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The owner of Whittaker Creek Marina is proposing a 12-unit condo project — 48-1/2 feet above sea level — at the Whittaker Point Road entrance to the marina.

Knute Bysheim proposes something else: if you don’t like his plans, change the GMO.

When he unveiled those plans at an informational meeting for neighbors on August 1, there were some objections to the size of the project. Maureen Anderson suggested that the 3-story project was “awfully massive for a 3/4 of an acre parcel.”

Images depicting the proposed condos are shown at the August 1 meeting.

Though some neighbors found the scale of the condos to be out of place for the neighborhood, Knute Bysheim noted that the dimensions of the project were allowed by Oriental’s Growth Management Ordinance.

“It’s not me that created the regulations,” Knute said.

If people don’t like it, he noted, “maybe they should redraft the GMO.”

Knute Bysheim talks at the August 1 meeting.

Here’s what the GMO would allow.

Bysheim proposes a 50 × 150 foot building with 12 units on the 38,000 square foot lot — in keeping with the GMO requirement of 5,000 square feet for the first unit and 3,000 square feet for the subsequent units. There would be three stories of living space above a parking area. The building would have a flat roof, with a mansard styling it.

And it would rise to 48-1/2 feet above sea level.

In a compromise move this winter, the Town Board had scaled back the height limit to 43-1/2 feet above sea level, but in a bow to some Town Board members wanting “flexibility”, they said that buildings could go to 48-1/2 feet if there were greater setbacks.

It is that clause that Knute Bysheim is exercising.

In that first informational meeting with neighbors on August 1, Bysheim said that he hoped to sell the units — 1,400 and 1,700 square feet — for between $400,000 and $800,000. He claimed that he needed to build three stories of living space to make a profit.

The county land records indicate he paid $750,000 for the five-acre marina complex in the late 1990’s.

Many nearby neighbors have expressed distaste at the proposal. Viewing the artist’s sketch of the project, some said that it looked more like “Florida” or “Long Island.”

At least one resident suggested that it was not “in harmony” with the neighborhood, where homes are semi-hidden in wooded lots. The Town Board could reject the Special Use Permit for the project if it were found to not be “in harmony”.

But do we want it to come down to that?

Or should we, as a town, revisit that GMO — as Knute so candidly suggested — and change it so we don’t risk having such densely packed projects in town.

What happens at the end of Whittaker Creek Road could happen right in the heart of the village. Fourteen — 14 — units per acre. Roof lines 48-1/2 feet above sea level. Mansard roofs.

Do we want that?

Whether we want it or not, the likelihood is that we’ll be seeing more such proposals. While the county recently made it harder to build high density condo projects, the current rules in Oriental allow such development – meaning more condo projects may be coming to Oriental.

Knute’s is not the only multi-unit project on the table right now. The Town Board approved a 4 unit project for North Street recently. There are another 12 units — town homes — Sylvan Friedman’s “Picadilly Square” — proposed for the acre behind the Post Office. A public hearing on whether to grant a Special Use Permit for that one takes place September 5.

In the meantime, you have an opportunity this Thursday morning to see for yourself what the current GMO could allow, Knute Bysheim will be holding a second informational meeting.

Town law requires developers to hold such meetings for neighbors within 300 feet of a proposed multi-unit project. Bysheim had not contacted the owners of all 82 privately-owned slips at the marina in advance of the August 1 meeting; in order to comply with the town’s law, a second meeting was necessary.

That second informational meeting is slated for 9am Thursday, August 17 at Town Hall. It is open to the neighbors — and the public at large.

Even if you don’t live near Whittaker Creek, the session may be an illuminating session to see what the town’s GMO — as currently written — will allow.

As Knute said, if we don’t like it, we should change the GMO.

Posted Tuesday August 15, 2006 by Melinda Penkava

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