Planning Board juggles several projects

The Planning Board had a total of seven applications to consider, or at least move through to the next stage at their latest meeting on March 8. Following is a summary of some of the larger applications that were considered that night.

The meeting was chaired by Gail Ballard Hall, who at the outset declared that it was the first town meeting she had ever chaired and she might need a co-pilot. “Actually, I’m the co-pilot,” she said, indicating that she would be depending on some help from Land Use Administrator Jenn Brady and Town Planner Alison Ring. Ballard Hall was elected vice-chair at the board’s last meeting, and Chair Margie Comings was not present.

Block Island Medical Center

The first project up was Block Island Health Services. Technically, this is a town application since the town owns the land and building that houses the medical center.

The project involves constructing a separate building to house employees and visiting students and specialists, the removal of an existing utility building and replacing it with another, smaller one, and extensive renovations to the existing medical services facility.

A public hearing on the application was held last month, with the Planning Board indicating that they would give a favorable ruling, which they did, with a couple of conditions.

One of those is that the parking and access to the site not cause traffic issues and that they work with the rescue squad to make sure the configuration of the driveways and stone walls will allow for sufficient access. The Planning Board also noted that they still needed to provide a utilities plan for review and approval by town engineer Jim Geremia.

Rose Farm Inn

This one was dubbed a “public information meeting” on an application for a Master Plan Stage Review and a major division of land off High Street.

For those not familiar with it, the Rose Farm Inn sits somewhat in between the Atlantic Inn and the Spring House. It is accessed via a drive from High Street to, and past, the Atlantic. It is a popular venue for weddings and other special occasions, and besides the inn, has a bicycle rental business.

“This is a relatively complicated application by the Rose family to adjust boundary lines, consolidate commercial uses and create two additional residential lots on the family homestead,” wrote attorney Joseph Priestley in his initial letter to the Building Department last April.

Unfortunately most of the individual questions and comments from the Planning Board, witnesses, the public and town employees Brady and Ring were inaudible throughout most of the meeting. It wasn’t until the beginning of the fourth application that someone in Zoomland noted that it was hard to hear and that perhaps they should check to see if the microphone at the speaker’s podium was turned on. It wasn’t. At other times, the speakers were simply too far away from their mics.

However, with Planning Board member William Rose recused, it appeared that there were a few comments and questions, including one relayed by Brady from an abutter that was concerned about open spaces on the property that they wanted “protected from widespread development,” and a comment from Ring about how the exclusion of wetlands from the calculations impacted developable areas. She also wanted to make sure there was sufficient frontage.

From the documents attached to the agenda, more details may be gleaned.

The property consists of five existing lots. One has the inn (Lot 260), another

(Lot 262) has the bicycle business and an apartment and “certain infrastructure for the Rose Farm Inn” including a leach field an auxiliary well. Lot 262 also has the undeveloped area that is used for weddings.

Lot 98 has a house occupied by Judith Rose and Lots 257 and 261 are currently undeveloped.

Besides a lot of reconfiguration, one of which would require a zoning map change, the two biggest things the family wants to accomplish are to divide Lot 98 into two lots, one that would become a house lot for William Rose and “to combine Lot No. 257 with a part of Lot No. 261 to create two residential lots intended for Robert Rose and Jamie Rose.”

The matter was continued until May 10 with Ring saying that a site plan that addresses lot sizes, frontage, and access would be needed.

“Fab Five” Public Hearing date set

Fab Five LLC wants to obtain a special use permit to demolish an existing single-family dwelling on Lot 86-1 (Plat 3) and rebuild a single-family dwelling and an accessory structure. At this meeting, the applicants were seeking a review, the waiver of certain conditions, and to have a date set for a public hearing.

Besides the proposed structures, there is also an existing garage of almost 1,500 square feet. Although there is plenty of land, it appears, for the proposed project, the size of the house requires a Special Use Permit, even though it will be slightly smaller than the existing house, which is 3605.3 square feet.

Most of the waivers asked for seemed to apply to commercial properties, and they were granted. A Public Hearing date was set for April 12.

Christopher J. Gorayeb – Champlin Road

It’s an almost 15-acre lot, but what is tripping up this application for a “Secondary Dwelling Development” is the requirement that the secondary building be within 50 feet of the primary structure.

The lot, once a part of Champlin Farm, is on what is most commonly called either Champlin Road or Coast Guard Road. Documents attached to the meeting agenda have an interesting survey that dates back more than a century, to 1907, that identifies the property as belonging to Mary J. Ball.

Fast forward and the Gorayebs are in possession of two of Ball’s four original lots. A previous owner had obtained a Special Use Permit back in 2004, but Priestley said they were not asking for that to be continued. (The main dwelling appears to never have been finished and occupied.)

“Not a lot has changed but there is one significant factor,” said Priestley. “The Zoning Board...requires that the two dwellings shall be separated by not more than 50 feet, unless the Zoning Board of Review and you recommend it.”

The architect for the project explained that the property was quite hilly and has substantial wetlands. To move the location of the buildings would involve significant excavation, something the owners wanted to avoid as they don’t wish to disturb the site, thereby preserving the landscape, walls, vegetation and trees as they are. Just as significantly, the septic systems and leach fields that were approved (and are functioning) years ago would also have to be relocated.

The secondary building is in the same style as the main building, said the architect from Marvel Architecture and Planning in New York, but smaller. The proposed barn things like garden

“Gorayebs basically have 460,000 square feet of developable land. They could subdivide into three lots, but they want to keep that from happening, and this is a way they can do that.” —Joseph Priestley

will be for storage of tools and equipment.

Ring asked why the applicants were utilizing the Zoning Ordinance that they were, as opposed to one like section 513 that might provide housing for a yearround family.

The architect said the Gorayebs have been “residents of the island for many decades and their children are sort of in their mid-20s, and they want the ability to have their kids come to the island, and once they form their own families, to start off on this site.”

Priestley added that “Gorayebs basically have 460,000 square feet of developable land. They could subdivide into three lots, but they want to keep that from happening, and this is a way they can do that.”

There was some questioning by board members as to the logic of the 50-foot requirement between buildings. Brady thought that might have been established to prevent property owners from “condominiumizing,” and selling off the second dwelling.

Ballard Hall was prepared to issue the favorable advisory, but procedure-wise, she was advised to wait until Ring could write up the decision in a formal manner. “I think this is a good application for the property all the way around,” said Ballard Hall.