Sweetwater Construction (a.k.a. Old PNC Bank)

[Guest]

did anyone attend the meeting last night?

[Guest]

Yes. Concerned was voiced about the increase in traffic on Maplewood Ave.

[Guest]

Thanks to the planning board and the Blue Rooster.

[Guest]

[Guest]

The parking with the Witt's is immaterial to the Blue Rooster. The PB cannot force the Witts to allow the town to park in their lot.

I don't get the parking arguement for the PNC site either. If the arguement is to increase parking then sealing off Main st adds public parking it will allow a number of new spots to be created all along the front area that is drive way or illegal parking now as it is no longer a bank. I'd imagine a total of at least 4-7 spots could be put there, more if the post office box could be moved.

If the arguement is Maplewood traffic then okay, but realize it reduces the number of new parking spots on Main St.

The only thing I see parking wise for the Witts is the bicycle shop. With their lot it is a very easy thing to say that the condition is the bicycle shop has X number of spots in the PNC lot designated for them. Not for town parking, but for the bike shop.

[Guest]

The planning board meeting was based on the fact that the Witt's changed their mind after their application and decided that they do not want a business driveway next to their opulent megamillion dollar mansion, which by the way, does not relate or harmonize at all with our historic district street scape, and our planning board and hpc cannot force them to realize this and be good neighbors. Our committes just back down because these people have the money to buy whatever they want. It would have been nice if the Witts et.al, realized that the right thing to do would be to take into consideration the historic aspect of the town and not come here and start pushing us around. people only take advantage of you if you let them, and it is a sad state of affairs that the town can't do anything about it. The Maplewood gang will only see their property values decrease because of the traffic caused by the fact that the township didn't buy the bank, if only for the parking lot.

[Guest]

Have you attened the HPC meetings? Have you seen the actual plans? Or are you spouting off based on rumor and this board?

I understand the traffic concerns and don't want Main St. access removed. However, I then can't argue that parking concerns are major as removing the Main St. entrance will increase parking. So people need to decide is parking the issue or Maplewood traffic. You can't solve both problems.

I also don't see how a house on Main St. due to size alone will impact property values on another St. I do see the road access harming values (potentially), but then that should be the arguement. Not that we need more parking as that will contradict your platform.

[Guest 2]

Note that HPC records indicate that the house planned for the site was worked out with HPC during meetings this Spring.

[Guest]

[Guest]

There was a house on the Main Street side there before. They are storing the lot to the previous condition, albeit with a new house. They are building it for their father to occupy according to the CEO of Sweetwater.

[Guest]

It won't matter once the low income apartment building comes in.

[Guest]

Yes! I heard about the apartments too! They will be built on top of the bike shop, I think about 6 units?

[Guest]

[Guest]

Do you have any idea how much space is needed to accommodate 6 apartments? Even at 700- 800 sq feet which is small that means 4,200- 4,800 sq feet of just apartments (excluding stairs, halls, etc...). To do that the building would have to be multi-story. That seems totally illogical to me to be above the bike shop.

Further, I would think that rather than just being a post here that many, many, people would be talking about this in our small town.

[Nancy Witt]

[Nancy Witt]