before I can approve another liquor license in town, not because I want to be anti-business but because I want to be safe.”

    The board approved the food license March 2. At its March 9 meeting, after reviewing a printed menu and a plan of the premises, members granted the beer and wine license.

    (Editor’s note: Because of an editing error, a headline in last week’s Currents that read “TIPS Yes, Nips No at Sam Deli’s” referred to owner Susan Knight’s statement that she and her manager have taken TIPS [Training Intervention Procedures] training and “will require anyone checking out anybody to be TIPS-certified.” Since the new register area will handle all transactions, said Knight, the store is discontinuing sales of nip bottles of alcohol.)

    Help Wipe Out Infection

    Bleach wipes and Purell alcohol-based antiseptic have been distributed to every town department, Jacqui Beebe told the select board March 2. “We’re wiping down handles on doors, fixtures every day just to knock the virus back,” she said. “Each department assigned a person, and our cleaning person does it every night.”

    Beebe said the fire and health departments are working on preparing the town for the arrival of the coronavirus. “Our health agent is on the phone with the CDC [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] for weekly updates and more if needed.” Summing up, the town administrator said, “People need to take precautions but stay calm.”

    On March 9, Beebe said a coronavirus response team that includes the health agent and representatives from the police and fire departments, the library, and the COA are meeting “at least weekly” and plan to release a public statement early next week. —Ed Maroney

    currents

    This Week in Eastham

    By

    Meetings Ahead

    Thursday, March 5

    • Affordable Housing Trust, 8:30 a.m., Small Meeting Room, Town Hall
    • Board of Health, 3 p.m., Small Meeting Room, Town Hall
    • Zoning Board of Appeals, 5 p.m., Earle Mountain Meeting Room, Town Hall

    Monday, March 9

    • Select Board, 5:30 p.m., Earle Mountain Meeting Room, Town Hall

    Tuesday, March 10

    • Conservation Commission, 8:15 a.m., 555 Old Orchard Rd.
    • Nauset Regional School Committee Negotiations Subcommittee, 5 p.m., Nauset Middle School Library, Orleans
    • T-Time Development Committee, 5 p.m., Small Meeting Room, Town Hall
    • Conservation Commission, 6 p.m., Earle Mountain Meeting Room, Town Hall

    Wednesday, March 11

    • Finance Committee, 5 p.m., Small Meeting Room, Town Hall

    Conversation Starters

    More in Store for Willy’s

    The zoning board of appeals continues a hearing March 5 on the request for a special permit by Barbara Niggel to construct six new storage units at 4730 State Highway. Niggel also owns Willy’s Gym.

    On Feb. 19 the planning board voted to continue its review of the project to a meeting in April. The proposal needs approval from both the ZBA and planning board. —Ryan Fitzgerald

    Teeing It Up Again

    The T-Time development committee will talk about what it learned during last week’s visit to the 11-acre Route 6 site when it meets Tuesday, March 10, at 5 p.m. at town hall.

    Earlier Start for ATM

    Turn your clocks back to 6 p.m. for the May 4 annual town meeting. That’s the new start time for the event at Nauset Regional High School. Child care for up to 50 kids age 5 or older will be offered in the cafeteria (registration starts soon), and a la carte items will available to all from 4 to 7 p.m.

    Sam's Deli, Eastham
    Sam’s Deli owner Susan Knight received approval from the select board to alter the layout of the store but agreed to not sell nips at the establishment going forward. (Photo Ryan Fitzgerald)

    TIPS Yes, Nips No at Sam’s Deli

    Susan Knight of Sam’s Deli won a close vote at the March 2 select board meeting to allow her to alter the layout of her establishment at 100 Brackett Road. Members Aimee Eckman and Martin McDonald approved after hearing Knight respond to concerns about removing a wall separating sales areas for groceries and alcohol, but member Jamie Rivers continued to object to establishing a precedent of “open layout” combination stores in Eastham. Member Al Cestaro abstained.

