Lansing board conditionally approves special-use permit for indoor volleyball court at 8 Verizon Lane, refers sidewalk question to Planning Board

The Town of Lansing board voted to conditionally approve a special-use permit for an indoor volleyball court at 8 Verizon Lane after a brief public hearing and discussion of parking and pedestrian access.

The presiding officer opened the public hearing on the special-use permit and a resident raised concerns about whether the project would provide enough parking and suggested adding a sidewalk; the resident noted nearby bus stops and suggested sidewalk costs might be comparable to providing a few additional parking spaces. Town planning staff explained the draft resolution includes restoring a gravel overflow lot southeast of the building as additional parking and that the special-use permit’s conditions would require the site to maintain enough parking capacity and a legal ADA space.

On the sidewalk question, planning staff (Nathaniel) told the board that sidewalks could be addressed either within the special-use permit or during site-plan review; he said sidewalks are commonly considered by the Planning Board as part of site-plan review for the parcel and committed to making the Planning Board aware of the comment. "They could technically be included in the first draft use permit, but they're also could be looked at during site plan review," Nathaniel said.

Motion and vote: A board member moved to adopt a resolution classifying the action under environmental review and conditionally approving the special-use permit for the indoor volleyball court. The motion was seconded and the board voted unanimously in favor (board members recorded as voting 'Aye'). The draft resolution as discussed would restore the overflow gravel lot into parking to meet required capacity and require any legal ADA parking space.

What this means: The special-use permit was approved subject to the conditions listed in the resolution and will remain in effect for the site while the use continues; additional requirements could arise from separate site-plan review by the Planning Board, which may impose further conditions relevant to sidewalks or other parcel-wide improvements.

Next steps: Town staff said they will notify the Planning Board of the sidewalk concern and that site-plan review and any subdivision or OBD (office/business development) subdivision of the parcel could include additional conditions. The town did not take any separate action on sidewalks at this meeting.