On January 7, the Mattapoisett Planning Board heard from local builder Scott Snow as he sought “relief from the Planning Board” for his application for a public hearing for a Form C Definitive Subdivision Plan.
During the December 17 hearing, engineer Richard Rheaume of Prime Engineering had laid out an outline of the proposed project. However, his presentation lacked several critical elements making it impossible for the Planning Board to fully vet the project. Rheaume assured the board members that if the application was continued, all necessary components of the subdivision proposal would be made available in a timely manner. That did not come to pass.
Now Snow sat before the Planning Board and pleaded with them to give him relief saying, “I’m just a builder … a family man. … This small project has escalated,” said Snow. “Things keep getting worse. … I need a little relief.”
Snow explained that his projects were high-end structures selling for $750,000 and that he prided himself on doing things the right way, but that this project, which had grown over the past several months, was proving difficult.
Snow said a delay in decision making on the part of the Planning Board would cost him upwards of $45,000, while the Planning Board members countered that he had not provided a plan that could be voted on.
Snow said that plans were in the pipeline, but not quite done yet, and that if the Planning Board could see its way clear to advance the project before a completed peer review process by G.A.F. Engineering, that would work better for him.
“I’m trying to find a way around the timeframe,” Snow said.
Chairman Tom Tucker said there were procedures in place that the Planning Board was bound to uphold, then offered Snow two choices – either ask the board to deny the project without prejudice withdrawing it completely and re-filing at a later date, or continue the hearing until February 4 with the agreement that full plans of record would be provided to the members two weeks prior to the new hearing date granting them sufficient time for review.
There was 30 minutes of debating the pros and cons of both options before Snow agreed to the continuance.
Also coming before the board was David McIntire with a request for the reduction in surety for the paving of Shagbark Circle in the Bay Club. McIntire said that cost estimates for the final paving of the roadway were $37,000, but that the surety currently stood at $250,000. He requested a reduction down to $50,000. The request was approved.
The next meeting of the Mattapoisett Planning Board is scheduled for February 4 at 7:00 pm in the Town Hall conference room.
Mattapoisett Planning Board
By Marilou Newell