V for vines - to camouflage vent

MILFORD - It was a new version of an old plan Monday as developers of the Fauchere Hotel tested the water again before the borough’s architectural review board. In an informal presentation, owners Richard Snyder and Sean Strub and attorney John “Duke” Schneider offered a free-standing latticework screen featuring what Schneider described as “roses or some suitable vine.” The lattice and vines would hide a six-foot high kitchen vent exhaust, which was installed without a mandated review by the board. That oversight, for which the developers have repeatedly apologized, nonetheless has produced what the hotel’s consultants say is the only financially and aesthetically viable option. A similar landscaping plan was presented to the review board earlier, but lacking jurisdiction over landscaping elements, the board did not accept it. However a new zoning variance is also required and Schneider said the Fauchere will now include the landscaping as a mandated condition of the variance, guaranteeing the landscape screen. The architectural review board will consider the plan again following an April 6 zoning hearing board review.