Pembroke Planning Board Continues Town Tavern Parking Hearing Amid Safety Concerns

PEMBROKE — June 3, 2024 — Pembroke Planning Board continues Town Tavern parking expansion hearing after safety pushback from neighbors. The board voted unanimously to continue the public hearing for Site Plan SP2-24 — a proposal by owner David Barry to add a 3,091-square-foot gravel valet lot at 244 Mattakeset Street, raising on-site capacity from 69 striped spaces to roughly 96 — to its June 24 meeting, where it expects to close the hearing and issue conditions. Peer reviewer Deb recommended conditions including a pre-construction soil check for a proposed rain garden, a ban on snow storage in that garden, and a construction operations-and-maintenance plan, noting that most stormwater standards had already been met. Three abutters, including Tammy Mallow of 8 Pondview Avenue and Denise Hawes of Alma Avenue, told the board that Friday and Saturday peak-hour traffic already makes pedestrian travel on adjoining streets dangerous, with one resident calling a police detail "really important." Barry said he personally directs traffic on Mattakeset Street during busy periods and is "100% open" to investing in a police detail if congestion persists.