Rockland Trust is building a drive-up/walk-up kiosk in the Village at Plumb Corner parking lot, it was learned during Tuesday night’s public meetingof the Rochester Planning Board.
The company’s ATM currently inside the Village mall building is being relocated, Rockland Trust Real Estate Manager Stephen Carroll said, because of the awkwardness of having to walk through the Countryside Day Care facility to service the equipment.
“These workers wore guns,” Carroll said. “To walk through a day-care center that way was kind of awkward.”
The Planning Board reviewed G.A.F. Engineering representative Bill Madden’s plans for the 8×19-foot kiosk and easily waived the customary site-plan review filing fees for the project because of the proposal’s simplicity. The occasion was the Rockland Trust Company’s first informal visit with the Planning Board regarding the proposal before submitting the actual application.
When Madden went through the checklist of what fees and requirements should get waivers within the application, Planning Board Chairman Arnold Johnson agreed the plan does not need a landscaping design, a drainage report or a peer review. Town planner Nancy Durfee noted, however, that the plan will still need a scenic-highway permit because of the site’s proximity to Route 105.
Madden explained the building will mean the loss of only four parking spaces in the Village lot. Utility connections will not be a problem. Electricity will be connected to the building from an Eversource utility pole on Route 105. The kiosk will include a handicap-accessible ramp. He noted the Historic District Commission has sent the company a letter saying it is satisfied with everything about the proposal except the building signage.
As the board approved the application waivers, Johnson asked only that Rockland Trust provide a letter saying the owners of the Village at Plumb Corner agree with this plan.
Madden said he intends to file the formal application “sooner rather than later.”
Next, the board formally approved the plan to move the Countryside Childcare playground. That plan is to move it closer to the rear of the plaza businesses.
New Town Administrator Glenn Cannon introduced himself to the Planning Board and proposed two new actions: restarting the interdepartmental meetings that the Planning Board once managed and joining as members of the new Public Safety Building Study Committee. Cannon said three firms are in the running to conduct the study. The Select Board will soon be interviewing all three to choose the winning bidder.
Lastly, the Planning Board voted against proposing a solar moratorium for the October 17 Fall Town Meeting. “I don’t think we need one now,” Johnson said. “We can accomplish what we need to accomplish with what we have now.”
The next meeting of the Rochester Planning Board was set for Tuesday, September 13, at 7:00 pm.
Rochester Planning Board
By Michael J. DeCicco