Yarmouth design review committee approves Town Fair Tire expansion at Hyannis plaza

The Town of Yarmouth Design Review Committee on May 19 approved advisory design review comments for a proposed 6,700‑square‑foot Town Fair Tire addition to the Hyannis plaza, including a retail storefront and five rear service bays.

Matthew Ashley of Bowler Civil, the project engineer, told the committee the proposal uses an existing vacant expansion area on the plaza, will replace and reconfigure nearby parking, add in‑lot planting islands and route roof runoff to a rear ground‑recharge system. “What we're proposing is a 6,700‑square‑foot Town Fair Tire location,” Ashley said during the presentation, and he added that the Barnstable board of health has approved the additional septic flow into the existing systems serving the plaza.

Architect Andrew “Drew” Melikin said the design intent is to match the plaza’s existing gables and materials so the new addition reads as part of the original building, including extending brick across the front and adding pilasters and additional customer‑area windows. “The intention here is to extend the plaza just in the same basic design that's already there,” Melikin said.

Committee members raised several site‑plan items. Members asked the applicant to soften a painted concrete‑block southeast elevation with a horizontal design element or landscaping; the applicant said the submitted landscape sheet (identified in the plans as L101) proposes two additional trees and groundcover in the parking islands, though irrigation for those plantings is not yet confirmed and the applicant said trees would be watered until established. Town planner Kathy Williams said the property owner will likely be required to replant trees that have been lost over time and that replanting could be made a condition of approval or site‑plan review.

On traffic, applicants described the project as a low traffic generator, estimating roughly seven peak‑hour trips based on prior studies of similar stores and noting much of the work is appointment‑based. The applicants also said the Hyannis store will remain open and that an alternative site in Dennis (the former Rite Aid on Route 28) fell through during site selection.

Staff walked the committee through the design standards and identified which items were not applicable because the project is an expansion of an existing plaza rather than new frontage development; the committee noted a few discrepancies—principally a lack of frequent facade modulations—but agreed the materials and pedestrian elements are appropriate for the location and opted to list discrepancies without requiring design changes.

The committee moved to approve the design review comments as drafted; the transcript records a roll‑call vote that passed 3‑0‑0. Staff said the comments and minutes would be emailed to the applicant and that any required site‑plan review conditions (including tree replacement) and coordination with the Zoning Board of Appeals for APD relief would be handled through the permit process.

The committee then voted to adjourn.