ZBA Pleased With Northstar Place, Issues Approval
The Falmouth Zoning Board of Appeals voted unanimously last Thursday, April 21, to approve modifications to plans for an existing Chapter 40B project at 123 Brick Kiln Road.
Originally proposed in early 2017, the 20-unit development was built by Northstar Construction, doing business as Northstar Place, LLC. The development is already built out and occupied, but various issues were identified last fall when it was noted by the board that the actual construction deviated from the plans approved by both the board and the town. The issues were brought before the board last year when the applicant filed a request for insubstantial changes to his permit. The board reviewed the changes in July and determined that they were in fact substantial, then brought the matter to a public hearing.
Nick Mirrione, a representative for applicant John DeSangro, addressed the outstanding issues at the board’s most recent meeting. He first addressed the issues with the as-built plan, which had been ready for presentation to the board in January but actually called into question an entirely new problem where an area near the front of the development containing a sidewalk and fence was encroaching on an abutter’s property. The developer, Mr. Mirrione told the board in January, was not aware of those issues until recently, but there were plans for both of the encroaching elements to be moved once the ground thawed.
Mr. Mirrione told the board that both the fence and sidewalk have now been moved, and provided photos for the board. Both elements are now fully on the applicant’s property and it has been fully landscaped and corrected, with hydroseeding to follow soon.
Mr. Mirrione said the as-built plan has also been stamped by both the engineer and the surveyor, certifying that the encroaching elements have been removed from the abutter’s property.
The other open issue was curb stops, which were in place of a sidewalk that had been proposed and included in previous plans, shown to run parallel to the front of the homes along the top of the parking spaces. The board was concerned with the safety aspect of allowing cars to pull directly up to the home with no buffer and recommended bumpers, which Mr. Mirrione said are ready to be installed as soon as the board issues its approval.
Mr. Mirrione provided the board with dimensions for the curb stops, as the board was concerned last month that there might not be enough space for wheelchairs to pass between them for ADA compliance with the units for the disabled on the site. He presented detailed renderings that show each curb stop is six feet wide, placed three feet from the front porch of the homes.
“There are five feet in between the curb stops,” Mr. Mirrione said. “There’s room to put more room, we could go wider to the property line. Parking standards show that you have to have five feet between to get a wheelchair through.”
Mr. Mirrione said that if the board is satisfied with the solutions provided, he hopes to not have to be back in front of the board to have additional monies released by the Falmouth Affordable Housing Fund.
The board voted to accept all of the modifications, with the condition that the grass surrounding the sidewalk will be hydroseeded. Additionally, once all of the curb stops have been installed, the zoning administrator will review the work and help the developer deal with getting the remaining balance of money from the Falmouth Affordable Housing Fund.