Architectural board approves storage building for tree farm, asks for lighting and screening details

The Architecture Review Board approved plans for a farm-storage building at God’s Country Tree Farm, 200 Majors Path in North Sea, but asked the applicant to provide final landscape and lighting details before the town will sign off.

Bill Kelly, the authorized representative for the property owner with Morton Buildings, told the board the structure will be “charcoal building with, black roof and black trims,” and said it will be largely camouflaged by trees because of the site’s use as a tree farm. Kelly also presented a photometrics plan showing that exterior illumination would be confined to the building and porch.

Board members pressed for elevations and a finished lighting plan. “One of the recommendations by the planning board…was that all the lighting be outside of the underneath the porch,” Kelly said; the board emphasized the need for down-lighting and to avoid spill onto neighboring properties and the adjacent roadway.

Committee members also recommended that the applicant confirm the number and style of cupolas and verify that the site’s staging area is not a permanent structure. The motion to approve the design “as submitted subject to the…lighting plan” passed after a second, with no recorded opposition.

The board noted that the property’s road-cut/access decisions fall under the highway department and are separate from the ARB’s design review; building permits will not be signed until ARB-required changes—roof, front door/window, plantings—are completed to the board’s satisfaction.

The applicant said he will submit the final lighting and landscape materials for review by staff and the chair so the project will not need to return in person for a subsequent meeting.