Falmouth Residents Turn Out in Force To Oppose Marriott

CCB MEDIA PHOTO Dan Webb, left, and Harriet and Robert Dugan were among those who turned out to oppose the Marriott Hotel proposed for the east end of Main Street in Falmouth.

CCB MEDIA PHOTOS
Dan Webb, left, and Harriet and Robert Dugan were among those who turned out to oppose the Marriott Hotel proposed for the east end of Main Street in Falmouth.

FALMOUTH – It was standing room only last night for a Cape Cod Commission subcommittee hearing for a new Marriott hotel on Main Street in Falmouth.

More than 170 people turned out for the meeting in a conference room at the Falmouth Public Library, and one by one, they spoke strongly against a proposed 110-room hotel proposed for the east end of Main Street in Falmouth center.

Harriet Dugan, whose property abuts the area of the proposed hotel, said the business would put longtime mom and pop establishments out of business.

“I believe the Spring Hill Marriott is way too large for the area, the traffic generation there will be impossible in the summer,” Dugan said.

People from all parts of town, from Waquoit to North Falmouth, were among those who rose to speak against the motel.

The developers’ representatives said the hotel would be on 2.2 acres on the north side of Main Street with two buildings on each side of the intersection of Lantern Lane and Main Street. The Fay building, which currently houses an antiques store, would be torn down and replaced by one of the two buildings. The two buildings would be joined by a two-story glass bridge that people staying in the hotel would use to cross from one side of the hotel to the other. The developer received permission last year to abandon the end of Lantern Lane and to combine several lots into one in order to build the structure.

Architect Jill Neubauer said a small group of local architects has formed a committee that has offered to help with the design of the building, which she said is unacceptable for Falmouth. She asked that the commission require the developer to consult with the committee.

CCB MEDIA PHOTO Jill Neubauer, a local architect, says a group of architects have offered to help with the design of the new Marriott which they say does not match the style of Falmouth.

Jill Neubauer, a local architect, says a group of architects have offered to help with the design of the new Marriott which they say does not match the style of Falmouth.

Matthew Gould of Lantern Lane was one of a number of residents of that neighborhood who said the hotel would lower property values.

The Lantern Lane neighborhood access to Main Street would be affected by the hotel, which will take over as its driveway the south section of Lantern Lane that connected to Main Street. Many residents said the hotel is out of scale with the surrounding neighborhood.

A number of people were concerned about traffic impacts of the hotel. They questioned a Cape Cod Commission staff report that indicated the hotel would actually subtract traffic.

Several people accused Cape Cod Commission staffers of going out of their way to aid the hotel developer while keeping the project quiet from residents, who say they only recently heard about it.

The continued hearing was scheduled for June 16 at 6:30 p.m. at the Lawrence School on Lakeview Avenue in Falmouth.

By LAURA M. RECKFORD, CapeCod.com NewsCenter



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