American Containers at 2526 Western Avenue in Plymouth will be able to grow thanks to the Board of Zoning Appeals approval of a variance of development standards.

Wednesday evening the Plymouth BZA heard the request of Michael Isbon, President of American Containers, to reduce the front yard road setback from the standard of 50 feet to 25 feet to construct a 40,000 square foot addition on the northwest side of the building. 

The Technical Review Committee (TRC) found no issues with the request. 

The new addition will be on the front lawn of the facility.  The offices will be moved around to the north side of the building with an entrance there.

Mr. Isbon told the BZA they need to expand the plastics manufacturing segment of their operations in Plymouth.  The pharmaceutical industry is going strong and one of American Container’s main customers, Pfizer is creating additional demand for the company.  They have instituted design changes in their current packaging that has required American Containers to import some new equipment.  Isbon said they need room to expand for raw material, finished good storage, and operations.

Isbon told the BZA, “Quite frankly, the request for the variance of development standard is to allow us to maximize the size of the building so that we can have the best and most efficient layout for our process.”  He said they will relocate the offices as they currently exist and move them to the edge of the north parking lot.  Michael said the production facility will come straight through the facility from east to west extending the plastics department and allowing the best flow for the additional equipment coming, keeping it as efficient as possible.

BZA board member Keith Wickens had some concerns about blocking the view of semi-traffic as they are pulling out onto Western Avenue. In an experiment they had a semi-tractor pull out and a temporary wall and it showed plenty of views, all the way north to Hoham Drive.    

During the public hearing, the only question was from BZA member Mark Gidley asked if the 25 feet between the building and street would remain green space and Mr. Isbon assured BZA members that it would.   

The Plymouth Board of Zoning Appeals voted 4-0 to approve the street setback variance at 25-feet.