35 New England Business Center Drive Suite 140 Andover, MA 01810

Ref: 8468

May 6, 2020

Ms. Mary F. Savage Dunham, AICP, CFM Director of Community Planning Town of Hingham 210 Central Street Hingham, MA 02043

Re: Traffic Engineering Peer Review The Range - 306 Whiting Street (Route 53) Hingham, Massachusetts

Dear Mary:

Vanasse & Associates, Inc. (VAI) has completed a review of the materials submitted by Crocker Design Group on behalf of James E. Bristol, III and David B. Bristol as Trustees of Old Derby Nominee Trust (the “Applicant”) in support of the proposed renovations to The Range Bar & Grille (a.k.a. The Range) located at 306 Whiting Street (Route 53) in Hingham, Massachusetts (hereafter referred to as the “Project”). Specifically, the Applicant is requesting Site Plan Approval (a waiver has been requested) and a Special Permit A3 (Parking Determination) for the Project, which will entail the renovation of approximately 1,200± square feet (sf) of storage space to accommodate a private function room with no increase in approved seating capacity (The Range is limited to a capacity of 136 seats).

The Applicant submitted the following supporting materials which are the subject of this review:

1. Application for Special Permit A3, Parking Determination (with accompanying “Narrative”), James E. Bristol, III and David B. Bristol, Trustees Old Derby Nominee Trust c/o Gabe Crocker; March 13, 2020;

2. Site Plan, The Range, 306 Whiting Street, Hingham, MA; Crocker Design Group, LLC; March 12, 2020, no revisions;

3. Application for Site Plan Approval, James E. Bristol, III and David B. Bristol, Trustees Old Derby Nominee Trust c/o Crocker Design Group, LLC; March 13, 2020;

4. Application for Zoning Hearing, Site Plan Review and Special Permit A3, James E. Bristol, III and David B. Bristol, Trustees Old Derby Nominee Trust c/o Crocker Design Group, LLC; March 13, 2020; and

5. Architectural Plans, Interior Renovations, Permit Set, The Range, 306 Whiting Street, Hingham, MA 02043; Dennis J. Swart Architecture P.C.; February 11, 2020, no revisions.

www.rdva.com (978) 474-8800 (978) 688-6508

Ms. Mary F. Savage Dunham, AICP, CFM May 6, 2020 Page 2 of 3

The materials that have been submitted by the Applicant state that the Project will not increase the intensity of the use of the property, which is limited by the capacity of the existing septic system. At the completion of the Project, The Range will continue to have a seating capacity of 136 seats, with up to 55 seats being “flexed” between function space and the tavern area. Additional minor modifications will be completed in conjunction with the renovations that include expanding the kitchen area into an adjacent office space (330± sf), whose function will be relocated to the Weathervane golf pro-shop resulting in a corresponding reduction in retail space, and a small (360± sf) outdoor deck is proposed that will be accessed from the proposed function space.

Focusing on the parking requirements, a total of 96 parking spaces are provided within the Project site to accommodate both The Range and the Weathervane Golf Academy. The Weathervane Golf Academy includes 78 driving stations, a putting green and an 850± sf pro-shop. The Applicant submitted a parking table for the Project site inclusive of all uses which is provided below:

The parking requirements used by the Applicant are consistent with those specified in Section V-A, Off-Street Parking Requirements, of the Town of Hingham Zoning By-Law noting that the parking requirements for the driving stations were determined using the “Recreational” use designation. In addition, we also note that the calculations appear to overstate the parking requirements for the retail use given that the Applicant is proposing to relocate the office space into the pro-shop area, which will result in a reduction in the amount of retail space. Correcting this discrepancy would only nominally change the parking calculations. We are in agreement with the Applicant’s parking calculations, which indicate that 79 parking spaces are required to support the uses located within the Project site based on the Zoning By-Law.

A review of parking demand data published by the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE)1 for the subject uses indicates that 94 parking spaces would be required to support the peak parking demand assuming that the parking demands for the uses peak simultaneously (such as on a sunny spring or summer day in the afternoon). Table 1 summarizes the ITE parking demand calculations.

1Parking Generation Manual, 5th Edition; Institute of Transportation Engineers; Washington, D.C.; January 2019.

G:\8603 Hingham, MA\Letters\The Range Traffic Review 05.06.20.docx Ms. Mary F. Savage Dunham, AICP, CFM May 6, 2020 Page 3 of 3

Table 1 ITE PARKING DEMAND CALCULATIONS

ITE Calculated Use Size Peak Parking Demand Ratio Peak Parking Demand Driving Stations 78 stations 1 space/3 persons (stations)a 26 Retail 855 sf 3.78 spaces/1,000 sf 3 Restaurant/Function 136 seats 0.47 spaces/seat 64 Office 330 sf 3.30 spaces/1,000 sf 1 TOTAL 94 aBased on Section V-A, Off-Street Parking Requirements, of the Town of Hingham Zoning By-Law. ITE does not provide parking demand data for a comparable use; however, we find the parking ration in the Zoning By-Law to be appropriate for this use.

The primary difference between the calculations is with regard to the parking requirements for the restaurant/function space; the Zoning By-Law requires 46 parking spaces for the restaurant use vs. 64 parking spaces using the ITE data for the peak parking demand. Given that 96 parking spaces are provided within the Project site, the parking supply would be sufficient to meet the predicted peak parking demand. In addition, we note that overflow parking is available in a gravel lot adjacent to (east) the paved parking lot to accommodate parking demand fluctuations that may occur on peak use days. As such, it is our opinion that sufficient parking is provided within the Project site to support the proposed renovations to accommodate the addition of function space to The Range with continuation of the maximum seating capacity of 136 seats to be “flexed” between function space and the tavern area.

This concludes our review of the materials that have been submitted to date in support of the Project. If you should have any questions regarding our review, please feel free to contact me.

Sincerely,

VANASSE & ASSOCIATES, INC.

Jeffrey S. Dirk, P.E., PTOE, FITE Partner

Professional Engineer in CT, MA, ME, NH, RI and VA

JSD/jsd cc: File

G:\8603 Hingham, MA\Letters\The Range Traffic Review 05.06.20.docx