AUBURN — A Planning Board hearing on a proposed barn wedding venue on Fairview Avenue has been delayed to February after city staff requested additional information from the applicants.
F. Stephen Ward and Katharine Hall, a father-daughter team who recently bought the property at 138 Fairview Ave. will ask the Planning Board to use the property to host intimate weddings. Once neighbors were notified of the public hearing, which was initially scheduled for Tuesday, the city received several concerns for potential noise and added traffic in the single-family neighborhood.
Ward and Hall have since been working with city staff to address concerns. Hall told the Sun Journal last month that they want to be good neighbors and are working with city staff and consultants on multiple ways to mitigate potential issues.
The owners of this home and barn at 138 Fairview Ave. in Auburn are asking the city to use the property as a wedding venue. F. Stephen Ward and his daughter, Katharine Hall, recently purchased the property, which will be the topic of an upcoming Planning Board meeting. Daryn Slover/Sun Journal
According to Eric Cousens, director of planning and permitting, the hearing was delayed because staff requested “additional information to review for compliance with the (zoning) ordinance,” and the information was not going to be available in time for the meeting.
The property is in the T-4.2B zoning district, where halls, private clubs and lodges are only allowed with a special exception of the Planning Board.
In a Jan. 2 letter sent to staff in response to initial questions on the application, the property owners said they are committed to minimizing the impact on neighbors, and plan to be on site for events, especially of over 25 guests. They also said a rental contract will “specifically address allowable hours, noise limits in decibels, as well as the number of parking spaces available onsite.”
“Any violation of these will result in the renting party losing their significant security deposit,” the team said.
John Blais, deputy director of planning, said the additional questions from staff include a lighting plan “that shows no impacts to abutters,” and questions related to a traffic study and design.
According to the Fairview Barn team, they will limit on-site parking to no more than 23 regular parking spots and two handicap parking spots, and parking on Fairview Avenue will not be allowed.
In response to concerns about noise, the pair has said they plan to use a noise monitoring system. They said they’ve already conducted tests, and that “the sound level outside of the barn with rock music playing is far less than that produced by the many motorcycles which pass the property on Fairview Avenue each day.”
According to staff, the city will send out another letter to abutters within 500 feet of the property with details on the Feb. 13 hearing.
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