Bucatino's Receives Okay For Outdoor Bar And Seating
Bucatino’s Restaurant has been granted approval by the zoning board of appeals to construct a kitchen addition and outdoor bar and seating area.
At the first hearing for the project earlier this month, problems arose when a 1988 special permit from the ZBA listed the business’s occupancy as 165, which is 91 fewer seats than what was assumed to be the occupancy of 256. Attorney for the applicant Christopher Lebherz told the board at the previous meeting that the building department recognizes that the occupancy is 256, and he was not sure why there was a discrepancy.
At the board’s April 21 meeting, clerk Robert Dugan confirmed that the board has received confirmation from both the building and health departments that the occupancy is regarded as 256, which is what Mr. Lebherz said has been the occupancy for the entirety of Robert Jarvis’s ownership of the business.
To go along with the approved occupancy of 256, Mr. Lebherz explained that there are plans to bring the nonconforming parking lot located across Nathan Ellis Highway from the restaurant up to code with parking requirements. They have created 17 additional parking spaces, which were reflected on an updated set of plans received by the board, for a total of 99 parking spaces. Mr. Lebherz explained that site engineer David Martin did the calculations, and, with the by-right 25 percent parking reduction waiver, the business is actually above the threshold for parking, which would be 96 spaces.
Mr. Dugan was pleased with the additional parking and explained that the issue was not something the board could control, as occupancy permits are out of their purview.
“Our permits are based on the bylaw, occupancy permits have nothing to do with this,” he said. “It’s unfortunate they had to do a continuation until tonight. They should’ve been able to handle this at the last meeting. So just a note to the town—if this situation is coming up for anyone else, try to fix it, so an applicant like this doesn’t have to jump through hoops to get the use that they need.”
Additionally, letters submitted by abutters attested to the fact that Mr. Jarvis went out of his way to ease their concerns regarding noise from the outdoor bar. Abutters Robert Manning of Nathan Ellis Highway and Patricia Cusack of Beaman Lane each wrote to the board and said that Mr. Jarvis invited abutters to the restaurant to go over his plans and answer their questions. Both abutters wrote that they now supported the project, a change in stance from the last meeting that left the board pleased with how Mr. Jarvis handled the situation.
“I really love the fact that people are starting to get it with getting out and speaking to their abutters and resolving issues,” said vice chairman Edwin P. (Scott) Zylinski. “They’re starting to reap the benefit of being able to do that. I really commend the applicant for doing that because far too many times we worry about abutters and their rights, and to see an applicant go out and totally change someone’s opinion and make them happy is very admirable in my opinion.”
Board chairman Terrence J. Hurrie agreed, saying that based on the letters and testimony heard at the meeting, he was willing to grant full permission with appropriate conditions, as opposed to the provisional approval he said he was previously inclined toward.
The board voted unanimously to approve the project.