Cheshire Planning Board Hears Concerns about Proposed Cabins
CHESHIRE, Mass. — Twenty residents attended Monday's Planning Board hearing to voice concerns about cabins proposed to be built at 836 Outlook Ave.
Nicholas Mirke, the petitioner of the proposal, said there would be several cabin spaces that someone could use for multiple purposes, such as for camping or hiking. Mirke said he plans to use the cabins for weekend-or-shorter rentals and explained it would take a significant amount of time to make each one.
Several residents, many of whom were abutters to Mirke's property, said they were worried about potential issues with such a site, including traffic, noise, light, waste, sanitation and more. After deciding to table the discussion for a future date, the board suggested Mirke evaluate feedback from the meeting and decide on changes to his plan.
"If they want to evaluate their options, I think the best thing we can do right now is to give them some time to do it without forcing them to withdraw and resubmit," said Planning Board member E. Richard Scholz. "We can table it. If they wanted to amend it, we have had people amend their original petition."
There is currently no plan for the cabins to include essential facilities such as a bathroom or kitchen. The board argued the lack of necessities makes it unreasonable to classify the cabins as dwellings.
"What he's proposing is unconditioned. So no utilities, unconditioned space, no kitchen, no sanitary facilities. So it's not a dwelling unit," said Building Commissioner Travis Fachini. "There is nothing that we have in our bylaws that is exactly what he's looking for."
Fachini said, reading through the bylaws, there is not one category that Mirke's proposal cleanly fits under.
"There's nothing written, clearly, that says he can have this many of this because of this," he said. "It's not clearly defined; there's nothing. It's a very unique situation."
Mirke said he is more than willing to take everyone's feedback into account during the planning process, noting the makeup and plan of the structures can still change. When asked about noise and light pollution, he said the cabins should be far enough into the woods that they will not be easily visible from other properties.
"That's why I'm throwing everything out in the open," Mirke said in an interview after the meeting. "I'm not trying to hide or, you know, pulling any wool over any eyes. And if there is legitimate concerns with neighbors, I'll make sure that that's addressed."
The many gray areas of his project, Mirke said, made the permitting process confusing. He said trying to determine the legal way of submitting his plan to the town led him to the Planning Board.
"This is what I was guided to do because of the lack of infrastructure in the town Cheshire," he said.
It would not a quick progress, according to Mirke, to create these cabins. He does not anticipate making much more than one cabin a year.
"It's slow. It takes a long time to build something custom and unique," he said. "And trees that have fallen on the property, I drag the tree out and mill it up; it's all hand, it takes time. And I still have to work to be able to. So it's, it's a long-term thing."
Mirke said he hopes to make unique multi-purpose structures, whether they are rental only or not. He also said he would be interested in building cabins for others on their own property if asked to do so.
"And that's, I think, what a lot of people are being hung up on. It's not this big business or anything," he said "It's using different materials and building. I'm a contractor that builds the same things over and over again, and to be able to have ideas of doing some other things that other people can appreciate would be fantastic."
Tags: Planning Board,
