Select Board addresses “unsightly” complaints about The Inn on Shipyard Park

May 26, 2022

Some residents are complaining that the barriers in front of the Inn on Shipyard Park used to protect outdoor diners from traffic are “unsightly,” said Select Board member Jodi Bauer.

“People are not happy with the boulders,” she said. 

The restaurant previously had Jersey barriers set up outside, but after complaints about the aesthetic, owner Nils Johnson replaced them with large boulders that surround the sidewalk, based on the input of Town Administrator Mike Lorenco and public safety officials, Johnson said. 

Because these barriers are on town sidewalks, Bauer said the Select Board has the right to give input. She suggested that Johnson move his dining space to the back parking lot. 

“No one’s made any comment about changing the location until right now,” said Johnson, who said he reached out to the town “long before the season started” to see what he could do. “If there was a hang-up, I would have liked to hear about it before Memorial Day weekend.”

Johnson said that in the past, he has gotten more complaints about dining in the parking lot rather than out on the sidewalk due to the lot’s proximity to the neighbors and the fact that seating had to be near dumpsters.

Lorenco said that Johnson reached out to him about public safety barriers for the outdoor dining season, and Lorenco made the decision for the boulders based on recommendations from public safety officials. 

“I understand if there are concerns but we tried to figure out a solution we thought would be agreeable, it’s my fault the decision was made without consulting you,” Lorenco said.

Bauer said that it needed to be a Select Board decision.

“I assumed the board would be fine with it,” said Lorenco. 

Outdoor dining permissions due to Covid have now been extended through April 2023, making it legal for the Inn to serve food outside as long as the overall number of seats at the establishment does not change. 

Select Board member Jordan Collyer said that the sidewalk dining can continue since the restaurant was given prior permission.

Johnson stated that he worked to make the barriers up to code with the town’s public safety regulations, which was his main priority.

“I’d much rather have something unsightly than a truck on my chest,” he said, adding that he didn’t know how to meet the safety guideline in a way that is “aesthetically pleasing.” 

Johnson said that he’d be happy to change the barriers as long as it was something the public safety officials would approve of.

Select Board member Tyler Macallister stated that because Johnson was following regulations, he did not have a problem with it. 

Johnson addressed the look of the building, saying that he’s been trying to take care of “curb appeal” for the past seven years. 

“To worry about or say I don’t care about the facade bothers me, because I’ve been trying to do that,” he said. 

Johnson recently received approval to repair and expand the front porch last December, and said that now he is just “trying to find someone to build it.” 

He added that the barriers would be removed by the end of October, but Bauer was concerned that this would continue “forever and ever.” 

Collyer said this situation would only last until “Covid relief goes away.” 

“Because we are operating under guidelines from the governor’s office, I don’t see why we would stop. We made it work last season, we can make it work this season,” said Collyer.

No definitive decision on next steps was made at the time.