ROCKLAND — The City of Rockland Planning Board will meet Tuesday, Sept. 29, at 5:15 p.m. in Council Chambers to review an application for the construction of a 40,000-square-foot, five-story Art Management/Gallery on Winter Street. Though the site plan Review application for 8 and 12 Winter Street was submitted under the name of Starfire Winter Street, LLC., the proposed building is for the Dowling-Walsh Art Gallery.

The first floor of the proposed building would provide a retail-store front for the gallery. The middle floors would be storage, and a top floor would be used for offices. The floors would be connected by two staircases, a passenger elevator, and a freight elevator.

Because the building won't have windows on the upper floors where the art is stored, the exterior façade will be of reflective glass.

According to Root, the issue involving the proposed reflective glass is that birds will fly into them. A recent email sent to Root suggested that Public Works not be the entity required to dispose of the dead birds.

The right-of-way on Winter Street underwent construction this past summer for the installation of a new storm drain pipe. Prior to the drain pipe project, representatives of the Gallery made their construction project known to the City and to Gartley and Dorsky, the engineer surveying firm hired for the building construction.

The timeliness of the Gallery's intent allowed for the infrastructure on Winter Street to be "designed and constructed to accommodate this new project," according to William B. Gartley, P.E., in an email.

John Root, of the City planning office, said that laying lateral storm drains from the right-of-way to the proposed site was not project specific. Instead, laterals are laid toward any lot with the potential for future development.