May 7, 2025, Planning Board Regular Meeting Minutes

known throughout the world. The parcel includes a total of 8.3 acres with 1,070 feet of frontage on Prospect Avenue and 166 feet of frontage along Woodland Avenue. It's zoned B2 and the properties immediately behind it are zoned R6. It's important to note that the Residence Inn Hotel, located immediately next door to the property to the north, contains a 124 parking space easement for the exclusive use of the restaurant and catering facility. As such, all of their notices have included that property. Mr. Petry has been working for the Knowles family on this and other properties since 1985. During that time, he has prepared all of the site plans for both the restaurant and catering facility as well as the hotel. Mr. Petry was part of the 1993 application approved by the board that split this into two separate sites, one for the Manor and the other for the hotel. When the two phased renovation was planned and ultimately completed, he was instrumental in developing both the concepts and the final plans and ultimately working with Harry Knowles, his two sons and his two grandchildren on the build out of those improvements. The first phase was approved by the TRC in 2012 and the last board approval was in 2013 that included the rooftop addition and a phase that has not been implemented yet which was the conversion of the carriage house to a bar for a la carte dining. All of the more current approvals reference the 1996 planning board approval which limits the occupancy of the restaurant and banquet facility to 1,404 people with a total of 434 parking spaces of which 124 are part of that easement that Mr. Petry mentioned earlier. The proposal that's before the board this evening makes some minor architectural changes to the building. As of right now, there is no portico share. A portico share is the roof area that you can drive under to get out of your car without getting wet. It's been one of the complaints about the building for a number of years but it's been a difficult problem to solve. They've incorporated here by changing both the driveway and the fountain that's out front, eliminating that so that they could have the ability to create this area. The second change to the building is the area that faces the fountains in the garden in the front. That area currently has a greenhouse style curved glass facade there and what they're going to do is

The second change to the building is the area that faces the fountains in the garden in the front. That area currently has a greenhouse style curved glass facade there and what they're going to do is take that out and put in new doors and glass that will exit onto that same patio and fountain area. There are no real true additions here, although the portico share counts as an addition, but it's simply a portico share and a windbreak at the existing columns. From a site perspective they're doing several important things. Mr. Petry presented the overall site plan labeled as SP3. One of the things that they're doing is reconfiguring the exit driveway. The existing driveway is very steep as it reaches Prospect Avenue and it's very difficult to see. What they’re doing is pushing the driveway about 25 feet to the north at its exit point so they can straighten it out, take out the curve, move it away from the garden walls, and fill the upper reach of that driveway in. They can't do it where it is today because that would put pressure on the walls that they can't take. So instead, they move it to the north, regrade that driveway, and improve the ability for exiting vehicles to see.