Dennis planning board approves Coopman Lumber modification to add storage shed at 180 South Yarmouth Road

The Town of Dennis Planning Board on March 16 approved a modification to Coopman Lumber’s 2022 special permit to incorporate an adjacent parcel at 180 South Yarmouth Road and build two accessory storage structures, the board said.

Attorney Eliza Cox, representing the applicant, told the board the Coopman family recently acquired the 180 South Yarmouth Road lot and seeks to merge it with the main lumberyard parcel so a proposed roughly 3,450-square-foot roofed three-sided shed and a cantilevered rack can support existing retail operations. Cox said the family had obtained required historic-district approvals, a Zoning Board of Appeals special permit for the shed within the front-yard setback, and Dennis Historic Commission clearance for demolition.

"What we're asking is that you extend the use authorization that was granted in that special permit to also encompass the more recently acquired 180 South Yarmouth Road," Cox said, summarizing that the shed and rack are intended for storage and to be used in conjunction with the existing operation.

Alloy Engineering senior project manager Michael Dryden described site work, stormwater controls and landscaping. He said a subsurface infiltration and detention chamber will mitigate the new impervious area and that the project will remove two existing curb cuts; he added the proposed structures are storage-only and "will not generate any new vehicle trips to the site." Dryden also described a screening plan with a run of six-foot white PVC fencing and a row of arborvitae to shield nearby residences.

Nearby condo owners spoke during public comment with concerns about morning noise, dumpsters and sight lines. Maria Palacio, who owns a unit at 253 Main Street, said residents "do hear noise, especially in the morning" and asked whether additional privacy landscaping could be added. Marta Carney, another condo resident, said the group would like fencing continued behind their property and suggested relocating the dumpster to lessen noise.

A Coopman representative told the board the company had already installed four additional fence sections in response to earlier neighbor requests; the applicant also agreed to add additional arborvitae plantings and to refine spacing to address sight-line concerns.

Cox proposed redline edits to several staff-report conditions to align the planning board decision with the ZBA approval and to remove language she described as overly broad (for example, she sought to delete a clause that would prohibit "motorized activity" outside business hours so employees arriving by car would not be inadvertently restricted). The applicant accepted the board’s recommended requirement to file an ANR plan to effect the lot merger as a condition of approval.

Board member Liz Patterson moved to approve the modification of the special permit, accepting the applicant’s amended conditions and referencing the 09/24/2025 site plan and supplemental plans dated 02/11/2026 prepared by Allen Engineering and Associates. The motion carried unanimously. The board recorded the approvals and reminded the applicant they must file the ANR and comply with the detailed landscaping and fencing shown on the approved plans.

The planning board also agreed the applicant should add five additional arborvitae in the front planting strip with spacing to be refined by the project engineer; the board will carry the ZBA’s lighting, noise and idling conditions forward in the planning board decision. The applicant will return with the ANR filing to merge the parcels as required by the board’s condition.

The board’s approval was procedural and contains standard site-control conditions and references to the ZBA and Old Kings Highway approvals that the applicant had already obtained.