6:00 PM Request for Waiver from the Requirement for Site Plan Review for New Restaurant Use, Derby Street Shoppes
Form A Weymouth Sharp Street LLC
Weymouth Street / Sharp Street
Location: Hingham High School, Room 184
_____________
Present: Planning Board Members, Chair, Sarah Corey, Judy Sneath, Clerk, Paul Healey,
Susan Murphy, and Gary Tondorf-Dick. Also present was Planner Katharine Lacy.
In accordance with Section I-H of the Hingham Zoning By-Law, the Planning Board conducted Site Plan Review relative to the application of WSM Properties, LLC (the Applicant) for a Building Permit for interior renovations exceeding $20,000 in cost at Suite 325, Derby Street Shoppes. The Applicant was represented by Carolyn Kennedy and William McKenna of WSM Development.
The Applicant proposes to renovate the interior of an existing 7,245 square foot space within the Derby Street Shoppes shopping center to house a 193-seat seafood restaurant, (the Summer Shack). The space in question, previously occupied by a retail store (Talbots Men), is located in Suite 325 on the southern/rear side of the shopping center. Modifications to the front elevation will include the addition of awnings and minor changes to the existing storefront glazing. In the rear of the facility an additional service door and stair will be added as well as below-ground grease traps and an expansion of the existing dumpster enclosure.
The Derby Street Shoppes, as a whole, was approved by the Hingham Zoning Board of Appeals in December 2002 with extensive Site Plan Review by the Planning Board. Since that time, the requirement for Site Plan Review in association with the issuance of building permits for interior renovations as tenants change hands has typically been waived by the Board per Section I-I (5) of the Zoning By-Law. In this case, however, the shift from retail to a restaurant use, and the respective change in parking demand, led the Planning Board to proceed with Site Plan Review, though limited to a review focusing on compliance with Site Plan Review Criteria C: “adequacy of parking, loading spaces, and traffic patterns in relation to the proposed uses of the premises; and compliance with off-street parking requirements of the by-law.”
With the Site Plan Application, the Applicant submitted a detailed table showing the amount of parking required by the Special Permit broken down by the specific use (Retail, Restaurant, Health Club and Office). They also submitted a table showing the number of seats actually present at each restaurant and the number of seats permitted per the tenant’s lease agreement. This table revealed several discrepancies which, while not representing a current violation of the Town’s permit conditions relative to parking, would result in an excessive demand on parking should the Summer Shack and the currently vacant restaurant space at Suite 48 (the former Baja Fresh) be occupied as planned. In particular, the seat count revealed that both Panera Bread and Rustic Kitchen had added additional outdoor seating without the knowledge of WSM Development.
In response to this situation, the Applicant contacted management at both eating establishments, and they agreed to sign an agreement to reduce their number of seats in accordance with the lease agreement. Planning Board members acknowledged that, with the Baja Fresh space currently vacant, there would be sufficient parking per the requirements of the Special Permit to accommodate the Summer Shack. They expressed concern, however, that prior to approval of a building permit for a new restaurant where Baja Fresh was previously located, that the Town and the Applicant should certify through the Site Plan Review process that the parking would truly be in compliance with the Special Permit for Derby Street Shoppes.
It was moved, seconded and SO VOTED, by the entire Planning Board
1) To WAIVE, in accordance with Section I-I (5), the requirement for consideration of site plan review criteria a, b, d, e, f, g, and h.
2) To APPROVE the proposed interior renovations subject to a condition that the Board shall conduct Site Plan Review prior the submittal of a building permit application for proposed renovations to Suite 48 (the former site of Baja Fresh), focusing on adequacy of parking.
Form A Weymouth Sharp Street LLC, Weymouth Street / Sharp Street
This Form A entails the division of a large parcel of land on Sharp Street which straddles the Hingham/Rockland Town line. The purpose of the Form A is to divide the parcel into two, and add a small parcel to one of them. Both parcels would straddle the Town line.
Board members asked whether the portion of each lot in Hingham needed to comply with Hingham zoning in order to be classified as a buildable lot. Town Counsel James Toomey happened to be in the vicinity, and joined the meeting. He was also not sure about how to handle this situation, as the applicant was not actually creating four separate lots, but two, so it might be inaccurate to denote either lot as “Unbuildable”.
Board members deferred this to a later meeting within the 21-day time period, when they had gotten a more clear sense of how to proceed.
The meeting was adjourned at 6:50 PM.
Respectfully Submitted,
Katharine Lacy