Construction for the Zero Waste Solutions solid waste and recycling processing plant slated for 50 Cranberry Highway is nearing completion, and now the Rochester Zoning Board of Appeals has approved a setback variance that will allow the final aspects of the plan to be finished.
Michael Camara, CEO of ABC Disposal, LLC and president of Shawmut Associates, LLC, told the board on October 11 that the original location of an above-ground fuel tank needed to be relocated, and a water pumping station had to be added to the plan, both for safety reasons. When Camara went before the Planning Board to request these changes, the Planning Board told him the changes would need a variance since both structures would infringe upon the 40-foot side setbacks to the property line.
A letter from the Planning Board to the ZBA explained why the changes should be allowed – the diesel fuel tank relocated farther away from the building in case another fire was to occur (the building experienced a major fire on May 13, 2016 destroying the building), and the water pump house installed due to low water pressure from Wareham – both safety issues.
None of the abutters, which includes Rochester Crossroads and A.D. Makepeace, took issue with the location of the tank or the pump house.
Camara said the pump house had to be located at the chosen spot because of traffic flow on the property, with vehicles of all sizes traversing the site and potentially coming into close contact with the pump house in any other location, another safety concern. The water line also enters the site in a location close to the chosen pump house location.
According to Camara, all the site work had been completed by the October 5 “drop-dead” due date set by the Planning Board – the structures are up, the surfaces paved, and the grounds hydroseeded.
“Once we determine what’s going to happen here, we’ll get it finished up,” said Camara.
The vote to approve the variance was unanimous.
In other matters, the board voted to adopt a new informational handout sheet that clarifies what applicants for variances must include on the certified plot plans submitted with the variance application. The board is considering tentatively establishing separate applications for variances and special permits that will provide further clarification on submission requirements for variances.
The next meeting of the Rochester Zoning Board of Appeals is scheduled for October 25 at 7:15 pm at the Rochester Town House.
Rochester Zoning Board of Appeals
By Jean Perry