Tiverton planning board narrows marina/boatyard rules, eyes 10,000 sq ft threshold

The Tiverton Planning Board spent much of its Aug. 27 special meeting refining how marinas and boatyards would be treated under a proposed two‑district waterfront zoning scheme.

Board members agreed in principle to combine separate “marina” and “boatyard” entries into a single waterfront marine‑service definition that would be scaled by building size: smaller facilities would be permitted by right while larger facilities would require a special‑use permit or meet objective performance standards. "I think that that was the number we came up with, 10,000," Chair Stu Hardy said, referring to a footprint threshold the board repeatedly discussed as the line between by‑right development and projects subject to additional review.

The 10,000‑square‑foot figure was proposed for Waterfront 2, the district intended for pedestrian‑oriented shops and smaller marina uses; Waterfront 1, which includes larger industrial waterfront parcels such as the tank farm on Bay Street, was discussed as a zone that could accommodate larger structures (members mentioned 40,000 square feet as an upper reference for some uses). The board agreed the ordinance should treat size as a performance standard, so that applicants exceeding a threshold could pursue dimensional relief or special‑use review on a case‑by‑case basis rather than be automatically prohibited.

Members also debated limits on the retail component of marinas. Several commissioners urged that retail be clearly accessory to marine services rather than permit a large, stand‑alone West Marine‑style store. One member pointed to Standish Boatyard as an example of a marina with retail sized under 5,000 square feet and proposed either a numeric cap or, alternatively, limiting retail as a percentage of the marina’s overall building area to prevent retail from dominating a marine facility.

Parking and circulation were recurring concerns: Rosemary Eva and others warned that small lots on the waterfront cannot absorb large parking demands, so size limits and parking standards need to work together. The board noted that parking matrix updates will be part of the broader zoning revision work.

The board also clarified fuel service: members agreed to allow marine fueling (fuel docks for boats) at marinas/boatyards while keeping conventional automobile gasoline stations out of the waterfront zones. "We should leave open the option of having gasoline available at our new combined boatyard and marina," Stu Hardy said, adding the legal and safety distinctions between marine fueling and public gasoline stations.

Next steps include drafting objective performance standards and special‑use criteria for any size thresholds, and incorporating parking and circulation requirements into the waterfront rules. Staff and the ordinance subcommittee will return to the board with a cleaned‑up draft for review.