Rochester’s Planning Board, Historic District Commission and Zoning Board of Appeals met jointly Tuesday to hear a proposal by Marion resident Mark Briggs to construct two buildings to store and repair collectible automobiles, trucks and other motor vehicles on New Bedford Road.
The project labeled “Briggs Hobby Barn” will require Site Plan Approval from the Planning Board, a Special Permit from the ZBA and a Certificate of Appropriateness from the Historic District Commission. Zoning Board of Appeals Chairman David Arancio called the joint meeting more “an ingestion of information” than anything else.
The public hearing that preceded this summary started with Briggs’ attorney, Karla Chaffee, and architectural and engineering consultants Jason Maurer and Bill Madden explaining the design as it has been refined by over a year of previous meetings with town officials.
On 3 acres of an 8-acre parcel, Briggs will build a private hobby barn with an attached silo-shaped observatory for a large telescope and a small repair shop. Access will be limited to family members and invitees. The two buildings will have seamless, metal-clad siding, shaded midnight bronze, lit by low-ballard lighting, and the structures will be angled, fenced in and covered by trees to make the complex hard to see from the roadway.
“The architect will blend into the neighborhood with a barn-like feel,” Madden said.
From board members, the strongest pushback came from Historic District Commission member Sara Johnson regarding the choice of siding. “In the entire Historic District, there is no precedent for metal siding,” said Johnson. “That’s not something we could easily endorse. I wish you’d explore other materials.”
Chaffee said no one will see the buildings from any public way because of the shade of the siding and that other siding materials are “astronomically” more expensive. She added that Briggs and company have worked hard to redesign in the name of answering town officials concerns.
“You have made a great effort in that regard,” Johnson admitted.
ZBA member Jeffrey Costa pointed to Briggs’ contention that he will need a Class II license merely to get the right insurance but will not sell cars. “You will not be a commercial use but will get a commercial license?” Costa asked. “If it’s a gray area to me, it’s going to be gray to someone else.”
Planning Board Chairman Arnold Johnson insisted a site-line test be conducted to determine what the public will see from the road, over Chaffee’s objections that this was not necessary.
The three boards ended the meeting by continuing their parts of the hearing to their next meeting. The ZBA continued to Thursday, May 23, at 7:00 pm. The Planning Board continued to Tuesday, May 28, at 7:00 pm. The Historic District Commission continued to June 5 at 6:00 pm. All three meetings will be held at Town Hall, 1 Constitution Way.
Rochester Planning Board, Zoning Board of Appeals, Historic District Commission
By Michael J. DeCicco