Orleans Design Review Committee to Send Architectural Comments on 78-Unit 40B Project to ZBA

ORLEANS — May 28, 2026 — Orleans Design Review Committee seeks architectural overhaul of 78-unit 40B housing project. The committee spent the majority of its May 28 meeting working through the 14 design-review criteria in the town's zoning bylaw as applied to a proposed four-building, 78-unit affordable and attainable housing complex on a 5.5-acre town-owned parcel, directing staff to draft formal comments for the Zoning Board of Appeals before its June 24 hearing. Members raised concerns about the scale and massing of buildings one and two, the uniformity of oversized casement windows across the facades, the low roof pitch that members called aesthetically deficient, the planned removal of mature trees along the eastern boundary and Route 6A frontage, and a largely impermeable parking area. Architect Peter Haig of Architectural Design Incorporated told the committee during public comment, "Let's not settle for something second rate. And right now, we've got second rate." Town staff member George confirmed that no color scheme has been presented and that a draft memo compiling the committee's comments will be placed on the June 11 agenda for approval before transmittal to the ZBA. The committee also approved sign applications for Gretchen Quinn Pottery and, on condition that one window logo be removed to comply with the town's three-sign limit, for Manifest Yoga at 32 Main Street.