Meetings Ahead
Thursday, March 12
- Bicycle Committee, 2 p.m., Maushope Community Room
- Planning Board, 6:30 p.m., Town Hall
Tuesday, March 17
- Conservation Commission, 6 p.m., Town Hall
Wednesday, March 18
- Historic District Commission, 4 p.m., Town Hall
Thursday, March 19
- Animal Welfare Committee, noon, Veterans Memorial Community Center
- Board of Health, 4 p.m., Town Hall
- Public Pier Corp., 2 p.m., Town Hall
- Water and Sewer Board, 2 p.m., Veterans Memorial Community Center
- Zoning Board of Appeals, 6:30 p.m., Town Hall
Conversation Starters
No contested races yet in P’town
So far only Select Board Member Louise Venden has taken out nomination papers for re-election, leaving one position on the select board with no candidate. Incumbent Bobby Anthony has not taken out papers to run again.
Incumbent Frances Coco is running for housing authority, and Robert Klytta took out papers to run for re-election to the charter compliance commission.
So far all the prospective candidates are unopposed. But it’s not too late to join a race. The last day to obtain nomination papers is March 20; the final day to return them is March 24.
For more information: Town Clerk Darlene Van Alstyne, 508-487-7013 or [email protected].
The Barracks at Route 6
The proposal for workforce housing in a dormitory and condos on Route 6 next to the Patrick Studios and Marine Specialties warehouse was the main topic at the March 5 zoning board of appeals meeting. The project — dubbed “The Barracks” — includes a 112-bed dormitory and 16 condominiums in a three-story building. Each two-bed dorm room would have its own bathroom, and the building includes an elevator, common kitchen and dining facilities, a shared lounge space, shared laundry facilities on each floor, 112 bike parking spaces, and 20 car parking spaces in a garage and surface lot.
Project attorney Jay Murphy of Dennis said that updated plans had been submitted to the town via email, but those plans were not available at the meeting for the ZBA or the public to review. He said the plans incorporated recommendations from the town planner, including additional grading details and locating some of the bike parking indoors to be protected from the weather.
Under the existing general commercial district zoning, the building would be limited to two-and-a-half stories in height. The proposal available before the meeting requested zoning relief for height, parking, and scale. The project received a select board economic development permit in November 2019 for the sewer gallons needed.
The housing report prepared for the town in 2019 by the consulting firm Camoin 310 indicated that the housing crunch has made it extremely difficult for about 1,500 seasonal workers to find housing anywhere in the region. Workforce housing was also indicated as a significant need in the town’s 2000 Local Comprehensive Plan, and this project is the first initiative to begin to address that need.
Acting Chair Peter Okun said, “I spent a lot of time studying this and made two site visits.” He said he has questions about the finished grade and elevations, and that “without having all of these plans to review, I’m going to have a difficult time coming to a decision tonight.” Board Member Bob Nee also said he could not make a decision without seeing the full plans.
Okun suggested that the hearing be continued on April 16 to allow the board to review the revised plans. Attorney Murphy agreed.
Lobster Pot Express Sign
Tim McNulty of the Lobster Pot and contractor Plymouth Sign Co. appeared before the ZBA to discuss signage for the new Lobster Pot Express restaurant that is planned to open this season at the former Mojo’s location on Ryder Street, at 281 Commercial St., Unit 5.
Under current zoning, businesses may have no more than two signs with a maximum of 16 square feet. The current signage at Mojo’s takes up 76 square feet on three signs, well beyond what a new business would be allowed to install.
McNulty’s application proposed replacing the signage in kind, which would mean that he would continue to use all of the existing signs and change out the logos and wording.
Acting ZBA Chair Peter Okun asked why the signage for the new business should be exempted from the bylaw. “Under the bylaw, what’s there now is irrelevant,” he said.
Town Planner Thaddeus Solé read from Section 3213 of the zoning bylaw to clarify that signs may remain noncompliant until the signs are changed. Okun noted that the new signs would need to be brought into compliance.
The hearing was continued to March 19 at 6:30 p.m.
Hearings Postponed
Applicants for permits for the Reliable Hotel at 227R Commercial St., 26 Bradford St., and the Pilgrim House at 336 Commercial St. all requested to postpone their hearings to the ZBA’s meeting on March 19. The applicant for 30 Shank Painter Road also requested a postponement to May 7. —Rik Ahlberg
