U.S. Navy tenant to use 3.5 acres at 62 Route 125 for laydown yard; board to send confirming letter

The planning board reviewed a letter from the owner of a 5.1-acre parcel at 62 Route 125 describing a proposed laydown/storage yard to be leased in part to the U.S. Navy.

Jerry Oonnell, the broker for the applicant, and the property owner, Thomas K., explained the proposal involves clearing and using a 3.5-acre portion of the site for containerized storage and related moving equipment; the submission included a schematic that suggested roughly 10 containers per row and up to five rows, which the board interpreted as up to about 100 containers in double-stack configuration.

"It looks like 10 containers in each row ... up to 100 then because there's five rows," a board member said while reviewing the schematic. The applicant stated containers would be double-stacked but no higher than 17 feet.

Board members emphasized the need to keep material and containers within the currently cleared/graded area and not extend into tree lines. Glenn Greenwood, the town planner, agreed to draft a letter stating that the laydown activity is acceptable only if it remains within existing cleared/graded areas shown on the site plan and does not change existing site conditions.

The board voted to have staff send that confirming letter to the leaseholder; staff said the letter would be issued the following week.

No tree-cutting was proposed and the applicant said the lease limits use to the advertised three-and-a-half-acre area within the larger parcel. The board asked for a formal confirmation that setbacks and existing site boundaries will be respected before operations begin.