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Developer seeks four‑story Fairfield/Marriott at Pilgrim Inn site; neighbors raise parking, wetlands and zoning concerns
Summary
At a public hearing, the applicant proposed demolishing the Pilgrim Inn at 165 Quisitonic Street to build a four‑story Fairfield/Marriott. Neighbors pressed the board on parking, floodplain/wetlands jurisdiction and a zoning‑line discrepancy; the hearing was continued to July 27 and a site/balloon test scheduled for July 20 at 5 p.m.
Brian Snyder of Foresight Land Services, representing Garden Management LLC, told the Lee Planning Board that the applicant seeks a special permit to demolish the existing Pilgrim Inn at 165 Quisitonic Street and build a new four‑story Fairfield/Marriott hotel. "We submitted a special permit request to demolish the existing Pilgrim Inn on 165 Quisitonic Street, and build a new 4 story Marriott Hotel," Snyder said at the hearing.
The board and residents spent more than two hours questioning the proposal’s impacts. Neighbors and several commenters said the application understates how much commercial activity and parking the project would create if the board grants the requested special permits. One commenter, who submitted a written letter and spoke at the podium, warned that the combined special‑permit requests would effectively expand the commercial CBC district into adjacent residential land and ‘‘double’’ the commercial footprint to create additional parking and drive lanes.
Board members and the applicant also discussed whether the project triggers a state environmental review under the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act (MEPA). Snyder said the team has a pre‑filing meeting scheduled this week with state reviewers to determine whether an Environmental Notification Form will be required; if MEPA applies, the applicant warned, that process could add months to the timeline.
Several residents asked for more detail on parking counts, lighting, transformers and dumpster locations. The applicant clarified the hotel is planned at roughly 74 rooms and said management would be under a Marriott flag; supporters at the hearing urged the board to approve waivers and permits to bring higher‑quality lodging that officials and tourism partners say the town needs. "A modern hotel franchise would allow me to attract overnight visitors here year‑round," said Holly Jones, who identified herself as a precinct director at Jacob’s Pillow and spoke in favor of the project.
The planning board did not take a final vote on the permit. The board and applicant agreed to a site visit and balloon test on Monday the 20th at 5:00 p.m., and the board voted to continue the hearing to July 27 at 6:15 p.m. The continuance motion passed on roll call (Conrad, Tim, Peter and Donovan recorded as "Aye").
Next steps: the applicant will submit a revised plan set addressing third‑party review comments, stormwater and conservation commission input. The board said it wants a consolidated package with landscape, lighting and traffic details before deciding the special‑permit requests.
