By KENNEDY GRIFFIN
(Greenfield, MA) The Greenfield Zoning Board of Appeals met last night to continue their meeting to discuss an application for a variance and site plan approval for the new Greenfield Fire Station project on Main Street.
The project designers at Pacheco Ross Architects on behalf of the City of Greenfield were seeking a variance of two zoning ordinances: “to reduce the 8 foot landscape buffer requirement along Coombs Avenue to 0 and to reduce the required open space from 15% for new development to 7% at this location.”
After hearing from the applicants and the public, the board made a motion to grant the applicant’s variance with several conditions including carrying out the project as stated/shown in the application, planting low growing green landscaping between the concrete wheel stops and the property line in the north parking area on the Coombs Avenue side (contributing to the landscape buffer requirement), provide a sound barrier of some sort for the transformer that will be near the residence on Coombs Avenue or using a transformer with better sound reduction, meet all Massachusetts and Greenfield building requirements, and allowing for sewer connections as shown in application given the applicant’s explanation.
The Board voted yes with a majority of four, unanimous for those on the board who were able to sit in the meeting and the super majority that was necessary for approval. According to the Chair, Marl Maloney, who has served on the Zoning Board of appeals for 21 years, this was only the second variance granted by the board in his time.