EDM Construction asked the Zoning Board of Appeals on March 10 to allow four storage containers to remain at 20 Pope’s Lane for more than six months in a calendar year; the board continued the application to April 14 to allow the applicant to provide a defined timeframe.

The request, presented by Jackie McGill, president of EDM Construction, sought a special permit so two additional containers the company recently acquired could stay on the lot. “They’ll remain there for quite some time,” McGill said, adding the units sit on gravel with no foundations and “could be moved if need be.”

Brian Zakeli, the town's planning director, told the board the zoning bylaw allows up to two containers on a site by right for up to 180 days in a calendar year. “You don’t need a permit if you're going to be 180 days within a calendar year; you can have up to two,” Zakeli said, explaining the department's current practice and why the applicant needed a special permit for more than two containers or for a longer period.

Several board members said they were unwilling to approve an open-ended permit. One board member said, “I hate an open-ended time frame here on this thing,” and another said they would not vote for an unspecified duration. Board members also noted uncertainty about how many containers are on the property now; the planning director and the applicant differed in their counts during the hearing.

Applicant Sean McGill said the company frequently moves containers between job sites and that two of the containers were purchased from a neighboring property owner after a sale. McGill said the containers store iron work, tools and equipment that would otherwise be damaged or stolen if left outside.

Because the board did not have a consensus to grant an open-ended permit, a member moved to continue the case to April 14, 2025, to give the applicant time to submit a clearer plan with a defined time limit; the motion carried unanimously. No final permit was issued at the March 10 hearing.

The board instructed the applicant to return with a time-limited proposal and clarified that, under the bylaw, relief is needed when more than two containers will be on a site for more than 180 days in a calendar year.