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West Bath board conditionally approves Rockfront Property lodging plan, requires revised third-floor plan and ramp
Summary
The West Bath Planning Board conditionally approved Rockfront Property’s change-of-use application for a six-unit lodging operation that includes one ADA-accessible room, requiring the applicant to submit a revised third-floor plan labeled “owner-occupied office” and show a ramp before permitting.
The West Bath Planning Board on Jan. 13 conditionally approved an application from Rockfront Property to convert a building into a six-unit lodging operation, with one unit designated as ADA accessible, and required the applicant to provide a revised third-floor plan showing that the third floor will be an owner-occupied office and that an exterior ramp will be provided.
The applicant, identified in the meeting as Sally, told the board the project was revised after being tabled at a prior meeting and that ‘‘we did make one of the units an ADA compliant room’’ as part of the change of use. She said the project team removed cooking facilities from units so the spaces would not meet the ordinance definition of a dwelling.
Board members asked for clarification about which unit would be the accessible room; the applicant said A102, at the rear of the building nearest the parking area, will have a ramp to the suite and that an elevator shown in some earlier drawings was likely to be omitted. The applicant also said state septic approval for a six-unit design had been obtained and that septic capacity was a controlling factor for the number of rooms.
Members discussed a third-floor configuration that, as drawn in some versions of the plan, resembled bedrooms. Several board members said the third floor must be explicitly labeled so it cannot be rented as a separate dwelling. The board settled on a condition requiring the applicant to submit revised drawings that show the third floor as an owner-occupied office (non-dwelling) and that depict the ramp access.
The board moved, seconded and approved the conditional permit by voice vote; the transcript records the action as approved but does not include a roll-call vote or numeric tally. After the approval the chair and staff told the applicant to submit the revised third-floor plan for the planning file and to contact planning staff to obtain building permits.
The applicant also discussed property management plans: she said a manager (identified as Chrissy) will be on-site daily to manage bookings, and she referenced the company name used in the meeting as Rockfront Property (Property Management). Board staff confirmed that sign permits and other permitting steps remain separate processes governed by the town ordinance.
Next steps: the applicant must deliver the revised third-floor plan clearly labeled as owner-occupied office and showing the ramp so staff can include it with the plan set referenced in the conditional approval; once those items are on file the applicant may proceed to apply for permits with town staff.
