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Paul Niedzwiecki, executive director of the Cape Cod Commission and commission staffers watch as the subcommittee assigned to the Marriott hotel project in Falmouth.
FALMOUTH – Traffic and community character continued to be the main issues last night for opponents of a Marriott proposed on Main Street in Falmouth. The comments came during a Cape Cod Commission subcommittee holding its second hearing on a proposal to build what would be the first new hotel constructed in town in decades.
More than 100 people attended the meeting at the Morse Pond School in Falmouth.
People from the neighborhood where the hotel is proposed but also people from throughout town came out to voice their opposition to the project, a 110-room SpringHill Suites by Marriott, which is proposed for several lots at the intersection of Lantern Lane and Main Street.
A local architect’s presentation on how the proposed new hotel is out of character and out of scale with the rest of the neighborhood provided new information for the subcommittee. It was the first opportunity to see an illustration of the scale of the hotel against the scale of neighboring building.
Matthew Gould of Lantern Lane, one of the abutters to the project, said, “The biggest new thing was the scale of the hotel versus the neighborhood. Architect Jill Neubauer had a fantastic display of the size of the hotel, how it absolutely dwarfs the existing structures in the neighborhood and along Main Street as well.”
CCB MEDIA PHOTO
Architect Jill Neubauer presented this street view of the scale of the proposed hotel as compared to other structures.
Cape Cod Commission Executive Director Paul Niedzwiecki said it is not surprising to see a community come out against a project in great numbers. “I’m never surprised that there’s opposition to development and, generally, it comes from a good place. People care very much about their community. They love the community. They love the Cape. They love the unique nature of it, and they are very cautious about any proposed change.”
Niedzwiecki said he attended the session partly because of the amount of community interest and the fact that his staff have been criticized for acting as though they are working for the developer. Niedzwiecki said the applicant is being the same as any other applicant. But after the meeting he was left with some impressions. “This is a community that is connected and cares about its sense of place, how that is reflected in development and architectural designs,” he said.
As to the concerns, Niedzwiecki said they fell into a couple of areas and staff will be working with the subcommittee to explore the issues.
Niedzwiecki said, “I would categorize the concerns in two large groups, one being transportation and one being community character or design issues. I think we’ll have an opportunity to fully vet those.”
The next hearing is scheduled for June 30 at 6 p.m. at Morse Pond School on Jones Road in Falmouth. The subcommittee will hold a workshop before then to discuss the testimony at a date to be announced.
By LAURA M. RECKFORD, CapeCod.com NewsCenter
