Board gets first look at proposed sportsmen's club
Partners field opposition to plan, which includes a two-lane bowling alley
BY PETER B. BRACE INDEPENDENT WRITER
Madaket's only restaurant will be converted into a sportsmen's club for 300 members if the Planning Board grants it a major commercial development special permit.

But members of three Madaket area associations are expressing opposition to the plan.

The principals of Madaket Partners, LLC - Jamie Feeley, owner of Cottage & Castle, Inc., and Greg Cohen - brought rudimentary plans for the Nantucket Sporting Club proposed for 324 and 326 Madaket Road to the board on Monday for a sketch plan review.

The club would cater to 300 members in a private, equity ownership geared toward social activities, dining and recreational pursuits such as hunting, fishing, scalloping and clamming.

The club would function more as a gear and trip outfitter for outdoor pursuits. It would include a tw-lane bowling alley, a wine cellar and small eating area.

Feeley and Cohen want to build the club out of the basic structure that formerly housed the Westender restaurant. Plans are to renovate it, demolish the adjacent market building and build an addition to the main building at its east end. The development would encompass both lots, totaling .57 of an acre.

However, three members of the Madaket planning world - Tom Erichsen, president of the Smith's Point Association, Ken Giles, president of the Madaket Conservation Association, and Clark Whitcomb, chairman of the Madaket Area Plan Work Group - said after the meeting that no new commercial development should be allowed at this site.

All three are concerned about the potential increase in traffic congestion, septic system and groundwater use, and parking needs.

"It is my opinion that this is a totally new use of the property that does not comply with the conclusions and recommendations of the Madaket Area Plan," said Whitcomb.

Erichsen shared Whitcomb's views in an email to Giles on Nov. 20, in which he said all of the Smith's Point Association is opposed.

"I, personally, and as a member of the Smith's Point Association, the Madaket Conservation Association, and the Madaket Area Plan Workgroup, do not support the proposal as presented and do not see it bringing anything positive to Madaket."

The Economic Development element of the Madaket Area Plan specifically recommends that new commercial activity in Madaket be confined to the "village center" near Tristram's Landing's tennis courts.

Feeley said during the meeting that he would try to file a definitive plan in time for the Jan. 14 Planning Board meeting, probably by Dec. 17, to time it with Madaket Partners, LLC's anticipated closing on the property in March.

Feeley and Cohen are purchasing the property from current owner Andy Grennan. Feeley would not disclose the purchase price. At .17 of an acre, 324 Madaket Road is assessed at $221,900 and 326 Madaket Road at .40 of an acre is assessed at $1,609,100.

Club attorney Arthur Reade told the board that the redevelopment of these properties would bring the lots back into zoning conformity by reducing restaurant seating and providing the appropriate amount of parking. Currently, there are 37 parking spaces on the lot, but Madaket Partners' sketch plan shows around 35.

"They currently have 96 seats for the restaurant and we're thinking we need half that amount," said Feeley. "The restaurant is not going to be a huge part of the club."

Planning Board member Sylvia Howard's question about hours of operation prompted Feeley's suggestion of 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., seven days a week. Planning Board Chairman Frank Spriggs asked that parking be adequate, and said the club should not accommodate weddings. Feeley assured the board that there would be no weddings at the club.

"We would like to potentially offer the building to hunter education courses and maybe to charitable organizations, maybe once a month. But no weddings," he said.

Planning Board member Nat Lowell wondered aloud whether the proposed club would be consistent with the Madaket Area Plan's Economic Development goals and how it might serve some sort of public benefit. While Lowell recounted how members of that work group were generally in favor of the building changing uses, he urged Feeley to meet with all Madaket organizations to make their project work.

"The people that were involved with that plan are the people who are going to be at every meeting, because they are going to be the ones that are going to be complaining and you should meet with them," Lowell said. "One thing that somebody is going to bring up, so I might as well bring it up, is food takeout. Is there any thought of trying to take care of the beach or [doing] some type of mobile thing?"

Feeley said that such an amenity would be worth

exploring. I