Zoning board approves seasonal bar and food-truck plan at O'Connell Boatyard with conditions

The Fall River Zoning Board of Appeals on Thursday approved a special permit allowing a seasonal bar and one food truck at O'Connell Boatyard, 180 River St., after the applicant reduced proposed capacity and added permanent and overflow parking.

The board granted the permit for the property in the Commercial Mill (CMD) district by recorded vote, subject to site-plan review and operational conditions designed to address traffic, emergency access and licensing. The applicant, Kyra O'Connell, reduced the proposal from 200 to 150 patrons and revised the plan to show 189 permanent and overflow parking spaces, a single controlled entrance and granite blocking to surround the service area.

The change mattered to the board because emergency responders had raised concerns about access. In a written memo read into the record, Bethany Barnes, chief of Fall River EMS, said the bridge on Collins Street “does not meet the height requirements for ambulance access” to the River Street entrance and recommended Clark Street as…