P&Z Approves Manor House Application

By Susan MacEachron
At the May 13 meeting, the Planning & Zoning Commission approved the application from Three Stewards Real Estate to modify the 1996 special permit granted to the owners of 69 Maple Avenue, known as the Manor House, by a vote of 4 to 2. This gives a green light to the creation of a day spa and a restaurant with seating for 44 as enhancements to the 1996 special permit allowing a country inn.
Three Stewards presented plans for the creation of a day spa which include an outdoor heated pool and terrace, sauna and cold plunge pool. A new 1,500-square-foot amenity building including an indoor pool, changing rooms, showers and rest area will be constructed in the third and final phase of the project. Parking for 25 cars will be added on the Maple Avenue side of the property and for 20 cars on the Mills Way side.

P&Z approved all the conditions proposed by the owners with one adjustment. A “large outdoor event” is defined as more than 50 people rather than more than 70. The total number of guests allowed at such an event is capped at 150 as it was in the 1996 special permit.

P&Z approved the owners’ request for 12 large outdoor events in a calendar year and required that written notice at least one week in advance of each event be provided to neighbors within 100 feet of the property. Written permission from P&Z must be obtained to hold more than 12 events in any given year. No outdoor amplified music is permitted later than 8 p.m., a condition proposed by the owners.
Commissioners Wiley Wood and Edward Barron each proposed a reduction in the number of large events permitted. Wood suggested a limit of six per year, and Barron suggested a limit of two weekends per month. During the public hearing for this application, it was noted that the timeframe where outdoor events are feasible likely will concentrate the permitted 12 events in the summer months.

The amount of lighting included in the plan has been a focus of the neighbors, and the permit requires all non-essential outdoor lighting be turned off no later than 9 p.m. All lighting necessary for the safety of inn staff and guests, including parking lot lighting, outdoor terraces, pools, pedestrian walkways, etc. shall be on motion-activated sensors which dim lighting when not in active use. The owners are also required to turn off the interior lighting in the new amenity building by 9 p.m. each night.

Viewpoints expressed at the prior P&Z meeting by several commissioners were reiterated. Commissioner Jonathan Sanoff said it was reasonable to give deference to a well-thought-out plan as presented by Three Stewards, and Commissioner Steven Landes focused on the importance of protecting the financial viability of the proposal. Wood continued to express concern about the impact on the surrounding neighbors, and Barron emphasized that the viability of a business plan is not within the purview of P&Z.
The 1996 special permit allowed the Manor House to operate as a country inn. The amenities and uses now being approved are considered accessory uses contributing to the comfort and convenience of the guests of the country inn. Consequently, if the owners cease to provide overnight accommodations, the day spa and restaurant businesses must cease to operate. At a prior meeting, Wood had noted that if the proposed business plan succeeds, the eight guest rooms will become a minor part of the enterprise.

Three Stewards’ application included a three-phase plan, and P&Z’s approval requires that the owners adhere to the construction phases they described in the application. P&Z also required that each phase must be completed and approved before a subsequent phase of development shall be permitted.

The first phase includes construction of the outdoor recreation space and supporting infrastructure, the new 720-square-foot storage garage and landscaping to further screen the site from abutting properties. P&Z said that “the Applicant shall, to the maximum extent possible given seasonal requirements of the approved plantings, install all approved landscaping around the perimeter of the property prior to the commencement of the rest of the work approved in Phase 1.”

P&Z Chair Christopher Schaut, Landes, Sanoff and Jordan Stern voted in favor; Barron and Wood were opposed.