Expanded Use of Stone Horse Dormitories Denied

 HARWICH – The planning board denied a proposal for the two dormitories on the former Stone Horse motel property along Route 28 in South Harwich to expand year-round use. 

Neighbors made clear their objection to a proposed expansion of the two seasonal dormitories, which have a capacity to accommodate 164 residents, to increase year-round use. The initial proposal for the dormitories was to create facilities to house summer workers, primarily J-1 vista employees, from mid-April to mid-November. However a provision was provided in the initial permit issued by the board in 2019 allowing for 20 of the 82 rooms to be occupied Nov. 15 to April 14. 

Owner Harwich Holdings LLC was before the board Nov. 12 seeking modifications to the site plan special permit to increase year-round occupancy from 20 to 82 rooms and increase onsite parking from 20 to 30 spaces. Harwich Holdings, a management entity for Corcoran and Jennison Companies, owner of Ocean Edge Resort and Golf Club in Brewster, purchased the facilities last January from Ronald Rudnick of Main Street Stone Horse LLC.

Justin Holdstrom, a regional manager for Corcoran and Jennison, said the facilities will be occupied during the summer season by employees at Ocean Edge Resort. The additional year-round units would be rented in the off-season to groups of workers and not individuals.

Holdstrom said the plan is to provide housing for traveling nurses or construction workers who are coming to the Cape to make renovations to golf courses or work on major construction projects. Rent will not be collected individually; rather the company providing the workers would be responsible for paying for the accommodations, he said.

“The last management was renting to individuals and it was more difficult to manage. That is not the strategy we are looking for,” said Holdstrom. 

Expanded off-season use will help the Harwich economy with more foot traffic and  workers patronizing local restaurants and shops, he said, and will make for a stronger and more resilient community.

The parking increase is necessary, especially in the summer season, he added. But he also emphasized the need for continued use of public transportation. Ocean Edge has a very active shuttle service, Holdstrom said, running late into the night and beginning early in the morning during the summer, though he anticipated there would be less service in the off-season.

“We’re not going to allow more than 30 cars here,”Holdstrom said.

Holdstrom said there is a much different atmosphere at the facility under the new ownership, which is working with the fire department to reduce the number of alarm responses triggered in the past year. Police department calls have also dropped over the past year. He said there were three or four instances where employees were removed from the housing and terminated from work at Ocean Edge. He also said that during the busy season security personnel are present from 10 p.m. to 3 a.m. to contain activities.

Town Planner Christine Flynn said she reached out to town departments for responses to the proposal and received no comments from the police department. But many of the 15 neighbors in attendance had concerns.

Red River Road resident Kevin Kearns cited the zoning bylaw that does not allow the approval of an application that will adversely affect the neighborhood. He said the police and fire departments respond to the Stone Horse on a weekly basis; when he goes to Red River Beach with his wife and children he sees drug dealers in the parking lot, he alleged.

“These are the things that adversely affect the neighborhood,” Kearns said.

 Deep Hole Road resident Mary Mackenzie said there is noise coming from the Stone Horse in the early morning hours along with traffic and partying. One night, she said, there were over 100 people there. With the change in ownership there is more movement from the dormitories down to Red River Beach at night, Mackenzie said, and there are more bottles in her yard.

“I can’t use my backyard in the summertime anymore” because of the noise, she said.

Deep Hole Road resident Robert Wojnarowski said the lives of residents have been severely impacted by the facility. Vehicles race up and back from Red River Beach and boom-boxes can be heard all night long, he said. There is litter in the street.

“I want to get us back to living the dream, not this encroachment on our rights,” Wojnarowski said.

“Cars are blasting their music and it shakes the windows in my house 20 to 30 yards away,” said Jennifer Kelly.

“It’s like a concert,” said Old County Road resident Mary Kane. “I thought it was Margaritaville. You get woken up, startled, and can’t go back to sleep. It’s every single night of the week.” She added that residents play basketball outside at 1 and 2 a.m.

Holdstrom said the police report he received showed only seven visits, which doesn’t reflect the extreme noise issues he was hearing about.

“We can address the car issues,” Holdstrom said. "We're responsible, amicable and interactive and want to educate. It’s much improved there.”  

“It appears to me that the conversations should be about how to remedy the existing issues that are happening at this property — listening to the residents here — versus adding more people to an existing problem,” said Select Board member Jeffrey Handler. “That’s my feeling listening to our residents. And I’ll close by saying this is a good opportunity to take care of the home team and not so much the visitors.” 

But planning board member Harry Munns said while he understands the summertime environment there, he questioned whether it would continue into the winter. He said the board should not theorize that will happen. 

“To penalize a business owner in the town based on what we think might happen is irresponsible,” Munns said.   

“If we issue the permit, there is no way to remedy it if it gets worse,” cautioned planning board member Ann Clark Tucker.

 Member Allan Peterson cited a police report in which the officer quoted a Stone Horse security officer who said he struggles to keep order because he has no ability to enforce the law.

Planning Board Chair J. Duncan Berry said when the board conditioned the previous site plan special permit, the reason for the limited time frame on occupancy was to prevent these types of problems.

“Here we are, we’ve got these types of problems we have been trying to avoid and now we’re going to open a can to some more problems,” he said. “We have to contain the issues that are affecting the neighbors now. We can’t compound them.”

The board voted 4-1 to deny the special permit. Munns cast the dissenting vote.