The Marion Marine Resources Commission (MRC), at its own public meeting last week, discussed how there is not enough parking for boaters at Island Wharf and the adjacent open space property. Some who attended the June 17 public meeting of the Marion Select Board complained of the opposite: not enough parking for non-boaters in the village area around Island Wharf.
A Point Road resident wrote a letter to the Select Board and spoke about the issue. She mentioned that many non-boaters, including those who attend concerts in the summer for the Marion Concert Band, are obstructed by boat trailers.
Select Board Chair Randy Parker spoke about the issue to MRC Chairman Vincent Malkoski. Parker said he wants the MRC, which met around the same time last week, to discuss that issue.
At its June 18 meeting, the MRC was mostly in agreement that there is not enough parking for boaters. Members of the commission also mentioned that the adjacent grassland is open space and technically not supposed to be used for parking, posing a possible legal issue. Harbormaster Adam Murphy said there are technically only 80 official parking spaces for 1,200 boat moorings.
“The MRC is in agreement that we need to address this, and everyone is in agreement it will take more than the MRC,” Malkoski told the Select Board on June 17. “We don’t have that authority, and the authority rests on the (Select) board.”
The Select Board met one day before the MRC. Parker said he wanted the MRC to further discuss the issue. Acknowledging both sides of the issue, Parker proposed forming a committee to address the issue.
“Boating in Marion is pretty popular,” he said, noting that the influx of concert-goers and events in town are positive trends. “We should be accommodating to those events. We want them here in Marion – no doubt about it.”
In other business, Zoning Board of Appeals Chairperson Cynthia Callow updated the board on two major projects.
She mentioned that the state land court did not side with the ZBA this spring when it rejected a variance to allow the construction of 57 single-family dwelling units on 17 acres off Route 6 near the Wareham town line. Heron Cove Estates LLC, an affordable-housing proposal, was approved for 120 units but now seeks to limit that number due to rising development costs.
The ZBA cited sewer disposal and stormwater management as among the reasons for the denial, but the land court called the decision “arbitrary and capricious.”
Callow said the ZBA will rehear the case.
Citing research, Callow said she is still concerned about running a sewer line to the property. She said there’s a water line at the intersection of Point Road and Route 6. That line was readjusted with a cement sleeve just before World War II. Callow said she could not uncover the reason but speculated it had to do with protecting American intelligence from enemies overseas.
Addressing another residential project, Callow said the ZBA conducted research on Sippican Holdings LLC at 14 Barnabas Road. The developer is seeking a variance that would allow for the conversion of an existing commercial building in a Limited Industrial District into a multi-family dwelling with no more than 50 units.
The surrounding area is commercial zoning and is part of the larger former Lockheed Martin site.
Callow said the ZBA had concerns about reusing the building, which is old and had never been used in a residential capacity. The developer cited a financial hardship if the building were to be demolished.
Callow told the Select Board that legal counsel looked into similar cases, including the proposed repurposing of a dilapidated mansion in Boston. Unlike that case, the Sippican Holdings building is not in structural disrepair, and it would not represent a safety issue if the project moved forward.
The Select Board at its special June 18 meeting also approved annual appointments to boards and committees.
The board is scheduled to meet again on Tuesday, July 1, at 6:00 pm at the Police Station conference room.
Marion Select Board
By Jeffrey D. Wagner