Letter: Black Goose Abutters Say Attention Needed On Existing Zoning Issues

This testimony was submitted and read before the Tiverton Town Council at their .

has a vocal and enthusiastic following for all the right reasons. It is family owned and has been voted ‘best sandwiches’. It supports the town, local schools, sports and businesses, and provides employment.

Lots 1, 2, and 29D are commercial. Commercial use is not at issue.

We have no quarrel with this or the owners, Dr. Lambrenos and Atty. McDonald. They have worked hard for their successes. These and their efforts to keep the area clean of litter—no easy task on a windy corner--are commendable.

We are here this evening as abutters, because they are seeking a liquor license and we have concerns about septic, privacy and parking.

This is the plan requiring a special use permit for the property. It was enthusiastically endorsed by all abutters when proposed by the late Sandy Shepard, [who shared plans ahead with all of us]. The plan for the septic approved by DEM was part of it. 

Septic

When the property changed ownership, about the time the market softened/crashed, the septic plan was not revisited [to add an additional module to handle extra hours/customer volume or menu changes/grease].

The zoning board of review in 2007 accepted that the original decision had not been worded properly and that the owners were not bound by the testimony leading to it.

Since the café opened--for 5 years now—we [neighbors/our families/tenants/our guests] have smelled septic, not because the system or installation were faulty, but because a module was missing from the solution that would have handled volume and grease [source ORENCO senior engineer]. [At one point there was a discharge from the ISDS/OWTS, across Bridgeport Rd. into the pond, but that was remediated.] We understand that if grease is reintroduced into the menu, the charcoal vent filter will not work properly.

We have dealt with this through the channels recommended by our retiring town planner, who has worked hard for design standards and to create solutions to decades old and current zoning issues. We have followed all recommendations from our building official—except his suggestion to sue. We have attempted, to the best of our abilities, to be good neighbors.

Privacy

A second problem not revisited when the property changed hands has been the outdoor design change move the ramp into the setback and to add a patio—significant structures without permits.  However, these have been the source of most of our problems as abutters.

In addition to the septic not being expanded to handle additional volume from the patio, the bamboo screen does not block sound from the patio. It’s physics.

Where, when, and how will alcohol be served?

We are waiting for adjustments, agreed to 5 years ago by the owners, to resolve septic and privacy issues: two things. Septic fumes. Privacy.

A request to schedule a meeting to resolve this before tonight’s hearing has not been successful.

Safety

The third problem is traffic. This is a Town/State issue. You have a copy of the map [unable to scan] and the nearby accidents since we moved here from Fall River in the late 1990’s.

Several were fatalities, one of those a state worker killed in the breakdown lane on the causeway and the other a colleague, killed on Nanaquaket Rd. A third accident involved a seriously injured friend on a motorcycle exiting Highland into road sand. Additional accidents included an additional fatality to the south and north, the accidents to walls involving drunk and sober drivers, the vehicle that took out a utility pole by Bulgarmarsh, the driver forced off the road destroying the guard rail across from the café, the northbound truck that crossed the road and had to be lifted from the Quaket, and the truck stolen by teens who drove into a house, all on Main.

Emergency vehicles and school busses travel through the intersection of these 3 posted state roads daily. They should not have to cross double yellow lines around cars and delivery trucks parked in a restricted and posted zone in their efforts to keep us or our children safe.

The owner, in a 2010 interview in Patch states that he, “hopes to maximize the on-street parking availability along Main Rd.” http://tiverton.patch.com/articles/pie-season-steady-at-the-black-goose. There is none.

Any use of the property would have similar problems, but the amount of traffic was a particular concern of the zoning board for this particular location before the property changed hands.

A fourth problem is lack of space for parking. This is a town issue.

This stretch of Main Rd. has been posted no parking by DOT since before we, or the current owners, were residents. The café is built on a sub-standard lot near a saltwater pond. That’s why it required a special use permit.

There are 5 spaces that handle staff, deliveries, and customers.

There is no space for delivery trucks to park or deliver. And they, trash removal, septic servicing come before, and throughout. the day. They use the same parking/access/entry as the customers.

Signage to identify entry is missing and the exit sign is damaged.

There is no posted handicapped parking. The sign is currently missing.

Vehicles, including trucks, enter the exit and exit the entry into traffic. A liquor license will not make the lot bigger.

These are all issues that were addressed in the past to ensure that this would be a successful business and a good neighbor as, for many years, the service station that preceded it was.

It is good to see businesses again fill once-vacant stores throughout town.

The proposed State meal tax--or perceptions of the tax, may indeed drive traffic out of town. We hope not. Liquor licenses are a doubtful solution, with their own costly challenges: delivery, parking, storage, additional insurance costs, noise of bottle disposal, need for ongoing staff education, etc. Town guidelines on licensing could not be found.

We want to see businesses in town succeed. We have both worked, and I continue to work, in a small family owned business.

The site of this café became a problem only after the property changed hands. We do not want to see the property flipped again and chances to solve problems lost.

We expect that this request will pass tonight, in an effort to build support business.

However, until these issues are dealt with, we cannot believe that the addition of a liquor license would be part of any solution.

Kathy Ryan
Herb Tracy
8 Bridgeport Road, Tiverton