Falmouth Planners Get First Look At Proposed Fire Station
The proposed new fire station at 878 Sandwich Road in Falmouth breezed right through its first public hearing before the planning board on Tuesday, June 28.
Ellen Light, project manager with Context Architecture, presented the project to the board. In laying out the general plans, Ms. Light explained that the site is currently heavily wooded and will need to be cleared to build, but one of the goals is to leave as much natural growth around the perimeter of the site as possible.
The land has an area of about 86,500 square feet, but the building itself will have a footprint of around 10,250 square feet and will consist of an administrative area and a three-bay garage. There are three paved entrances proposed: the northernmost drive will be a service drive for returning fire engines to enter the bay and for staff parking behind the station; the apron at the center of the site is where trucks will emerge from the bay, and a southerly drive will be for a four-space visitors parking lot.
Other highlights of the station include a vestibule for patients in need of minor emergency care, six firefighter dorms, a kitchen and dining area, showers, lockers, a wellness room, a patio area and a decontamination area with lockers and showers. The project will also include renewable energy, as Ms. Light said it will have as many solar PV panels as possible.
In terms of landscaping, Ms. Light said the Sandwich Road Fire Station Building Committee expressed a desire to have low-maintenance vegetation. Evergreen trees will be planted on the south side of the property to act as a screen between the station and UU Falmouth-Unitarian Universalist Congregation next door. Ornamental trees have also been added to the site, including one out front. Four retention basins and a rain garden are also included in the plan.
Jared Walsh, a civil engineer with Bohler Engineering, addressed the civil aspects of the project. He noted that the project team is working on a response to comments received from the planning and engineering departments. Then, the team will file a formal letter in response to comments, as well as a comprehensive list of waivers being requested from the planning board. Some of the waivers expected to be requested, Mr. Walsh said, include a waiver requesting a total of three driveway curb cuts coming off of Sandwich Road, a waiver for driveway curb cuts in excess of 24 feet, a waiver from certain landscape performance standards, and a waiver for street trees along the public way, which would impede the lines of sight for fire engines exiting the bay onto Sandwich Road.
Planning board clerk Paul Dreyer said he thinks the project is great, but suggested reconsidering the layout of the site to leave space for a potential ballfield behind the station.
“Your site plan doesn’t show the area including the ballfields, so you can’t really tell,” Mr. Dreyer said. “When we went to Town Meeting to approve this, we had a site plan that showed the layout we got approved. What I did was take that and I marked it up a little bit for your consideration.”
On the map, Mr. Dreyer highlighted the existing ballfield and the existing proposed area for the station, as well as his proposal to reconfigure the station’s footprint to allow room for a future ballfield. To do this, he suggested that the station be extended farther along Sandwich Road, which would essentially reduce its depth.
“It doesn’t affect anything in your design, but it does offer some potential for development, should it be necessary,” Mr. Dreyer said. “It would be a shame if 10 years from now they said, ‘Gee, if we only knew.’”
Project members said they would consider Mr. Dreyer’s suggestion, but Steve Kirby of the Vertex Company said it might be difficult, due to the septic leaching behind the building and the required setback of the apron driveway.
During the public comment period, attorney Robert Ament added that it would be inappropriate to site a ballfield so close to the cemetery located at the Unitarian Universalist church. He said he would like to see that land formally protected once and for all and asked that the planning board do what it can to make that a reality.
Aside from the ballfield comment, the planning board was largely impressed with the project. Town Planner Jed Cornock said the planning department’s comments had been addressed by Mr. Walsh during his presentation and that the department has no further issues with the plans as presented.
Board chairwoman Charlotte Harris complimented the aesthetics of the project, which Ms. Light said was a result of collaboration with the fire station building committee.
“It very much fits in the neighborhood,” she said. “It’s great.”
Mr. Walsh said his hope is to respond to referral comments in the next week or so, with a bid going out hopefully in early September.
“The intent is to go out to bid in the fall and potentially start construction in the late fall,” Mr. Kirby said. “We are discussing what the duration of the project should be only because of some of the ongoing supply issues.”
The matter was continued until the planning board’s next meeting on July 12.