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Planning board debates remedy after rooftop HVAC installed on ground at Nantucket Sons site
Summary
At an amended site‑plan review the board discussed a building‑department permit that allowed AC/mechanical equipment to be installed on the ground rather than on the roof as shown in the approved site plan; applicant installed custom screening and is negotiating additional mitigation with planning staff.
The Yorktown Planning Board on Nov. 10 heard a contested amended site‑plan item for Nantucket Sons LLC after the building department permitted mechanical equipment to be installed on the ground where the approved site plan showed rooftop locations.
Planning board members said the installation violated the approved plan and lamented a pattern in which work is done first and approvals sought later. "We can't let these kinds of things happen," one board member said, emphasizing that the board has the authority to require compliance with the approved site plan.
The applicant's representative said the installation was screened with a decorative metal fence and additional landscaping, that other on‑site mitigation (trailhead work) is underway, and that the applicant is willing to consult with planning staff about further measures to reduce visual and operational impacts. The board discussed possible remedies, including having the applicant fund further off‑site enhancements or complete specified mitigation work, but noted legal and procedural limits on imposing fines.
Board members agreed to have the applicant meet with planning staff to propose concrete mitigation steps—bench or signage enhancements at the nearby trailhead, additional plantings, or invasive‑species removal on site—and to return to the board with firm proposals.
Next steps: Applicant to meet with planning staff to develop a mitigation package tied to the site plan; planning staff to advise whether remedies are administratively permissible or require board action.
