ROCKLAND — In its first review of the Dowling-Walsh art management building proposed for Winter Street in Rockland, Sept. 29,  planning board members accepted the overall project plans, but articulated reservations about some design features.

Art renderings and site plans for the building, destined to be a mostly storage facility, had enough aspects not previously considered in Rockland that planning board members worked to assimilate them into the parameters of existing local ordinances.

Board member Peta van Vuuren and Eric Allyn, of A and R Architecture, went back and forth many times, with van Vuuren saying that proposed items did not meet ordinance. On those occasions, Allyn responded that yes, they did.

The most notable aspect concerns the usage of reflective glass for one side of the building.

The ordinance asks for materials that are used in Rockland: Brick, stone, wooden clapboard, or materials similar in appearance and texture and scale to these materials for buildings facing a public street, according to Allen.

“But it doesn’t indicate that those are the only materials you can use, and that it’s limited to those materials,” Allen said.

Allyn presented several slides showing how the glass windows of downtown store fronts already reflect images of their surroundings. He also showed a picture of the new Main Street hotel with its usage of the same reflective glass paneling that Allen is proposing.

Board members told Allen that store windows are of a different construction, and are see-through. They also interjected that the Lyman hotel reflective glass usage was minimal, as compared to this proposal of three floors of almost continuous material along the building’s 106-ft length.

Another ordinance measure requires building facades to have verticals along the façade — items such as windows that can break up the monotony of large buildings, making them appear smaller.

Allyn said this was achieved with his first-floor plans for windows, entrances, and on-site parking for four cars — three if one is handicap parking.

For the upper floors, various narrow windows would meet the requirements, though would detract from the purpose of being a climate-controlled facility.

The reflective glass would be seen from Main Street, providing a source of light and activity that are likely to draw passersby from Main Street and help introduce this new section of the city, according to Allyn who believes that using the glass will allow the building to appear less imposing.

Members of the board also discussed residents’ concerns about semis and tractor trailer trucks potentially blocking traffic while delivering art to the building.

According to Allyn, transport vans and box trucks would back straight into the building’s double-secure unloading bay at the freight entrance, leaving Winter Street free from stopped traffic.

Allyn assured the board that semis and tractor trailer trucks would not be in the right-of-way, at least most of the time. Instead, semis would park and bring sculptures through the main entrance.

However, he also made it clear that the right-of-way along Winter Street is intended to be pedestrian friendly with extra-wide sidewalks outside the main entrance. Vehicular traffic may find the area to be narrow.