By Carol Britton Meyer

Neighbors and town officials raised concerns about the impacts of a proposed four-story, 12-unit comprehensive permit project on one of the highest points in Hull during a zoning board of appeals hearing this week.

A second site visit to 25 Ipswich Street was held on Saturday, December 7, at 10 a.m. “to dot all the i’s and to cross all the t’s,” ZBA Chair Patrick Finn said during Tuesday’s meeting.

**FROM THE TOP.** The Residences at Rockaway, a 12-unit townhouse complex, has been proposed for Ipswich Street on the hill overlooking the bay, behind the Hull Community Garden.

The proposed Residences at Rockaway plan includes six modular, townhouse-style buildings with two units each set on a .63-acre lot. Three units would be affordable. Parking would be in garages under the units and in the driveways.

Hull’s fire chief told the ZBA that he is concerned about access for emergency vehicles and neighbors said the addition of dozens of cars on the narrow roads would impact their quality of life.

The comprehensive permit process, more commonly known as Chapter 40B of Massachusetts General Laws, allows developers to circumvent most local regulations in exchange for an affordable housing component if the town has less than 10% of its housing units designated affordable. Hull current percentage of affordable units is 1.6%, according to the state’s formula.

This is the first comprehensive permit proposed for Hull to move through the review process; an earlier plan had been contemplated but did not move forward. The zoning board of appeals is the sole permitting authority.

However, in this case, the developer agreed to meet informally with various town boards at Finn’s request in order to gather as much feedback as possible. The site is located in the Rockaway Annex neighborhood behind the former Veterans of Foreign Wars post off Salisbury Street near the Hull Community Garden and the Manet Community Health Center.

Town department comments due in 30 days

The board set a deadline of 30 days from December 3 – the date of the meeting – for town departments to provide input about the proposal if they have not already done so.

Following several hearings since the summer, the review process is expected to wrap up with additional hearings scheduled for January 7, February 4, and February 18, if needed.

The developer will also meet with the design review board on December 12.

Concerns expressed during this week’s nearly three-hour meeting related to drainage and the proximity of the proposed development to abutters – including 26 Barnstable St., with the owners expressing concern about the proposed height of the retaining wall and the closeness of four of the buildings to their property line, as well as the potential negative impacts from blasting to remove a large amount of ledge from the site.

the project consists of six four-story buildings with two units each.

‘The turning radius is not adequate’

Dan Sullivan, a direct abutter, said he is concerned about the effect of an expected 24 or more cars a day traveling on the narrow streets leading to the development.

“The area near my mailbox is scarred from trucks and snowplows that can’t make the turn from Salisbury Street to North Truro without going over my lawn. The entire street area should be reconfigured,” he said. “The turning radius is not adequate.”

In addition, Fire Chief Chris Russo is concerned about whether there would be an adequate turning area for emergency vehicles on the site itself, as well as the lack of fire hydrants.

Hull resident and developer Alan Mckenzie noted that he was initially planning to propose 40 units, which would include several more affordable units than the current proposal, “but neighbors were concerned that the value of their property would go down, so we went back and forth with different options. I think the current plan is very responsible.”

Noting that the buildings would cover about 28% of the parcel, Finn asked how much of the lot is taken up by ledge. The developer will supply that information to the board later.

Traffic study completed

An engineer reviewing the proposal submitted her comments to the developer, who is in the process of addressing them. These relate to drainage, erosion control, and water pressure, and the suggestion to add dry wells or rain gardens to the site.

A traffic study has also been completed at the expense of the developer, who is also working on a landscaping plan.

Mckenzie was also asked to consider paving part of the streets leading to the development while paving the site, and to consider improvements to the intersection of George Washington Boulevard, Barnstable Street, and Salisbury Street near the medical center, where a number of accidents have occurred. That could be difficult since the Boulevard is controlled by the state, Finn noted.

The deadline for the ZBA to complete its review is February 24, unless it is extended at the request of the town or the developer.

Town Manager Jennifer Constable asked if the traffic plan would be reviewed by the peer reviewer; she was told that it will be. She also said she hopes the developer would consider making some improvements to the nearby roads since a minimum of about 24 cars (two for each unit) would result from the new development.

‘This is 12 units on a single-family lot’

Finn noted that most of the abutting properties are 50 to 60 feet away from the proposed development.

“We see a lot of properties closer to [abutters] than this in Hull, but this is 12 units on a single-family lot,” he said. “It’s a density and quality of life issue … The neighbors will be watching.”

Since the town is well below the 10% state affordable housing threshold, if the ZBA were to vote against granting a permit for the project, the developer could appeal to the state, with little chance of a successful outcome for the town.

A replay of the full meeting will be available on Hull Community Television’s broadcast channels and on demand at www.hulltv.net.

For more information, including project renderings, click here.

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