On Dec. 14 members of the Rockport Select Board heard a presentation by architects and engineers engaged in designing a new West Rockport Fire Station which would, upon voter approval, replace the existing facility at the intersection of Routes 17 and 90.

A brief update was also given by Town Manager Bill Post  regarding the draft of a short-term rental ordinance which was drafted by two members of the Select Board and received a great deal of public comment during a  by the board and received public comment at a Nov. 9 meeting.

West Rockport Fire Station

On Monday night, the board heard from engineer Bill Lane of Gartley & Dorsky Engineering and architect Amanda Austin of 2A Architects, who presented a blueprint and a rendering of a new fire station which would replace the existing George A. Parker fire station in West Rockport, located on the corner of Route 90 and Route 17.

Also participating in the meeting was Rockport Fire Chief Jason Peasley, has spoken before the Select Board in favor of a renovated or completely new fire station in West Rockport over the past four years. Peasley cited the inadequate space, condition and functionality of the current station while stressing it’s location is much closer to the homes of the majority of volunteer firefighters than the in-town station at 85 Main St.

“The firefighters we have are more in the West Rockport area and we’re getting less and less [in town]...the four gentlemen who are on this side of town [near the Main St. station], their average age is 75 years old....None of my other firefighters can afford to live on this side of town, so West Rockport, in my opinion, is going to be the future of where the Rockport Fire Department will be,” said Peasley.

The West Rockport fire station was built in 1973 and houses two of the town’s fire engines; one of these was built specifically to fit within the engine bays in the structure. Peasley said that the engines, each of which are 28 feet in length, have approximately two inches of space at their front and rear when they are parked within the bays. He said that the basement in the building floods on a regular basement, a water main at the front of the building is broken and the window sills have rotted.

Post said that the station was built in such close proximity to the intersection that typically when one of the engines is parked outside of the station, one half of the vehicle’s length (approximately 15 feet) is extending into the state’s right of way. Post added that Rockport’s current ISO insurance rating is as high as it is because the town has two fire stations, but this rating would likely drop and home owner’s insurance rates would increase if the station were simply demolished.

Lane said that any potential renovation to the building would have to include completely raising the roof on the station, as well as moving the footprint of the building further back from the intersection, utilizing a parcel of land to the rear of the building which was purchased previously by the town for that purpose. 

The plan Austin proposed calls for a 5,600 sq. ft. station which would feature four apparatus (fire engine) bays and would be built further back from the intersection and extend behind the facade of the adjacent business Camden Glass. The station would have a new water service entrance, a new underground power supply as well as an eight-space parking facility and a “community room.” She said the exterior of the structure, which features peaked roofs, would be built “in the scale of its residential surroundings.”

Board members spoke in favor of the design, saying that it was comprehensive and visually appealing.

“It’s delightful to have a very functional layout and a proposal presented to the Select Board that is not controversial....This proposal right here should be able to go through the process and the voters will be able to decide, ‘do we or don’t we want to build a fire station?’ But we won’t have to go back and redesign it three times,” said board member Jeff Hamilton.

Austin said her next steps for the project include creating a cost estimate for the project, as well as meeting with a consultant and the engineering team to provide preliminary feedback to the Select Board. She said that there has been a consensus among all those involved in the process to this point about the layout of the floorplan and the appearance of the building’s exterior.

Short-term rental ordinance

Post said the most recent draft of an ordinance which would regulate short-term rentals in Rockport is being reviewed by the town’s legal consul, Phil Saucier.

“It’s in the hands of the town’s attorney, for his review and editing. He’s also looking at the definitions to try and get them consistent with the Land Use Ordinance or if there are any changes that need to be made in the Land Use Ordinance. And we have obviously received several comments from the public and all the comments have been forwarded to the Select Board and they are all added on the town’s website,” said Post.

“Is there perhaps a timeline we could come up with from the date that [the draft ordinance] needs to go to the printers [for upcoming] workshops or meetings meetings that might be had,” asked board member Mark Kelley.

Post said that he had completed a schedule of meetings which he would circulate to the board.

“I just want to make sure that the public has their view so they can prepare themselves,” said Kelley.

The document in discussion is a draft ordinance prepared by Hall, Denise Kennedy-Munger and Bob Hall, all three of whom are attorneys. Kennedy-Munger sits on the Select Board; Bob Hall is a member of the Ordinance Review Committee. 

If enacted by voters, the ordinance would limit the number of short-term rentals allowable in particular zoning districts throughout Rockport, require each homeowner wishing to rent out their property to register with the town Code Enforcement Officer each year and be willing to have their property inspected by the Code Enforcement Officer and the Fire Chief. 

Regulations include a minimum number of nights per stay (7), occupancy limits, as well pertain to when garbage is removed from properties, requirements for waste removal from the site, and differentiate between short-term rentals (STRs) with owners on site and those which operate with the owners living elsewhere. Non-owner occupied STRs were cited in the introduction of the ordinance as properties with the most complaints associated with them. The ordinance also seeks to “grandfather” some existing STRs into perpetuity, but also would regulate which zoning districts in Rockport were appropriate for such properties  to operate in.