Board approves three-year variance for gravel equipment storage at 165 Arrowhead

The Village of Hampshire board approved a variance to allow gravel parking and equipment storage at 165 Arrowhead, with conditions including a paved 30-foot-by-100-foot asphalt access drive and a three-year sunset on the permission. Staff said the petitioner revised the site plan after a prior denial and that Planning & Zoning recommended approval 5–1.

Gabriel M, identified in the meeting as one of the property partners and a logistics company operator, said the equipment to be stored are company vehicles used seasonally and that the storage would not be open to the public. "It is our own equipment," he said, adding the site would be gated and manned and that staff would prevent debris from reaching Arrowhead Drive and Route 20.

Trustees questioned whether large semi-tractor trailers would use the site and how much of the seven-acre property would be prepared now versus later. The petitioner said he sought a 36-month variance to allow time to prepare portions of the ground and to focus first on renovating an adjacent hotel he also owns.

A trustee noted Planning & Zoning approved the request by a 5–1 vote and that one commissioner had said the petitioner had not met the requisite finding of facts. The board then took a roll-call vote and approved the variance. The motion passed by majority vote (tally recorded in the meeting as five affirmative votes).

The variance approval permits the site owner to begin base foundation work and to store the owner’s equipment on the property for up to three years; staff indicated the board expected to monitor compliance and that public access would be restricted.

Next steps: staff and the petitioner will implement the paved access drive, secure the site with gating and staffing, and the variance will automatically sunset after approximately 36 months unless further action is taken by the board.