SANDWICH – Zoning changes needed by developers of a sports development project estimated to cost between $15 and $20 million will be the topic of a Sandwich Planning Board meeting held tonight at 7 p.m. at the Sandwich Human Services Building, 270 Quaker Meetinghouse Road.
Those cost estimates were given by former Sandwich Selectman and project supporter Jim Pierce.
The 56 acres of town-owned land between Route 130 and Cotuit Road and Quaker Meetinghouse Road in South Sandwich in question, known as the “Golden Triangle,” would be developed into a massive complex, including sports fields, indoor basketball courts, hockey rink, hotel and retail stores.
Pierce said the proposed zoning amendments would benefit the project by extending the allowed building height limit on the proposed field house and sports hotel in the complex to 70 feet from the 35-foot limit that district currently has in place. Another zoning change would allow for the construction of ground-mounted solar photovoltaic arrays in the complex parking lot.
Opposition to the complex has focused on its possible cost to the town and on traffic impacts, Pierce said.
“They’re looking for answers to questions that can’t be answered yet,” Pierce said. “We just want to keep the process rolling and find out what the real costs of such a development would be, to see if a developer would be willing to take those costs on.”
The Golden Triangle sits on what the Environmental Protection Act calls a “zone 2 recharge area,” an area where surface water naturally drains through root systems into groundwater.
The planning board will use input from tonight’s hearing to decide whether to recommend the zoning amendments on the warrant at a special town meeting Monday, November 16 at Sandwich High School auditorium.
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