Use this search box to find articles that have run in our newspapers over the last several years.
Date: 2/9/2022
SOUTHWICK – Residents living near Congamond Lake expressed their concerns to the Planning Board about a plan to bring back Crabby Joe’s restaurant with the addition of a new marina.
Ryan Nelson of site surveying company R. Levesque Associates showed the Planning Board details about the proposed marina and revival of the restaurant. The marina is projected to consist of three docks with a total of 60 spaces for boats, 40 of which would be rental spots.
A fourth dock was listed on the submitted plans, but is not expected to be a part of the final design after board members and other town departments expressed concerns that a fourth dock would make it too crowded.
The existing building, at 141 Congamond Rd. (Route 168), near the state line, would remain in place. The building and parcel are largely unchanged from when the business closed, with even the original Crabby Joe’s sign remaining.
The Lake Management Committee had previously expressed concerns about the plan for the marina and how it would affect Congamond Lake as a whole. Committee Chair Dick Grannells said Congamond Lake is already overcrowded with boats, and adding 60 more spaces on South Pond would only worsen the problem. He said in a meeting last month that the recommended safe number of boats on a body of water is measured in acres per boat, but moorings on the three ponds of Congamond Lake can be measured in boats per acre.
In a letter to the Planning Board, Grannells said the number and spacing of the “fingers” coming off each dock for boats to tie in does not allow room for some boats to safely egress or turn within the marina if the spaces are full. Grannells said the Lake Management Committee was opposed to the marina proposal, but would be comfortable with a single dock.
Applicant Ken Egleston told the Planning Board that state Department of Environmental Protection requirements are vague, but that they do not require the docks of the marina to be in a certain layout, so long as they remain within the designated zone.
The comments from Lake Management also showed a concern for how the marina will affect boating traffic through the culvert under Route 168. Boats traveling from Middle Pond to South Pond often turn right at the end of the culvert, Grannells said, which would bring them close to the Crabby Joe’s marina.
Egleston said that he will not allow boats longer than 22 feet to dock at the marina, and that the 10-foot fingers coming off the marina docks can handle boats of that size without causing issues with space. He said he could remove plans for a fourth dock.
Planning Board member David Sutton expressed concern over the lack of barrier between the parking lot and the neighboring residential area, which could result in cars shining their headlights into the neighboring homes. With only 5 feet between the parking spaces and the property line, shrubbery was out of the question, so Planning Board member Marcus Phelps suggested that a fence be built to block headlights.
During the public hearing, several neighbors expressed their own concerns about how the marina would affect the area around it. Donna Cabana said that she was concerned about the number of parking spaces, which she said was too few to accommodate a full restaurant and people using the marina, which would result in diners having to find elsewhere in the neighborhood to park.
Plans on file with the town show 61 parking spaces proposed, and combined entrance-exit curb cuts on both Congamond Road and Beach Road.
Suzanne Sloboda said that parking for the town beach is already difficult to find a lot of the time, and having a nearby business with not enough parking for itself would make that problem worse.
Derek Cabana said that, despite Egleston’s claims otherwise, boats do frequently turn right when they go through the culvert, and that the marina would pose a danger to them due to its proximity to the culvert. He said he would like to see Crabby Joe’s revived, but that a 60-boat marina is too large for the spot.
The Planning Board voted to continue the public hearing to Feb. 15 for further discussion.