Town board of adjustment gives OK for Milton Theatre variance

The Milton Board of Adjustment unanimously granted a variance for Milton Theatre to have less than the required 50-foot setback from the Broadkill River as part of its project to construct a new educational wing.

The variance is preliminary, as the board will vote on final approval in October. 

The board heard the theater’s request during its Sept. 23 meeting. The variance was required because the theater is planning to build on a parking lot that runs onto a bulkhead just off the river. Project Manager Tom Quass said town code requires 50 feet of distance between a proposed building site and the river. He said at high tide, the area where the theater wants to build is about 30 feet from the river. Quass said the theater intends to make some upgrades to the bulkhead, and there are no plans for the project to go into the water, but only to be aligned with the existing bulkhead.

Jeff Harman, an engineer with Becker Morgan Group representing the theater, said if they had tried a different layout and left the parking where it is now it would probably have more of an impact on the edge of the water. The project would have to extend out into what is now a wooded area and likely require constructing an additional bulkhead. Harman said the goal with the proposed plan is to try not to crowd the water’s edge and to keep the existing vegetation. 

“We really think this is the best layout for the site,” he said.

Harman said part of the plan for the addition is to use piles driven 27 feet down that will support a reinforced concrete grade beam, which in turn will support the weight of the building. He said doing it this way will negate the need to excavate or put any pressure on the soils. 

The theater is planning to build a 2,850-square-foot expansion to the existing building that will include a education wing containing new rehearsal spaces, green rooms and offices, as well as new bathrooms. The $3 million addition is Phase 2 of a large renovation project to the more than 100-year-old theater, with Phase 1 being the balcony restoration finished in 2023. 

The theater has been granted preliminary site-plan approval for the project by the Milton Planning and Zoning Commission and approved by the Milton Historic Preservation Committee, and was granted two waivers from the town’s sidewalk regulations. 

In its deliberations, the board determined that not granting the variance would provide an unnecessary hardship or exceptional practical difficulty, and that the project was not detrimental to the community.