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HomeMy WebLinkAboutBOA #3149 & #3150 TOWN OF YARMOUTH BOARD OF APPEALS DECISION '95 FEE -2 P12 :53 FILED WITH TOWN CLERK: FEB 2 i�95 PETITION NO: 3149/3150 lO+NN i, .f , a HEARING DATE: October 27 , 1994 , November 17, 1994 , December 1 , 1994 , January 17, 1995 PETITIONER: #3149 DeWitt P. Davenport/ Blue Water Resort Hotel #3150 James Johnson/Edge of the Sea Motel , Inc. PROPERTY: :301 , 301A, 298 , 302 , 297 South Shore Drive and 124 Wilfin Rd. , South Yarmouth MA. Assessor's Map 22 Parcels T-125-1 , T-128 , S-60 , S-59 , T-122 , S-57 , and 301B, 301C, 301D, 301E South Shore Drive, and Off South Shore Drive South Yarmouth MA. Assessor's Map 22 Parcels T-129 , T-130 , T-131 , T-125-2 , T-181 MEMBERS OF THE BOARD PRESENT AND VOTING: Fritz Lindquist, Chairman, David S. Reid, John Richards , Richard Halverstadt, Joseph Conroy It appearing that notice of the hearing has been given by sending notice to the petitioners and all of those owners of property deemed to be affected thereby, and to the public by posting notice of the hearing and published in the Yarmouth Sun, the hearing was opened and held on the date stated above . These two petitions relate to adjacent, but separately owned, existing motels . The proposed remodeling/reconstruction/additions to each are some- what related and will involve the reallocation of properties and of motel units. The petitioner and the Board therefore agreed that these matters may be heard as one matter. The petitions were predominantly presented by Mr. DeWitt Davenport who was accompanied at all of the hearings by Mr. James Johnson (of the Edge of the Sea Motel , Inc. ) , Mr. Paul McBride (of the Davenport Realty Trust) , and by Attorney Myer Singer, of Dennisport. The petitions seek several forms of relief for the several phases of the proposed work to be done on these two business properties. Both are located in a Residential zone, where motels are no longer allowed uses. Both motels are agreed to be lawfully pre-existing, non-conforming uses. In general , the petitioners seek to: (1 ) replace the existing Edge of the Sea Motel building in its entirety, ( 2) remove some of the existing motel units from the Edge of the Sea property and create new units in the Blue Water Resort facility, ( 3 ) relocate the Blue Water "Putting Green" to the present Edge of the Sea Property, (4) redesign and rebuild the parking facilities on the North s:_de of the road. Further details as to the specific relief and construction is as set forth in the petitions and plans themselves. Because the entirety of petition #3150 and the bulk of #3149 were ultimately withdrawn without prejudice, full findings of facts by the Board were not necessary. Therefore, only a brief outline of the facts and proceedings will be set forth herein. The Edge of the Sea facility currently consists of a motel building, plus five free-standing cottage buildings containing rental units. The Blue Water facility consists of a larger existing motel, housed within three principal buildings on the shore side of South Shore Drive. It also includes, on the North side of the road, a parking lot, tennis courts, and another small building with rental units (referred to as the Wilfin Road building). These petitions seek to reconfigure both facilities as follows: (1) add two (2) more units to the Wilfin Road building, (2) remove all of the cottage units for the Edge of the Sea property, (3) remove and replace in its enti- rety the Edge of the Sea Motel building, (4) add (10) new units to the Blue Water facility, (5) rebuild the Blue Water's pool and adjacent cabana building, (6) move the Blue Water's putting green to the Northerly end of the Edge of the Sea property, (7) redesign and rebuild the existing North side parking lot. During the course of the hearings, over the course of several nights, the petitioners presented their case for the proposals. Without minimizing the details of that presentation, it may be summarized (for these purposes) as including (1) that the Edge of the Sea facility is currently obsolete and unable to productively continue without major modernizations, which can only be accomplished by a replacement of the existing motel building, (2) the existing cottage units are functionally obsolete, congested, and ill-fitting on the site, and would need to be removed and reconfigured as part of the rebuilding program, (3) the Blue Water facility would accommodate the ten (10) new units, which would essentially replace the cottage units when those buildings are removed, (4) the putting green should, if possible, be relo- cated to the same side of the street as the motel units, for the convenience and safety of the patrons, and to help beautify the public-side of the facilities with additional green-space, (5) the parking lot on the North side could be redesigned to meet most current standards which would be a substantial improvement over the current bare black-top lot, (6) the Blue Water pool area is in need of modernization (as more full discussed later herein). There was considerable opposition to these collective proposals by the neighbors and abutters to the North, principally along Wilfin Road. They viewed the project as a further expansion of these now non-conforming uses, impacting their residential neighborhood in terms of overall growth of business, and by their physical expansion into the residential community. Their objections concerned mostly the activities on the North side of the road, but they also expressed substantive and legal concerns to the rest of the project phases. Concerns were also expressed by the Board, including questions as to the legality and propriety of completely replacing the existing non-conforming Edge of the Sea building. During the hearings and review of the proposed site plans, the issue arose as to the need for review of the project by the Cape