HADLEY — A Hadley business owner seeking to reuse a former commercial garage in North Hadley has received conditional approval to renovate the building into a new auto repair and detailing business.
The Planning Board Tuesday voted 4-0 to approve the plans from Exotic Auto for use of the former North Hadley Auto at 371 River Drive. The project includes raising the roof by 4 feet.
The conditional vote requires the building to be painted white, for a tower in the concept plans to be removed and for a recovery manhole to be installed inside the building, as well as for no washing of vehicles to be done outside the building. In addition, a detailed drawing depicting how the building will appear has to be submitted at the board’s next meeting on May 7.
Board clerk William Dwyer, who is an abutter, abstained from the vote and asked that the vote be delayed until this rendering was provided.
Last September, the board agreed that Exotic Auto could have up to 10 total cars on site for sale or awaiting repair.
Board member Joseph Zgrodnik said the building, which opened as Lesko’s Garage in 1946, is a pre-existing, nonconforming building, and that raising the roof by 4 feet would make it even more nonconforming to current town zoning bylaws. Still, in what he called the spirit of compromise, he agreed to support the plans.
Once the decision is filed with the town clerk’s office, that will begin a 20-day appeal period.
New board member Mark Dunn, who unseated John Mieczkowski at the April 9 town election, participated in the vote. Dunn was prompted to run for the board after Mieczkowski made what some town residents described as racist comments about Exotic Auto’s owners, who are originally from India.
Dunn told those at the meeting that his decision to take part in the vote came after questions were raised about whether he should recuse himself because of a $250 campaign contribution from Exotic owner Paul Narus. The state Ethics Commission informed him that a campaign donation is not a reason to recuse himself from a vote.
“I have also additionally done a disclosure… to further explain that I have no connections (to Exotic),” Dunn said.
Mieczkowski, though, said he feels that Dunn is in conflict because of the political donation. “He took that to sway his vote,” Mieczkowski said, adding that intends to refer the matter to the Office of Campaign and Political Finance.
“If there’s any kind of conflict, he’s in trouble,” Mieczkowski said. “He was warned before the action took place.”
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.
