Residents Say Condos Will Alter Village Character

 HARWICH – While the Campanelli Company continues to make adjustments to meet peer review recommendations on its 28-unit condominium project in Harwich Port, residents continue to attack the size and urban character of the proposed development at the Sundae School property.

 More than 75 people attended the third public hearing held by the planning board on July 8, most primarily charging that the proposed development will adversely impact the neighborhood and alter the character of the village. 

“A special permit is not a gimme,” neighbor Bob Piantedosi told the planning board. “It’s not put your paper in and we’re going to build this thing. Please keep in mind that the intent of the bylaw was clear to the voting residents. Words matter. The bylaw clearly states ‘creating housing opportunities that are suitable, sustainable, desirable and in character with the area.’ This project does not comply with that bylaw.”

“The size of the proposed building alone will make its impact on the neighborhood very significant,“ said resident Robert Cohn, “and because of its proximity to the similarly sized Melrose, the impact will be amplified, creating an approximately 400-foot long strip where two massive buildings would be situated among and dominate an area of historic single family homes.”

“The building will be an eyesore for decades to come,” said Barbara Nickerson. “Please look beyond your lifetime. Think about you kids [and] grandkids. Is this the legacy you want to leave them?”

 Town Planner Christine Flynn informed the board that the developer has made revisions recommended by the staff, such as landscaping, lighting in the area of handicapped parking, and provided renderings to compare initial proposed building height to adjusted reductions.

 Attorney Marian Rose, representing the developer, emphasized that the project as proposed complies with the town’s zoning code.

Members of the public focused on several issues during the session. A main focus of the evening was a provision relating to the issuance of special permits which reads that the “proposed use will not adversely affect the neighborhood.”  

Neighbor Bob Nickerson asserted that the project will adversely affect the neighborhood. Planned rooftop patios in the 1,200- and 1,300-square-foot range could hold 25 to 50 people.

“Rooftop parties will definitely affect the neighborhood,” he said. 

Rita Kyriakides, also a nearby resident, claimed there will be after-wedding rooftop parties there. She also questioned the condominium association’s ability to control rental conditions, especially if the proponents are unable to sell all of the units. She said they would be converted to rentals and there would be rooftop parties.

“It might be fair criticism to say that the look and feel of a neighborhood is a vague and relatively unimportant concept,” said Cohn. “But that look and feel is very much a part of why many, if not most residents of Harwich Port chose to be here. For many, if not the vast majority of us, it’s extremely important.”

Matt Sutphin took issue with the underground parking, asserting that the 40 underground spaces will allow additional building site coverage on the 1.75-acre parcel. He cautioned the board that the use of underground parking will become a common means for developers along Route 28 seeking more building coverage.  

He also said the project now under construction across from Cumberland Farms in the village hit coarse, wet sand when the basement was being excavated, and the pump chambers for the proposed underground garage would be very close to the water table.

Nickerson also expressed concerns that any spillage in the underground garage that leaks into the groundwater will end up in Wychmere Harbor 500 feet away. 

Russ Dion, project architect for Camanelli Company, said there would be a three-foot to three-and-a-half foot separation from the garage to the water table. The building will be built above the waterline, he said.

Flynn said the developer has agreed to deed restrictions on short-term rentals, allowing owners two leases of no less than 60 days each per year, as well as making location adjustments to EV-charging stations in the underground garage, even moving them outside if that is the decision of the state Fire Marshal.

The developer also provided trip generation data comparing traffic volume between the Sundae School ice cream shop, which would be demolished to make room for the condominiums, and the proposed complex. The Sundae School data was collected over a nine-day period from late June into July. Sundae School draws a daily average of 900 trips, while the condominiums would generate about 200 trips, according to traffic engineer Kirsten Braun of Chappell Engineers Associates.

“Route 28 in the summer is quite strained out there, and this change in use will reduce traffic pressure,” Braun said.  

 The planning board’s peer review consultant, Michael Santos of VHB, Inc., said in his report that the developer addressed many of the original comments raised in the review.

The outstanding items relate to the possibility of constructing a sidewalk on the north side of Main Street (Route 28) along the property’s frontage and a review to determine if there is potential to remove any sight line obstructions along the north side of Main Street such as vegetation.

Braun said the developer will discuss the requests with the Mass Department of Transportation when seeking an entrance relocation permit along Route 28. She said MassDOT encourages sidewalks, and the applicant will seek permission to enhance the sight design conditions by removing vegetation along the state highway right-of-way.

Carol Novak wanted to know the guiding principles the board will use in making its decision on the project. She wanted to know whether it was the local comprehensive plan or the building code.

Planning Board Chair Duncan Berry said the board follows the zoning bylaw. He said the language is very clear about what is and what is not acceptable, although he added that “there is ambiguity with certain language in the code, and it’s around those ambiguities that we open up and listen to the public.”

Laura Donnelly wanted to know how the local comprehensive plan intersects with what the planning board is doing with the application.

Planning Board member Ann Clark Tucker said the town has spent $240,000 to upgrade the local comprehensive plan, but it has not yet been approved. The local comprehensive plan is a vision statement; it’s aspirational, said Tucker, adding that it doesn’t match with the zoning code.

“We’re perfectly designed to get what we’re getting,” said Tucker. “The bylaws and zoning don’t match our future state. As a board we’re trying to work on that, but right now all we have is definitions and Massachusetts General Laws to evaluate these proposals. Right now there is a division in what we want to be, and what we’ve written, and where we are.”

Jean Kelly questioned the waiver requests made by the developer for parking space size and entrance width, and said limiting the underground parking would require a reduction in the number of units.

Richard Waystack, a realtor and chair of the board of assessors, said there are 68 properties on the market in Harwich, and only 20 of them are less than $1 million. The average price is $1,925,000, and the six properties on the market in Harwich Port total $4.25 million. 

“These units at $1 million to $1.5 million will fly off the market,” Waystack said. He said the units will not become Airbnbs, noting that none of the units at The Melrose across the street are Airbnbs. 

 The board voted to continue the hearing to Tuesday, Aug. 26 at 6:30 p.m.