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Developer proposes 10 rental apartments on Sandwich Road at former Dunkin' Donuts site; neighbors worry about Dunkin' queuing and wildlife corridors
Summary
JJEC Development proposed converting the Dunkin' Donuts parcel at 4 Sandwich Road into five duplexes (10 two-bedroom rental apartments), lowering site coverage and adding a denitrification septic; neighbors raised traffic and wildlife corridor concerns and the board continued the matter to Jan. 14 for revised plans addressing fencing, lighting and circulation.
JJEC Development LLC representatives presented revised plans to the Falmouth Planning Board to redevelop the property at 4 Sandwich Road (currently a Dunkin' Donuts) into five two-story duplexes totaling 10 two-bedroom rental apartments. Bob Ament, counsel for the applicant, said the team revised an earlier 11-unit plan and is now proposing 10 units to reduce building coverage and keep septic design unchanged while adding a denitrification system that would also serve the restaurant.
"We are proposing 5 duplexes, only 10 units, not 11," Ament told the board. He said the project site is about 1.98 acres in a Business-2 zoning district and that revised plans show 39 parking spaces, with about 20 spaces allocated to the residences. Ament said the denitrification septic system (described in the hearing as a Nitro system) would reduce nitrogen loading and the Dunkin' Donuts seating would be reduced from 26 to 18.
Board members and numerous neighbors questioned circulation and safety where the residential parking would share the Dunkin' lot. Several residents said the Dunkin' drive-through already creates lengthy morning queues that block local side streets. Mary Bishop, an abutter, told the board that Dunkin' experiences heavy peak-hour traffic: "There was like 270 that went in the peak hours," and asked whether the modest increase in resident trips would worsen local congestion. Other neighbors asked for fencing, added landscaping, and assurances on dark-sky, shielded lighting.
Town staff noted a building department referral about potential conflicts between residential parking and the Dunkin' queuing pattern and suggested the applicant provide a depiction of a typical morning queue and consider pavement markings or signage. The applicant agreed to submit full-size revised drawings that will show proposed fencing, landscape buffers, lighting details and circulation treatments before the board's Jan. 14 meeting. A special permit from the Zoning Board of Appeals is scheduled for Jan. 16.
The matter was continued to Jan. 14; staff will post revised plans when received and the planning office said it would prepare draft motion language for the Board of Appeals if the applicant provides complete materials in time.
