Planning Board approves conditioned plan to turn 538 Main Street into 11 rental units

The Town of Farmington Planning Board on April 15 approved, with conditions, a site plan to convert the vacant building at 538 Main Street into an 11-unit multifamily dwelling.

Robert Murray, owner of KB4 Property Group LLC, told the board the building previously housed six units and the project would add five units while keeping the existing building footprint. The proposal includes constructing a second floor above the existing garage to create one-bedroom units and adding porches.

Murray said he purchased two adjacent parcels — the former barn parcel and the property at 536 Main Street — to provide access and parking. He described a parking layout that will provide 10 standard spaces plus one ADA-compliant space, accessed both from Union Street and the abutting 536 Main Street parcel; the barn structure has already been demolished and an ALTA survey completed.

Planning staff member Jen Czysz presented the staff report prepared by Planning Director Kyle Pimental. Czysz said the application uses two parcels and recommended that the lots be formally merged as a condition of approval to prevent parking from becoming separated from the residential use. She confirmed that several Technical Review Committee concerns had been addressed in the revised plans, including designated snow storage and an added stormwater drywell, but read several outstanding conditions that must be satisfied before plan signing, construction, and certificate of occupancy.

Key conditions read into the record include: providing full signed and stamped plan sets; adding the approved lighting note and the right-of-way width from Union Street to the civil sheet; screening the dumpster (but permitting its relocation to ensure winter access); adding a separate fire-suppression water line and a note specifying the domestic water main as 2-inch CTS plastic with magnetic tracing tape; noting a dual-check testable backflow device; updating the impervious surface calculation to include gravel areas (and securing a variance from the Zoning Board of Adjustment if the updated figure shows a new exceedance); and merging Tax Map U5, Lot 118 with the former barn lot prior to issuance of a Certificate of Occupancy.

The Board also considered a waiver request from Section 22(c) of the site plan regulations, which requires parking spaces of 10 by 20 feet. The applicant requested a reduction to 9 by 18 feet to accommodate the full complement of required spaces on site. Chairman Rick Pelkey noted the Board has granted similar waivers in the past; the waiver was approved by a 6-0 vote.

After reading findings of fact — that the project reuses an underutilized downtown building, provides access and on-site parking, and strengthens stormwater management — the Board voted 6-0 to approve the site plan (Case #SRA26_003) subject to the conditions read into the record.

The conditions also require actions before construction (a pre-construction meeting with town water and sewer staff) and before occupancy (a camera inspection of the sewer line, payment of connection fees, submission of a maintenance guarantee for unfinished work, and either an as-built plan or a licensed surveyor’s certification that the work matches the approved plan).

The Planning Board’s approval sets explicit pre-signing and pre-occupancy steps designed to address access, water service, stormwater, and winter maintenance concerns raised during review. If the updated impervious-surface calculation shows new noncompliance with zoning limits, the approval requires the applicant to obtain a variance from the Zoning Board of Adjustment before plan signing.