Waterford design review board approves site plan for Congregation Beth El synagogue

The Town of Waterford Design Review Board unanimously approved a site plan on April 7 for Congregation Beth El to build a single‑story synagogue at 33 Canyon Road.

The board’s chair moved to accept the plans “as presented,” and the motion carried on a voice vote. The vote followed presentations by engineer Mike Ott, architect Dave Atkinson and landscape architect Henry Thomas, who described building dimensions, exterior materials, parking arrangements, landscaping and a submitted exterior lighting photometric plan.

Atkinson, the project architect, told the board the building will be a single story of about 44 feet deep by 96 feet long with a sanctuary vaulted to roughly 12 to 15 feet and a ridge height near 24 feet. “The sanctuary to seat probably about 100, hundred and 20 people tops,” Atkinson said. He described exterior finishes as a thin stone veneer up to about 3 to 3½ feet, vinyl siding (a CertainTeed cedar‑impression product or similar) on other elevations, fiberglass painted columns at the entry and asphalt weathered shingles; a small standing‑seam metal roof is planned over the entry feature.

Mike Ott, a professional engineer and land surveyor with Summerhill Civil Engineers, said the team submitted an exterior lighting photometric plan showing modern LED parking fixtures at 3,000 Kelvin, controlled by a photocell and timer. “It’s just a very, you know, a typical simple… LED luminaire, a color temperature of 3,000 Kelvin,” Ott said. He noted building‑mounted entry lighting will meet code and that the concrete bases for the pole lights will rise only about 2 inches above finished grade.

Henry Thomas, the project landscape architect, outlined three landscape goals: present a setting that fits the street, provide buffering and screening for front and rear parking where warranted, and blend improvements into the adjacent undisturbed wetland areas. Thomas said the planting plan favors natives and cultivars chosen for durability and seasonal interest and uses a low‑mow seed mix and a low‑meadow mix at the margins; a stormwater‑appropriate seed mix is specified for the basin. He described a handful of knockout roses on the front as optional and durable species such as red‑twig dogwood near snow‑pile areas.

A board member raised a question about parking: the plans show roughly 38 parking spaces while the congregation anticipates a sanctuary capacity of up to about 120 people. Ott pointed to a gravel overflow area and an adjacent flat field that, he said, could be used occasionally for large events and added the congregation expects only one or two such events per year.

The board raised one minor plan‑drawing issue—matching the legend to light symbols on the plan—and Ott said he would correct the legend. The team confirmed there are no signs proposed at this time.

After no further questions, the chair called for a vote. The motion to accept the site plans carried on a voice vote with the board indicating approval. The board then approved a correction to the agenda and the minutes of its Feb. 24, 2026 meeting, and adjourned.

What’s next: the approved site plans become part of the record for PL 268; the project team will update the plan set per the board’s clarifications (legend and final equipment siting) and proceed with any required permitting.