Field Notes
by Peter B Brace

BARTLETT ROAD BECOMING Gary Winn scored unanimous Planning Board approval for his Finback Lane cluster development off of Bartlett Road. The 5-0-decision allows Winn to develop 15 lots, 5,000 to 6,000 square feet in size with one dwelling on each.

Secondary dwellings and studios will be prohibited in the development, and each lot will be limited to a single-car garage. At the Jan. 8 Planning Board meeting, Winn agreed to contribute $20,000 towards the extension of the Bartlett Road bike path. Winn could not say when he would begin construction of Finback Lane.

CATO LANE EXPOSED Driving Cato Lane to make the connection between Bartlett Road and Vesper Lane can be akin, depending on the season, to bushwhacking through the tangled mesh of scrub oak forests in the moors.

"This is terrible down here. No one uses it because you need a tank as you go around the corner here," said Planning Board Chairman Don Visco, pointing to the densest section vegetation encroaching on Cato Lane.

It could, however, be opened to vehicle travel should a four-lot subdivision get the Planning Board's definitive blessing. It has already been approved in preliminary form by the board.

Richard E. Lewis, Jr. and Sylvia I. Lewis of 37 Cato Lane are proposing this development, which runs west of the western terminus of Washaman Avenue at Cato Lane.

The four lots on 2.7 acres, one of which, at 27,800 square feet, already contains two dwellings, are 20,100, 20,100 and 26,600 square feet. The Lewis' are proposing six dwellings, and are asking for no waivers from the board. They would also build a 40-foot paved road and tie into town water and sewer.

The board told the Lewis's at its Jan. 8 meeting that should their plan evolve into approvable form, the board would likely condition its approval so that Cato Lane is at least brush cut so vehicle traffic can access the entire length of this dirt road.

"I seriously wish you would think about that because I think it would be a good maneuver for the town," said Planning Board member Frank Spriggs.

BLUEFIN SOUP Nineteen lots is what the developers want and 19 lots is what the abutters will put up with if they are located elsewhere on the 28-acre lot owned by Bluefin, LLC at 120 Miacomet Road.

Abutters of this proposed cluster development had hoped that Bluefin would flip the current layout to the east, siting it in the sand pit on the property. But Bluefin attorney Bill Hunter said on Jan. 8 that this cluster will stay where it is.

Represented by a team of engineers and Hunter, Bluefin engaged the Planning Board and several concerned citizens at this meeting, addressing the traffic, emergency access and a landscaping plan. Though the abutters challenged Bluefin's plans at nearly every turn, the board seems to be close to having all the information it needs to make a decision. However, it did continue the public hearing to the Feb. 12 meeting so the town's engineer, Pesce Engineering, can check Bluefin's plans.