Barnstable Planners Approve Permit for Theater Performer Housing in Hyannis

BARNSTABLE — June 22, 2026 — Barnstable Planning Board unanimously approved a special permit Monday to convert a Hyannis transitional lodging house into performer housing for a reviving downtown theater. The 5-0 vote covers 82 School Street, a property under a purchase-and-sale agreement held by William Haney, who also operates the Hyannis Mall movie theater and plans to bring live cabaret, musical acts, and plays there. Attorney Robert Mills told the board that performers "will be here on a transient level — once their performances are done, they'll be gone." One neighbor, Greg Schnipke of 89 Lewis Bay Road, raised no objection but cautioned about parking conflicts in shared lots near the steamship terminal, a concern the board echoed. Board Chair Steve Robichaud also announced he has been elected chair of the Community Preservation Committee following the retirement of longtime CPC chair Lindsey Council, who Robichaud said has led the committee since the 1970s and oversaw the preservation of a significant acreage of open land in the town.