HomeMy WebLinkAbout5008 452 Route 28 ZBA Summary of ReasoningLaw Office of Singer & Singer, LLC
26 Upper County Road
P. O. Box 67
Dennisport, Massachusetts 02639
Andrew L. Singer
Marian S. Rose
Myer R. Singer (1938-2020)
Yarmouth Board of Appeals
RECEIVE®
MAR 01 2023
YARIViOtJTH
BOARD OF APPEALS
SUMMARY OF REASONING
Tel: (508) 398-2221
Fax: (508) 398-1568
www.singer-law.com
Petition #5008
Sandbar Management, Inc. ["Applicant"] operates the Town `N Country Family Resort Motel at 452
Main Street (Route 28) in West Yarmouth ["Property"]. The Property is shown as Parcel 73 on Assessor's Map
31 and is located in the B2 & HMOD1 Zoning Districts. The Motel on the Property consists of four, two-story
buildings with a total of 148 guest rooms. There is an in -door swimming pool in the front building and an
outdoor swimming pool (closed and not to be opened) in the rear of the Property. A second outdoor swimming
pool was previously located in the front of the Property (now removed). The principal access to the Property is
from Route 28, with emergency access from Abell's Road to the side rear. There has been a hotel on the
Property for approximately fifty years.
The Applicant also owns and operates the nearby Wicked Waves Waterpark and Cape Cod Inflatable
Park business (Waterpark). The Applicant desires to use forty-nine percent (49%) of the existing guest rooms
(72) in two buildings at the Property as seasonal employee housing for both its nearby Waterpark business and
other local businesses with whom it has agreed rental arrangements. The remaining rooms (76) at the Property
will continue to be rented to guests of the Waterpark business. The employee housing rooms will be in the two
buildings set off to the side, which are separated from the continued guest room buildings and main center of
activity on the Property by fences and screened from Route 28.
In accordance Section 404.5.2 of the Yarmouth Zoning By -Law ["Zoning By -Law"], the Building
Commissioner is authorized to allow seasonal employee housing by right if ten requirements of Section 404.5.3
of the Zoning By -Law are met. If not all of these requirements can be met, then the Zoning By -Law as adopted
by Town Meeting vote establishes a special permit review process for those of the requirements that cannot be
met for by right approval. The Board of Appeals is appointed in the Zoning By -Law as the permit granting
authority for such authorized special permits. Further, in accordance with Section 103.2.2 of the Zoning By -
Law, the Board is authorized to grant this special permit upon a demonstration that the proposal will not create
undue nuisance, hazard or congestion and that there will be no substantial harm to the established or future
character of the neighborhood or Town.
In this instance, the AppIicant's proposal meets nine of the ten requirements set forth in Section
404.5.3. Because the tenth requirement — the limit of I S% of the total rooms to be used as such seasonal
housing, will be exceeded (proposed at 49%), the specified special permit is required as set forth and authorized
in the Zoning By -Law.
