Commission asks applicant to explore alternate guest‑house locations at 3 Pops Lane; holds garage and pool applications

The Historic District Commission asked the applicant for 3 Pops Lane on Aug. 5 to explore alternate locations for a proposed guest house and to return with more information showing how different placements would affect views from Heather Creek and Madaket Harbor.

At the hearing the applicant provided ridge‑pole stakes and a second site option that moved the guest house about 47 feet south and rotated it to reduce visibility from the creek. "We have, approval to demo this building. Someone has come ... and wants to renovate and move the original structure onto Lot 13," the project representative said. The commission and neighbors reviewed photographs taken from boats and the site to assess visibility.

Neighbors and commission members said the structure’s length (about 48 feet) and placement in an open grassy area would be visible from the creek and out on Madaket Harbor. Neighbors preferred keeping the secondary building clustered with the main house rather than siting it alone in the open field; some commissioners also favored clustering to avoid a tall isolated mass in an open area.

The commission voted to have staff and the applicant investigate alternative placements — particularly locations closer to the main house or where a previously proposed garage sits — and to return with ridge‑pole placement showing how each alternate location would appear. The commission held the related garage and pool applications pending the guest house location decision.

Next steps: applicant to provide revised ridge‑pole locations and comparative site views showing the guest house and how plantings would screen it from the creek; the commission will reconvene on those items.