Following a brief public hearing on Monday, the Marion Planning Board approved a request from Sippican Holdings LLC to allow construction of self-storage units in an existing building on its property at 13 Barnabas Road, site of the former Lockheed Martin property.
Developer representative John Collins shared plans for the project, which will include approximately 200 interior units ranging in size from 5×10 square feet to 10×20 square feet each. There will be no exterior units. Ten parking spaces are included in the plan to allow user access.
In Collins’ experience, storage users tend to “leave stuff and not return frequently,” so traffic is not expected to be a problem. Board member Dale Jones concurred, offering that it’s a “good, clean, in-and-out operation.”
The proposal required a Special Permit to allow a change in use for Building 2.5 from Industrial Use (Light Manufacturing/Assembly) to Service Use (General Service Establishment) under the town’s zoning bylaws. As the electric work and paving are already in place, only minor site-plan review is required.
Motion to approve the permit to allow the change in use was approved unanimously.
A continued public hearing of the same applicant’s prior proposal to construct a two-story building for the same purpose at the former Lockheed Martin site was continued indefinitely at the applicant’s request.
During the Community Outreach segment of the meeting, Select Board member Randy Parker spoke on newly enacted state legislation affecting housing bylaws, particularly rules around Accessory Dwelling Units or ADU’s.
He proposed that the Select Board, Planning Board and Town Counsel work together to develop the information for the public. Board members agreed and discussed offering an educational forum with participation of Affordable Housing Trust and others in a setting such as the Music Hall, with the goal of helping residents understand the details and impact of the changes and take advantage of them as appropriate. It could also be recorded on ORCTV for ongoing reference.
The Planning Board agreed to pursue this approach and discuss further. The document will be sent to committee members. Details are available in “Zoning Act Reforms in Housing Bond Bill of 2024,” which Parker brought to the meeting and is available on the Mass.gov website.
Also during Community Outreach, Board Clerk Eileen Marum read aloud a letter she wrote to the Massachusetts Department of Transportation outlining traffic and highway-safety concerns. The board had previously scheduled communication with DOT on this issue for discussion at its September 16 meeting and will continue with that agenda.
Minutes from the August 5, 2024 meeting prompted discussion on how to handle certain particulars. Chairman Andrew Daniel requested that selected rewritten paragraphs be reviewed at the board’s next meeting.
The next meeting of the Marion Planning Board is scheduled for Tuesday, September 3, at 7:00 pm at the Police Station on Route 6.
Marion Planning Board
By Mary McCann Fiske