The Applicant respectfully submits that the proposal satisfies the special permit criteria, will not create
any undue nuisance, hazard or congestion, that there will be no substantial harm to the existing or future
character of the neighborhood or Town, and to the contrary, there will be a significant benefit in providing an
urgent, unmet housing need for local Yarmouth businesses, because:
1. The seasonal employee housing will be no more than seven months per year between April I
and October 3151;
2. The seasonal employees shall be housed in the specified motel rooms only (see allocated room
locus map with rooms noted in blue), and each room is provided with a refrigerator, pillows,
sheets, and blankets;
3. The two buildings for such housing are located closer to the rears of the respective, adjacent
commercial properties fronting on Route 28 and further away from the three residential
properties to the rear of the Property along Saddleback Lane. The Applicant is further in the
process of upgrading the two buildings as follows: installing new roofs, redoing the trim, and
rehabilitating the exterior stairs and second -floor walkways;
4. All applicable Board of Health and Commonwealth of Massachusetts regulations governing
such housing shall be met. The Applicant in fact has a track record of working with the
Yarmouth Health Department in licensing the Property for such employee housing use. The
Applicant has offered seasonal employee housing at the site for the past four seasons with
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review, inspections, and permits issued by the Health Department. No operational issues,
code violations or complaints have been encountered during this time. In recent conversation
with the Planning and Building Departments, the additional requirement of the zoning
permission was raised and is now being requested;
5. Maximum occupancy per room shall meet health codes;
6. The occupants of the seasonal housing rooms will be employees of the nearby Wicked Waves
Waterpark, the adjacent Dunkin Donuts, and the nearby Red Jacket Beach Resort; Employees
of the Waterpark and Dunkin will walk to work. The Red Jacket will provide a shuttle van for
its employees to and from the Property and their work;
7. These employees will provide additional patronage to other nearby businesses, including
without limitation, CVS and Dollar General;
8. There will be little vehicular trip generation nor negative impact to traffic safety on Route 28
as a result of 49% of the rooms being used for seasonal employee housing instead of guest
rooms;
9. There will be an onsite live-in property manager as well as a full-time maintenance person and
24/7 security guard and cameras. The on -site manager will ensure that all seasonal employees
are apprised of the rules and code of behavior prior to and during occupancy (a copy of the
initial rules are below);
10. There are four (4) fully -equipped kitchens in the two buildings to be used for seasonal
employee housing, and all employees have access to a kitchen. The Applicant will provide
daily kitchen cleaning as well as daily trash pick-up and daily package/mail delivery service.
There are four (4) laundries with washers and dryers in the two buildings;
i t . The Applicant will ensure that at] of the seasonal employees to be housed at the site
demonstrate maintenance of a principal place of residence elsewhere;
12. The Applicant shall keep records of all employees utilizing such housing, including name,
permanent address, and length of stay;
13. Notwithstanding the one-year term of seasonal employee housing as set forth in the Zoning
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By -Law, the Applicant respectfully requests that the Board consider granting a two-year tern
for the Property. As is well known by all, including the Board members, the need for seasonal
employee housing to support local businesses is in a crisis. The Zoning By -Law in Section
404.5.2 provides a mechanism whereby additional motel rooms can be used to provide just
such needed housing;
14. The Applicant's proposed amenities, conditions, and rules and regulations to ensure a good
environment for the Property and the neighborhood include, in addition to those items
mentioned above, the following:
A. Each employee will be required to sign the Code of Conduct. This Code of Conduct
will provide that:
1. Enforced quiet hours, including no outside parties and noise, are from 10:06
p.m. to 7:00 a.m. daily;
2. There will be weekly room inspections;
3. Smoking is prohibited in the buildings and is allowed in designated smoking
areas only;
4. Overnight guests are prohibited;
5. No personal items are to be left outside (in parking lot, over railings, on
stairs, etc.);
6. All bicycles must be placed in designated bike racks and locked;
7. All cars must have a permit, be locked, and parked in designated spaces; and
8. For a first violation of the Code, there will be a warning. A fine will be
assessed if there is a second violation. If there is a third violation, the
employee will be removed from the Property;
B. Employees of the Wicked Waves Waterpark are automatically enrolled in a Bonus
Program, whereby at the end of every month, park employees who live in housing
will be given a bonus provided there are no issues; and
C. The Property is equipped with speed bumps as an additional traffic calming measure.
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15. Emergency vehicle access to the Property will remain as existing, and the Applicant will
continue to consult regularly with the Yarmouth Fire Department;
16. There will be no negative impact to drainage, septic flow or stormwater;
17. The proposal will have no greater impacts to the neighborhood or Town than the existing
motel use of the overall Property; and
18. The proposal will be in keeping with and compatible with the character of the neighborhood
and will not cause or contribute to any undue nuisance, hazard or congestion in the
neighborhood, zoning district or Town. There will be no building or parking changes, and the
existing screening of the two buildings in question results in the seasonal employee housing
being virtually invisible.
For all of the above reasons, the Applicant respectfully requests that the Board of Appeals make
findings that the proposal satisfies the criteria of Sections 103.2.2 and 404.5.2 of the Yarmouth Zoning By -Law
and grant the special permit as requested to allow the proposed seasonal employee housing at the Property.
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