    Public Hearing on Fees

    The select board looked over proposed fee increases at its March 2 meeting prior to a public hearing on March 9. “This is a preview for you to tell me if you have any problems with these,” Town Administrator Jacqui Beebe told the board. The recreation and beach department and the DPW are requesting increases.

    Fees for the summer recreation offerings would rise by $25 as the department transitions from six-week to seven-week programs. The beach parking sticker for residents would go up $5 to $25, with increases of $25 to $30 for visitor and seasonal resident stickers. A new beneficiary sticker, at $75, would allow people who have put their property in a trust to obtain stickers for its beneficiaries.

    It would cost $5 to get rid of a 20-pound propane tank at the transfer station, and $25 to dispose of a ton of horse manure. A new fee of $75 per load would cover commercial disposal of leaves and grass clippings from vehicles weighing up to one ton.

    The March 9 meeting will include a hearing on certain water fee proposals as well. —Ed Maroney

    BUSINESS

    ZBA Wants Better Management Plan for Storage Units

    Special permit hearing to continue in March on Niggel’s proposed expansion

    By

    EASTHAM — At a contentious zoning board of appeals meeting on Feb. 6, several residents spoke out against a proposal by Barbara Niggel and her companies, Goeroe’s Goldens and Stow Away, to construct six new storage units at 4730 State Highway. Focusing on the need for a better management plan for the property, the board decided to continue the hearing to its March 5 meeting.

    Niggel is seeking a special permit to add six storage units to the four she already operates at the same site. The permit is required because of the intensified use of the property.

    Thursday was second hearing date for this application. A month earlier, the ZBA continued the hearing, asking Niggel and her attorney, Ben Zehnder, to provide a better site management plan and a map clearly indicating the site’s abutters.

    The plan they presented last week did not please the board. “This is a grossly inadequate management plan,” ZBA member Steve Wasby told Zehnder. “I think you should be embarrassed by it.”

    Meanwhile, public comments and letters suggested that Niggel has not maintained her existing storage units adequately.

    Stow Away storage units
    Barbara Niggel’s company, Stow Away, already operates four storage units at the same address as Willy’s Gym. (Photo Ryan Fitzgerald)

    Eastham resident Jim Cantor wrote that “the entire property has been neglected for years.” And Steve Magliano, who owns Magnum Moving and Storage in Eastham, said, “I have been all over the place in moving and storage, and I have not seen many more junk, trashy places in my life than here.”

    Other comments included a question about the hours of operation of the units and a concern that the new units would cut off access to a popular walking path. Niggel said she would make sure the path was not affected by the construction.

    ZBA members briefly discussed whether more storage units were necessary in town. A letter supporting Niggel’s application was submitted by Deb Mangelus, who said she has been a satisfied customer of Stow Away for 12 years. “Given the sometimes nomadic culture of Cape Cod residents I know quite a few people who are in need of storage space,” she wrote.

    Zehnder said whether or not more storage units are needed should not be a factor in the ZBA’s decision-making process.

    When Dave Hobbs questioned Niggel’s application on the grounds of her past business problems as the owner of Willy’s World Wellness and Conference Center, he was cut off by both Zehnder and ZBA Chair Ed Schneiderhan.

    “We have an obligation to look at the application under the law — not innuendo, not comments of strictly prior activity,” Schneiderhan said.

    In the end, the ZBA’s decision to continue the hearing focused on the maintenance of the existing storage units. “I would have difficulty in approving these units because I see little evidence of a well-managed existing storage unit facility,” Schneiderhan said.

    To meet the board’s requirements, Zehnder must now submit additional materials by Feb. 27.

    Specifications on proposed exterior lights, a Google/GIS map with abutting properties identified, revised building elevation plans, example vendor photos of the proposed storage buildings, a sample lease document for rental units, a revised management/operations plan, and documentation of the rental status of the current storage units on the site are among the items the town would like to review, according to town planner Paul Lagg.

    The special permit needs approval from both the ZBA and planning board. The planning board is scheduled to hear the application at its next meeting on Feb. 19. Niggel’s application was also continued from that board’s previous meeting.

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