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Business As Usual
Dear Editor:
Want to see how the law works in P'town? Access your local cable station and watch last week's Planning Board (PB) meeting, during the public hearing for the Giachinta gas station on Rts 9 & 403.
Mr Giachinta is renovating the gas station, which had been abandoned for a number of years. As members of the audience made clear, no one objects to a small country gas station and store. What they object to is that the project, located at the gateway to P'town, is becoming the size of a rest stop on the New Jersey Turnpike.
Not only that, but the only building permit that Mr Giachinta has been issued is the one to renovate the existing building. All the other construction is not only unpermitted, it appears to violate quite a few Town Codes. Mr Giachinta needs 5 different variances from the ZBA to do what he's doing, even though he stated in a previous PB meeting that he saw no reason why he should have to obtain them.
Last September Building Inspector Tom Monroe did exactly what he was supposed to do and issued a stop work order, which has been completely ignored by the builder. (The general feeling among developers is that the fines for ignoring a stop work order in P'town are so pathetic that one can just factor them into the cost of doing business and carry on.) Mr Monroe followed up and took Mr Giachinta to court and Mr Giachinta showed up without a lawyer, which means no action will be taken until he returns to court on Dec. 19. Meanwhile, it's business as usual in P'town and building continues.
During the public hearing there were two alarming responses from members of the PB. One was from Josephine Doherty, who said she wanted to make it clear for the benefit of the audience that the project used to be a gas station, and will remain a gas station. This is like stating that the Derrick Hopkins house on Avery Rd (where a "small renovation" turned into a tear-down and nearly doubled the size of the house) was once a house, and remains a house. Sure, but don't broken laws mean anything in this town?The other was from George Cleantis, who actually questioned whether the law needed to be followed in a case like this. (Hint: the law needs to be followed in every case, not just certain hand-picked ones. This is why so many P'town residents are so angry, and why the recent election was so ugly.) There was also a small, helpful contribution from PB attorney Stephen Gaba, who wondered aloud why the public hadn't spoken up until now. (Answer: 1) This was the first public hearing the town has scheduled, even though the project is nearly completed; and 2) neighbors Lisa McCloy- Kelley and Tom Kelley have been loudly and doggedly speaking up for over a year - don't they count?)
On January 28 Mr Giachinta will appear before the ZBA to ask for permits on his probably completed project. One can only wonder what the late Victor Carlson, 20-year member of the ZBA and staunch defender of Town Code 175.82 (No nonconforming use of land shall be enlarged or extended ... except for a permitted use) would have to say about all this.
Suzie Gilbert
Garrison
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