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Planned addition at 13 Ford Place prompts parking, setback and WRPD questions; board requires revised plans
Summary
The Planning Board continued review of a proposed 575 sq ft addition and conversion of a garage to a workshop at 13 Ford Place, directing the applicant to submit revised architectural drawings, updated parking calculations (counting the workshop), and clarifications on stormwater and sewer connection before the July 23 continued hearing.
Scituate planners and board members pressed the applicant for clearer drawings and revised calculations after a detailed presentation of a proposed 575-square-foot addition and conversion of an existing garage into a workshop with an apartment above at 13 Ford Place.
Consultant Darren Grady explained the project and said the submission shows three dry wells intended to infiltrate runoff from a 100-year storm and that parking would increase from 14 to 18 spaces for the site. Board members questioned whether the workshop should be classified as a commercial use (retail versus commercial/service), which affects the parking standard (one space per 400 square feet for commercial/service uses versus a different rate for purely residential uses). The board concluded the converted garage/workshop must be counted in parking calculations and asked for the use to be clearly defined on the plans.
Planner advised that because the buildings will be connected the front building will be treated as the primary mixed-use structure for setbacks, while the rear building is pre-existing nonconforming. She said the plans lack basic architectural dimensions and elevations, and that snow-storage and outdoor storage must be located and addressed. The planner instructed the applicant to provide revised architecturals with dimensions and elevations, update the site plan to show parking calculations that include the converted garage/workshop, and address any WRPD (Water Resource Protection District Zone A) concerns. Records staff also asked the applicant to confirm whether the rear building is connected to town sewer and whether any sewer-connection fee has been paid; that connection remains unresolved in the record.
Outcome: The board continued the 13 Ford Place administrative/minor site-plan review to July 23, 2026. The planner said she will draft findings treating the front building as a mixed-use building for zoning purposes and that the applicant must supply revised plans and documentation before the continued hearing.
Quotes drawn from the record: Consultant Darren Grady said, "I'm Darren Grady from Grady Consulting." The planner told the applicant, "That garage that's being converted into a workshop, that space has to count."
