At a work session last Friday, April 14, the Planning Board recommended changing the zoning for the Beachead restaurant, and the lot to its south, to Service Commercial, an action that would allow the restaurant to expand its seating.

The board made the recommendation after hearing a proposal at its April 10 meeting for several alternative zoning changes for the restaurant.

Charles Soloveitzik, attorney for Long Boat Key Tavern, LLC, owner of the Beachead, said that under current zoning, the Beachead is a pre-existing, nonconforming use in the Mixed Use Zone. Restaurants are not permitted in this zone. The Beachead's owner would prefer the restaurant to be a conforming use, so that the approval process for alterations would be simpler, Soloveitzik said.

He gave the board three options: Make restaurants a permitted use in the Mixed Use Zone, which reaches around much of Harbor Pond; change the zoning on the Beachead lot to either Service Commercial or to Old Harbor Commercial. Restaurants are permitted uses in both of these zones.

At its work session on Friday, the board discussed the various alternatives for the better part of an hour. In its final resolution, the board did not endorse any of Soloveitzik's proposals.

Instead, the board recommended that the Town Council extend the Service Commercial Zone north, to include not only the Beachead and the residential building behind it, but also the vacant lot between the restaurant and G.R. Sharky's.

In the resolution, the board noted that rezoning the Beachead lot alone "as either Service Commercial or Old Harbor Commercial, surrounded by the Mixed Use Zone would set a dangerous precedent, and could be viewed as ‘spot zoning.'"

The vacant lot is owned by Helterline and Balser, LLC, and currently lies partly in the Service Commercial Zone and partly in the Mixed Use Zone.

Because the three lots are in "an extremely environmentally sensitive area," the board recommended that automobile repair and services, which are permitted elsewhere in the Service Commercial Zone, not be allowed on these parcels.

In addition, the board said in the resolution that it is "concerned that amending the ordinance to add ‘restaurant' as a permitted use in the Mixed Use Zone would allow a restaurant to be located anywhere in the Mixed Use Zone.

"A restaurant as a permitted use in the Mixed Use Zone, does not appear to be compatible with the other permitted uses allowed" in the zone, the resolution added.

During the April 10 discussion, board member Dorothy McCluskey pointed out that most of the Mixed Use Zone around Harbor Pond does not have town sewer and water service. Restaurants, with their high water use, would impact this area heavily, she said.

At the April 10 meeting, Soloveitzik's presentation to the board was vague about the Beachead owner's reasons for seeking the change. "The only thing that would be done, would be subtle enhancements of the property," he said, citing an accessory structure for trash as an example. "Radically increasing the floor plan" is not possible, he said.

He noted that because the Beachead was a nonconforming use in its current zone, it had to go before the Planning Board and the Zoning Board of Review for approvals relating to its recent renovation. "Trying to improve a business in this area is burdensome," he stated. The approval process "was replete with subtle analysis and euphemisms."

Board member Anthony Edwards commented, "I don't believe your client has had any problem before any board. Unless he has a specific intention, I don't see why he wants to do this."

Far into the April 10 discussion, it became clear that if the Beachead were in a zone where restaurants are a permitted use, seating could increase, and setback and parking requirements would change.

At the board's regular meeting on April 10, other matters were also discussed:

Radio tower. The board heard two requests from Block Island Power Company to amend the Zoning Ordinance on radio towers. Cliff McGinnes, of BIPCo, asked that the maximum 250-foot height of towers be measured from ground level, rather than sea level as the ordinance now states. That change would allow the cellular/radio tower planned by the power company to be 270 feet above sea level, because it will be located on a 20-foot rise. "The engineers convinced me that the added height would cause less interference" with local radio reception, he explained. The FM broadcast equipment would be at the top of the tower, he said.

The board agreed with that change, but did not approve language that would allow a tower user to change its antenna array after receiving a special-use permit for an initial array. "Neighbors and the town would want to know" what is on the tower as technology changes, Packer said.

The recommended language change to "ground level" will have to be approved by the Town Council to go into effect.

Figurehead Building. The board set a public hearing for May 22 on revised plans for this three-story mixed-use retail and office building on Water Street and Weldon's Way.

The Figurehead withdrew its request from Monday's agenda for a Zoning Ordinance amendment to change the setback on Weldon's Way from 25 feet to 5 feet.

Accessory residential structures. The board gave favorable advisories to the Zoning Board on accessory residential structures, one planned for a new barn on the property of Sears and Laura Ingraham off West Side Road, and one over a garage on the property of Diego Visceglia on the south side of Mohegan Trail. In reviewing the Ingraham plans, board member Norris Pike thought he spotted a kitchen in the basement. Builder Robert Closter assured him it was a workshop and laundry. Accessory residential structures are not allowed to have kitchen facilities.

Marthens and Company, LLC. For the second time, the board granted a one-year extension on the approval of a five-house cluster subdivision between High Street and the Atlantic Inn.