By NEAL RENTZ
The Pound Ridge Library board might move forward with a second attempt to receive planning board approval for an expanded parking lot.
Two trustees told their colleagues Feb. 25 that in private conversations, two planning board members said their colleagues would be open to a parking lot expansion.
The lot currently consists of 23 spaces, but the library is considering an expansion because it does not have enough spaces to accommodate residents who take part in many library programs.
The library board has previously pursued plans for a parking lot expansion but eventually withdrew its application before the planning board due to costs and other considerations.
Board president Valerie Nelson said at the meeting that she and trustee Selena Shen have been speaking with planning board members to find out if a parking lot expansion is doable.
Shen said she had had conversations with a planning board member and a person who is familiar with the planning board. Since the last time the library appeared before the planning board there has been a change in members, she said.
“I think it is a question of whether it’s worth a good old college try,” Shen said. “A year ago, this could not have happened and maybe now with some different faces it may be time to revisit.”
Shen said the planning board member she spoke with was “very supportive” of a parking lot expansion and said the library “could get it done in this calendar year, which I was very surprised by.” Shen said she did not ask the planning board member for a timeline.
Shen said she was told by the planning board member that the library needed a person to represent them.
“We need to hire a consultant,” even though hiring a consultant did not work in the library’s previous appearance before the planning board, Shen said.
Shen said the library should hire a consultant; but cap the amount of money that person would receive.
The planning board member’s comments to Shen were in line with what she was told by another board member, Nelson said.
Nelson said the library board could hold an informational discussion with the planning board about the potential parking lot expansion, bring the traffic study it paid for without a consultant, and then hire a consultant after the initial discussion with the planning board. The consultant could be someone who knows how to handle discussions with planning boards, officials said.
The planning board could recommend potential consultant candidates, Nelson added.
She also noted that the library board might decide not to seek a parking lot expansion.
Trustee Michael Clark said he wanted to understand the purpose of an informational meeting with the planning board.
Nelson said a consultant could provide an opinion on how the library board should address the planning board about a parking lot expansion without initially providing drawings created by an engineer. Another option is to go before the planning board with a traffic study, which the planning board asked the library to obtain. The cost of commissioning a detailed traffic study was a major reason why the board previously shelved its parking lot expansion plan.
The library could ask the planning board about its commitment to a parking lot expansion before taking on additional hiring costs, Nelson said.
“What we didn’t do enough was to tell them what we want,” Clark said, referring to earlier discussions with the planning board.
Nelson said she and Shen would go back to their contacts to seek advice on how the library board should proceed if it decides to go ahead with the expansion.