Planning Board Continues Elm Park Loft Permits, Seeks Downtown Parking Count

GROVELAND — May 19, 2026 — Groveland Planning Board continues Elm Park loft special permits to June 2 amid parking questions. The board unanimously accepted and then continued two linked special permit applications from John Guilfoyle of FKG Properties, LLC, to convert the third floor of 1 Elm Park into four residential units — three one-bedroom loft apartments and one two-bedroom unit — without any exterior construction or new land development. The parking relief requested amounts to 0.77 spaces, but resident John Brenning challenged the accuracy of prior parking studies during public comment, arguing the downtown supply has been overcounted. Town Planner John Sullivan confirmed that the original December 2025 permit had not counted the unused dance hall portion of the third floor, and that the addition of one two-bedroom unit makes the net new ask one space. A second special permit for affordable housing inclusion under bylaw section 50-10.1 was also continued; Guilfoyle said the project would either deed-restrict one unit or contribute a fee below the standard $80,000, with a realtor study to determine the exact figure. Both permits return June 2, with the board also awaiting a police department report on downtown parking incidents.