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Planning Board approves two container/trailer requests with screening and safety conditions
Summary
The board approved (1) a special‑permit retention of two storage containers at Gregland Avenue with screening to hide them from neighboring properties, and (2) a special permit for five storage trailers on Hinsdale Road with a three‑year permit term and a prohibition on hazardous materials; both approvals carry screening and plan‑update requirements.
The Planning Board considered multiple storage requests on Jan. 12 and approved two permits with conditions focused on screening, site plans and materials restrictions.
At Gregland Avenue, the applicant asked to keep two shipping containers in the rear of the property and proposed planting Leyland cypresses for screening. The board discussed whether the situation required public hearing and agreed the containers were tucked back on the lot; the board approved the special permit with an added condition that screening be developed in consultation with staff and reflected on a revised plan.
At 9 Hinsdale Road (an Acreit/contractor application), counsel and the project engineer explained that the applicant had placed storage containers on registered low‑body trailers to address the town’s storage‑container rules. Staff and board members discussed the height of the trailers (roughly axle‑height/low‑body trailers), the town’s zoning freeze for the parcel and the need to avoid hazardous materials storage near the wellhead. The board approved the special permit with three changes requested during discussion: (1) extend the permit review period to three years (staff had proposed two), (2) require a revised plan showing screening locations and parking/screening compliance, and (3) add an explicit prohibition on storing toxic or hazardous materials on site.
Board members said they expect more similar requests and signaled an intent to develop clearer guidance and possibly a local definition for 'storage trailer' to distinguish low‑profile trailers from high flatbeds. For both approvals the board required the applicants to submit revised plans showing screening and to coordinate final landscaping/screening plans with staff before permits are considered final.
Both special permits include standard enforcement language: if a permitted use expands beyond home‑occupation limits or permitted container counts, the zoning enforcement officer may require additional review or compliance actions.
Next steps: applicants must submit revised plans showing screening; staff will verify compliance before permits are finalized and will schedule administrative reviews where appropriate.
