The Plymouth Planning Board on Oct. 22 recommended that the Zoning Board of Appeals approve a proposal to convert two downtown buildings at 10 and 14 Howland Street into a 17-room hotel with a small addition and a 2,600-square-foot (26-by-58) community facility/function space.

The recommendation matters because the property is in the Downtown Harbor zoning district where hotel uses are allowed by right, but the project requires several dimensional waivers and ZBA sign-off on parking and maneuvering rules. Planning staff and board members said they viewed the conversion as a reuse that supports downtown tourism and complements nearby projects.

Attorney Rob D'Ambroso, representing owner Meg Raico, said the plan is smaller than a recent nearby project and that hotel uses are by-right in the Downtown Harbor District. “This is a 17, room proposal as opposed to 25 rooms,” D'Ambroso said, noting the project converts existing structures with only small additions. Civil engineer Mark Flaherty described site changes that include consolidating two driveways, adding a small rear addition behind each building and creating crosswalks and an accessible sidewalk connection to Holland Street. Flaherty also said the project will install a new hydrant and that the buildings will be served by fire sprinkler systems.

Developer representative Rick Veil said the project includes a standalone community facility intended for small conferences and events and that the hotel will be professionally managed. “Our main function is to be a hotel,” Veil said, adding the operator manages nearly 100 hotels nationwide and that the function room could be rented to non-guests but would not be the primary revenue source.

Planning staff told the board that most zoning requirements are met; the requested adjustments concern driveway width and parking-space width. The applicant is paying into the town’s parking fund to address a four-space shortfall under zoning. Staff said the applicant agreed to comply with the town’s light-pollution bylaw and has obtained Historic District Commission approval for exterior changes.

Board members pressed the applicant on parking dimensions and event parking, handicap access and trash pickup. The applicant told the board the function room’s maximum occupancy would be about 50 people and that an event typically translates to “about 16 cars” given shared parking patterns in downtown. The developer said event scheduling and rental agreements would direct guests to off-site public parking when needed and that they would seek midday trash pickup to avoid early-morning noise near occupied rooms.

After discussion, the board voted to recommend that the Zoning Board of Appeals approve the three combined Howland Street applications (ZBA 418510, 418610 and 418714) with specific recommendations: increase the five southern parking spaces to 9.5 feet in width; include a waiver of Zoning Bylaw section 2037(f)(1) (the maneuvering requirement called out by DPW); and replace the chain-link dumpster screening detail with a decorative fence. The motion passed on a roll call vote of board members present (unanimous among those voting).

The project will return to the ZBA for final action on the waivers and any remaining special-permit items. The Planning Board’s recommendation is advisory to that board.

The Planning Board noted the proposal’s broader context: the site sits adjacent to a previously approved Chilton Street hotel project and officials said the Howland Street plan would help maintain and grow tourism-related uses in downtown Plymouth while restoring historic façades and landscaping.

The board’s recommendation included several technical conditions and clarifications for the ZBA to consider; the applicant said it will revise plans to reflect the parking-width change and the requested maneuvering-waiver language before the ZBA hearing.