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Photo Vincent Guadazno
Owner Bill Gordon is proposing to raze the Best Western Chateau Motor Inn and turn the property into a 10-lot subdivision. |
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10 lots proposed for Chateau subdivision
By Pru Sowers
Banner Staff
PROVINCETOWN — The town may lose another 54 motel rooms as a result of a proposed conversion of the Best Western Chateau Motor Inn to a residential subdivision.
Bill Gordon, owner of the Chateau, 105 Bradford St. Extension, has submitted an application to the planning board for approval of a 10-lot single-family home subdivision on the property. The motel would be demolished as part of the conversion.
The planning board and fire chief previously voiced concerns about the steep slope of the driveway that leads to the property, situated atop a high dune. As a result, attorney Jay Murphy told the planning board last week that the developer will redesign the road in the proposed subdivision to reduce the 12 percent slope of the driveway to 10 percent.
Because the new road will require changing the subdivision plan, the case was continued until Dec. 5.
The question that has not been addressed yet, according to planning board chair Howard Burchman, is whether the proposed commercial-to-residential conversion will trigger the town’s affordable housing bylaw, which requires that 20 percent of a development’s units be set aside for affordable housing if the project is more than three units. The conversion set-aside applies to subdivisions, as well as condominium conversions, Burchman said.
The application currently before the planning board only involves the subdivision control law, which does not trigger the housing set-aside. However, if the project proceeds, it will need to come before the zoning board of appeals, where the set-aside issue would come up.
There may other hurdles for the developer to overcome before the project moves ahead. Burchman said that while the application before the planning board involves only the roads and other infrastructure in the proposed subdivision, the board also has an obligation to look at whether the town would be hurt from losing the 54 motel rooms.
“It’s really a question whether public interest is being served. We [the planning board] should enforce and interpret the laws as written,” he said.
Provincetown has lost dozens of seasonal guest rooms in the past 15 years when motels and guesthouses converted to condominiums. Tourism officials worry that the diminishing number of guest rooms has made it difficult for visitors to find plentiful and affordable lodging during the summer season.
Gordon is also in the process of creating another high-end single-family home subdivision on the site of the former Tides Motel in Provincetown’s far East End. The motel was torn down to create a 10-lot subdivision, which drew protests from neighboring homeowners in the area over the proposed size of the homes. The first house in the neighborhood, planned at 4,750 square feet, is currently under construction.
psowers@provincetownbanner.com
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Oct 11th, 2007