Cod Commission, as a Development of Regional Impact. The fact triggering this concern was the area of the new construction. Under the Act, and the Commission's imple- menting regulations, any new commercial construction in excess of 10 , 000 square feet, must be referred to the Commission. The petitioners and their architect contended that the "floor area" of each petition's new construc- tion was not over this limit. Some members of the Board considered the projects inseparable, conceptually, and felt that both must be viewed together for this calculation, and felt that the petitioner's architect was too conservative in its calculation of area. A preliminary review and opi- nion was sought from the Cape Cod Commission staff, who indicated that the projects "might" be considered together, and that the plans seemed to indi- cate that, by their method of computation, the new construction would exceed the 10 , 000 square foot threshold. An informal pole of the board members indicated that the majority were inclined to agree with the Commission staff's opinions, and felt compelled to refer the matter to the Commission for full review. The Board members also indicated to the petitioners , by questions and comments, several por- tions of the petitions with which they had the greatest concerns . In light of the concerns and objections raised during the course of these hearings , the petitioners requested leave to withdraw, without prejudice, all of peti- tion #3150 , and all - of #3149 except for the pool and cabana rebuilding and related improvements to the Blue Water Resort. More specifically, the petitioner ( #3149 ) requested permission to (1 ) rebuild the pool and its concrete patio/apron, (2) enlarge the adjacent cabana/pool building, ( 3 ) rebuild the top surface of the existing structures (to the East of the existing motel unit - closest to the Easterly lot line) and add therein a so-called "Viewing Deck" area for its customers and guests. The pool itself is represented to be the original pool for the motel , oval in shape, with no shallow end for children to use. The proposed pool , as shown on the "Proposed Improvements" site plan (dated November 14 , 1994 ) would be more rectangular, with a shallow area for use by the children of guests . It is slightly larger, but located in the same area as the older pool . It is not significantly closer to adjacent property lines. The pool building is currently approximately 12 'x 15' in size, located virtually on the Southeasterly corner line of the property. It is used as a snack bar for pool and private beach guests , and has an adjacent brick patio. The petitioner proposes to approximately double the size of the building, in the location of the brick patio. The use will remain unchanged, with the added space used principally for needed storage. The addition will be further away from the lot line than the existing structure. The "Viewing Deck" is not separately labeled on the revised plans. The existing structure is shown to the East side of the existing (Easterly) motel building, facing the adjoining Edge of the Sea building. It presently consists of a low (approximately 2' above grade) relatively flat structure, covering an equipment well (pool filtration equipment, etc. ) . The proposal is to construct a wooden deck over the existing roof. The deck will be raised above the present roof only by the width of the decking itself . It will be used by guests only, for casual sitting and lounging. It will not extend closer to the lot line than the existing structure. The Board finds that none of these three ( 3) requested changes involve any change of use nor will they alter or increase the volume or nature of the current motel use. None of these will substantially increase any existing non-conformities. Some member of the Board, however, notes that this site has had several recent alterations, which has caused it to approach, if not reach, its maximum practical development potential. However, given the existing conditions and the modest nature of the alterations requested, the Board finds that these requests may be allowed without causing any substan- tial increased congestion or detriment to the neighborhood. Furthermore, to the extent that dimensional (side yard) variances are needed, the Board finds that the criteria are present and that the relief may be granted. Therefore, a Motion was made by Mr. Conroy, seconded by Mr. Halverstadt, to grant the petition #3149 (Blue Water) only relative to the pool, pool building, and viewing deck, and to allow the balance of the petition to be withdrawn without prejudice. The members voted unanimously in favor of this Motion. Another Motion was made by Mr. Reid, seconded by Mr. Richards, to allow Petition #3150 (Edge of the Sea Motel , Inc. ) to be withdrawn, in its entirety, without prejudice. The members noted unanimously in favor of this Motion. Appeals from this decision shall be made pursuant to ss17 c40A and must be filed within 20 days after the filing of this notice/decision with the Town Clerk.David S. Reid, Clerk Board of Appeals DATE : January 11 , 1995 TO : Town of Yarmouth Board of Appeals FROM : DeWitt P . Davenport R E : Petition 55 JAN 11 P 4 :15 iA1 0 tition No . 3149 " Blue Water Resort Hotel " TOWN CL.tJ' r s kL_A ,L'i t We ask to withdraw without prejudice all components of the de- sired changes , modifications or addition as requested , except : "An addition to the patio club building - relocation of the outdoor pool and viewing decks . " The reason for our request is that the cost of the redevelopment with revised projections exceeds the estimated benefits . We will continue to assess alternatives for redevelopment to im- prove the quality of product and services offered our visitors to this oceanfront resort . FOR THE PET TIONERS : ,e,/ 74. tte...fr.„----, Wewitt P. Davenport cc : Forrest E . White Building Inspector JJ : jgl