Planning Board Approves Five-Lot Subdivision Off Palmer Avenue
Falmouth Planning Board on Tuesday, August 24 unanimously approved a definitive plan to create a five-lot subdivision between 711 and 731 Palmer Avenue.
The plans, submitted by McSweeney Companies Inc., went through three public hearings between June and their approval this week. The plans outline the division of a 5.03-acre parcel of land into five lots and the subsequent construction of new high-end homes on each lot. All five of the lots will have frontage on the 465-foot private roadway, which terminates in a cul de sac, while two of the lots have additional frontage on Palmer Avenue.
“I think this makes for a real nice neighborhood for people to walk and kids to live in,” said board member Jim Fox during the initial public hearing for the project. “It’s a really big improvement. I like it a lot.”
The entrance to the private roadway, McSweeney Lane, will be located across from Goodings Way on the north side of Palmer Avenue. A variance was granted to the developers to approve the private roadway, which will be placed equidistant between Goodings Way and Drumlin Road as opposed to at a right angle on Palmer Avenue directly across from Goodings Way, which was the safest recommendation. This variance was granted by the Planning Board because the developers do not own the land needed to make the right angle on Palmer Avenue possible. Had the Planning Board opted to not approve the variance, the other option would have been to follow the approval-not-required guidelines and construct five individual driveways along Palmer Avenue, an option that is far less safe when compared to a singular entrance to a private roadway.
Each of the five lots ranges from about 40,000 to 40,419 square feet. The entire five-acre parcel is currently a vacant, wooded area. One point of contention for the project is tree removal, a topic that has been raised repeatedly by neighbors and passers-by who say that too many trees have been cut down for the project.
“Some were taken down because of sight lines, some because of house placement plans, some because of infrastructure installation,” said chairwoman Charlotte Harris in an email. “It’s hard to wait for the project to be done and new trees to grow a bit to judge the plan. Taking down trees is always painful.”
Conditions of the plan’s approval include the burden on the developer to obtain a street-opening permit from the town engineering office prior to the construction of McSweeney Lane. McSweeney Companies and their contractors are also required to hold a meeting with any and all necessary town representatives prior to the construction of the road.