Cumberland Farms Hopes To Sidestep Denial

BOURNE- Cumberland Farms’ efforts to add gasoline pumps to its Buzzards Bay location are not over, in spite of last week’s denial of a special permit by the Bourne Planning Board. 
Planning board members said last week’s unanimous denial of Cumberland Farms’ request to add a gas station to its 160 Main Street operation was tantamount to a vote in favor of the efforts to revitalize Buzzards Bay.
Conversely, a board member said that transforming Buzzards Bay into a regional “fuel terminal” would undermine the future of the downtown area and would not be in the best interest of the town.
The proposed project includes demolishing a portion of the existing building, a new traffic configuration, and the addition of eight fueling stations.
The board voted against the project, primarily, they said, because another gas operation was not an essential service to Main Street.
Planning board member Clement DelFavero read a letter from the Buzzards Bay Vitalization Association into the record. That letter urged the rejection of the project because Main Street is already served by six gas station, and another is not needed or desired. A letter signed by 83 Bourne residents who were opposed to the project was also received by the board.
The board also determined that there was not enough separation between the project’s driveway and neighboring ones, and that loading zone and lighting requirements were not met.
The board’s unanimous roll call vote against the project came after members heard a complete presentation of the proposed plan.
The denial, however, was not final. Cumberland Farms, in its application to the planning board, reserved the right to rely on a selectmen’s 2005 decision granting them a special permit. That permit was not acted upon because the project became involved in a years-long court suit filed by a neighboring business.
With the settling of the suit, Cumberland Farms opted to move forward with the project by bringing revised site plans, along with a request for a special permit, to the planning board.
After last week’s denial, the company intends to bring its new site plan to the zoning board of appeals, relying on the 2005 permit from selectmen, Town Planner Coreen V. Moore said this week.
Planning board members, Ms. Moore said, think the project needs a special permit from them before the operation can be built.
Cumberland Farms, in the meantime, will be coming before the zoning board on December 3.