Apartment Plan Gets Thumbs Down HBDC Members, Residents Excoriate Plan

CHATHAM – A proposal for an 18-unit apartment building in West Chatham drew universal opposition at a historic business district commission pre-application meeting last week.

 Proponent Tom Kennedy said at the end of the session that he may consider building single-family houses on the two lots at 1134 and 1142 Main St., although he is scheduled to go before the zoning board of appeals for an informal discussion of the apartment proposal on Nov. 5.

 “This will be the last time I try to address it here in town,” Kennedy said of the proposal, which he said was aimed at alleviating the dearth of apartments locally. “I’ve learned my lesson. So we put two million, couple million dollar houses there and keep adding to the problem of Chatham.”

 HBDC members and residents alike criticized the proposed 80-foot-long, 28-foot high, three-story, 5,400-square-foot apartment building as too large for the 21,000-square-foot site. Placing the access on the Old Main Street side of the lot rather than Main Street (Route 28) would be disruptive to the quiet neighborhood, residents said.

 Along with approval of the building design from the HBDC, the proposal would also need to pass muster with the planning board and the zoning board of appeals. Recent changes to the state zoning law allows the ZBA more latitude in granting variances, which the project would require.

 But feedback from the HBDC at the Oct. 21 informal discussion was not encouraging.

 “It’s just too large for the area,” said chair Timothy Gilmore. He expressed reservations about the flat roof and the proposed traffic patterns as well. Other HBDC members had similar comments.

 Comments from residents were universally negative, with one neighbor calling the proposal "ludicrous." 

“It’s very upsetting that this would even be proposed,” said Old Main Street resident Gerard Phillips. 

Another Old Main Street resident, George Meservey, who is also the director of planning and community development in Orleans, said the proposal equates to 37 units per acre. “I don’t know that we’re a 37-units-per-acre town,” he said, adding that putting more traffic onto Old Main Street, where there are a handful of year-round residents, would be “asking for more hazards.” Turning onto Main Street from either end of Old Main Street can be treacherous, especially in the summer, critics said.

Debbie Long of Old Main Street said the “massive, invasive development” was not appropriate for the location. She added that Sylvan Gardens, a public conservation area, is also located on Old Main Street and draws many visitors. Referring to another large building proposed by Stage Harbor Marina, she said, “Is this the direction we want to head, with big developers and big money?”

Ed Alex called the proposal “absurd,” adding that its approval could lead to more requests for large apartment buildings in residential areas.

“I don’t want to see the next bumper sticker in Chatham that says, ‘Chatham: A quaint village with a developer problem,” he said.

“Everything is just getting out of control, sizewise,” said nearby resident Paula Avellar. “If we don’t nip it in the bud, it’s going to continue to grow and grow and grow.”

Apartments in Chatham are at a premium, Kennedy said. Twelve of the two-bedroom, approximately 750-square-foot apartments would be leased year-round, he said, while six would be for seasonal workers. A bus stop would be provided on the Main Street side of the property, while the 28 parking spaces would access the property from Old Main Street. He said other buildings in the area, including the adjacent dentist office and a nearby condominium building, were commensurate in size to the proposed apartment building.

To address the apartment shortage. “We have to bend some rules, break some rules, we have to get some variances to make this happen,” Kennedy said.

He added, “We’re not going to be able to solve it by saying keep things the way they are.”

The informal discussion with the zoning board is scheduled at the end of its Nov. 5 meeting agenda. The session begins at 3 p.m.