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11/19/2015 11:00 PMA marathon public hearing on Nov. 18 on the proposed conversion of the garage of the 485 Whitfield Street Beecher Stowe House into laboratory space for visiting scientists—and which inevitably included public conversation about the conversion of the former Stone House restaurant to office space—ended with zoners saying they would have their decision on the controversial garage plan sometime in the next 65 days.
About 50 to 60 people attended the nearly five-hour meeting at the Community Center. It was the second hearing on the project. Another public hearing on the Stone House conversion plan will be held on Wednesday, Dec. 2, again at the Community Center. It will be the second Planning & Zoning commission (PZC) public hearing on that plan.
The Nov. 18 PZC public hearings was centered on a permit application submitted by architect William Thompson, AIA & Associates. The application outlines details for coastal area management, a site plan, and a special permit request for a marine research office.
Oceanco LLC proprietor Michael Rothberg and his attorney Peter Berdon shared with a skeptical crowd their vision the garage at 485 Whitfield.
Berdon insisted that the plans “are keeping the building in character with the rest of the neighborhood.”
Rothberg said the building is the right space for Oceanco, LLC, to conduct marine research. The LLC uses the home as accommodations for visiting scientists and researchers who are working with the Rothberg Institute.
Rothberg plans to have 40 to 60 employees in the building.
“We design advanced, computer-based sonar for the exploration of the world’s oceans and ecosystems,” he said. “These are clean labs with computers. They are not old fashioned wet labs any more.”
Rothberg tried to assure residents that there are no plans to change the appearance of the Stone House.
“We have a history of supporting local communities,” he said. “We are not out-of-town owners, we are committed to keeping Guilford the way it is visually. What you saw a month, two months ago with the Stone House will be there. It will look the same to the naked eye.”
The former Stone House restaurant currently sits within the C2M zone, in which marine research is a permitted use.
The application sparked many questions from PZC members concerning public access, environmental aspects, and legal concerns. Neighbors who live near the site, however, had a more passionate response to the plans.
Many took their turn in front of the PZC to implore the zoners to reject the special permit application. Most questioned whether the building’s use by employees was the intended use that zoning allows.
Philip Johnson said “the time has come to put an end to the games” being played by Oceanco. “It is no longer a garage there,” said Johnson. “It is much more than that.”
One of the critics called the garage a “flop house for high-paid people” who work for the company, but don’t fit the meaning of families that the area is zoned for.
Others questioned whether the development would ruin the historical nature of the surrounding neighborhood.
And some residents—and officials—questioned whether the development would violate Federal Emergency Management Agency flooding regulations.
The Beecher Stowe property is in a residential zone and town officials note that these types of applications aren’t uncommon as many homeowners use outbuildings for an office, workshop, or other workspace.