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TOWN OF HINGHAM
Planning Board
NOTICE OF DECISION
Request For Waiver of Site Plan Review
and Special Permit A3
Applicant: Hingham Farmer's Market, Inc. Certified Mail #7013 3020 0000 9990 2436
24 Central Street
Hingham, MA 02043
Premises: 0 Otis Street
Hingham MA 02043
Assessor's Information: Map 50, Lot 50
Date: May 6, 2015
Summary of Proceedings
The Hingham Farmer's Market, Inc. ("The Applicant") applied for a
modification to the existing Special Permit A3 parking determination in
accordance with Section V of the Zoning By-Law, and Site Plan Review in
accordance with Section I-G and I-I of the Zoning By-Law.
The application for Site Plan Review and a Special Permit A3 was
filed with the Planning Board on April 10, 2015. A public hearing was
duly noticed and heard May 4, 2015.
The hearing was conducted by Board members Gary Tondorf-Dick,
Chairman, Sarah Corey, Clerk, Walter Sullivan, Jr., and William Ramsey.
The Applicant was represented by Mark Cullings, Executive Director of
the Hingham Farmer's Market.
Project Description and Background
For the past several years, the Hingham Farmer's Market has been in
operation at the Bathing Beach on a seasonal, temporary basis on
Saturdays from 10:00 A.M. to 2:00 P.M. from May to November. The market
consists of 45 temporary vendor stalls which are set up in an
approximately 10,600 square foot area in the southern corner of the
Bathing Beach parking lot. Each vendor occupies one or more stalls, and
merchandise includes local produce, baked and prepared goods, and a
limited amount of crafts. Vendors arrive by car or truck and set up the
stalls immediately before the market opens, and are responsible for
breaking down the displays and cleaning up after themselves immediately
after the market closes. Access to and egress from the market area is
at a signalized intersection with Route 3A (Otis Street). Customers to
the Farmer's Market park their cars in the adjacent Bathing Beach
Parking area, which was striped to accommodate 185 parking spaces,
including five handicapped spaces and 22-foot aisle widths.
In 2010 The Trustees of the Bathing Beach were before the Planning
Board and Board of Appeals for a Special Permit A2, A3 and Site Plan
Review. The Planning Board waived Site Plan, and approved the A3
Parking Determination with conditions. The A3 allowed the 40 vendor
stalls to be served by 185 parking spaces at the Bathing Beach. The
Special Permit A3 was modified in 2012 to expand the number of vendors
from 40 to 45.
The Planning Board decisions refer to having the vendor parking
spaces in a grassy area outside of the parking lot. At this time the
vendors are no longer allowed to drive and/or park outside of the paved
parking lot, so the Farmers Market and Trustees designated an area near
the entrance for vendor parking instead. The new proposal will continue
to segregate beach-goers and customer traffic from vendor traffic.
Mr. Cullings stated that there are no other changes beyond the new
location for vendor parking. He stated that there is a detail officer
on duty between Memorial Day and Labor Day to help as needed. He said
the Market operates efficiently and well, and that the vendors will park
closely together to conserve parking. He stated that of the 185 spaces
it is estimated that 20 would be used for vendor parking, 40 were
occupied by the market itself, and if the retail parking calculation was
applied for the farmers market another 53 spaces were accounted for.
That still leaves 72 parking spaces for people accessing the Beach or
the farmers market.
Site Plan Review
Section I-I (5) of the Hingham Zoning By-law states that "the Planning
Board may waive any of the submittal requirements set forth in Section
I-I, 6 deemed by the Planning Board to be not necessary for its review
of the application." The Applicant requested a waiver from Site Plan
Review in its entirety because there is no physical work being proposed.
The Board then Moved, Seconded and SO VOTED to Waive Site Plan Review
as requested.
Special Permit A3
The finding to be considered for a Special Permit A3 (parking
determination), is that the proposed parking plan "will not result in or
worsen parking and traffic problems on site or on surrounding streets
or adversely affect the value of abutting property." The Applicant
advised the Board that there is sufficient parking. As noted above, the
parking lot at the Bathing Beach includes 185 spaces. Mr. Cullings
stated that of the 185 spaces it is estimated that 20 would be used for
vendor parking, 40 were occupied by the market itself, and if the retail
parking calculation was applied for the farmers market another 53
spaces were accounted for. That still leaves 72 parking spaces for
people accessing the Beach or the farmers market.
Ms. Corey stated that there was excess parking and that the requested
modification was reasonable. Mr. Ramsey and Mr. Sullivan agreed. The
Board then found that there was a sufficient quantity of parking with
additional spaces available for public use, the location of the vendor
parking spaces was changing but the use was not being expanded, and
noted that there was a letter of support from the Trustees of the
Bathing beach submitted for the record.
The Board then moved, seconded and SO VOTED to grant the Special
Permit A3 (Parking Determination), on the basis that there was adequate
parking established in the area identified for vendor trucks, as
detailed in the application materials, and that there was sufficient
parking available on site for the uses.
For the Planning Board,
____________________
Gary Tondorf-Dick, Chairman Date
Hingham Planning Board
cc: Mark Cullings
Trustees of Bathing Beach
NOTARIZATION
EXECUTED this _____ day of May, 2015
Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Plymouth, ss May____, 2015
Then personally appeared Gary Tondorf-Dick, Chairman of the Hingham
Planning Board, and acknowledged the foregoing to be the free act and
deed of said Board.
_________________________ My Commission Expires: October 29, 2021 Mary F. Savage-Dunham, Notary Public
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