Permits granted for square projects
Published on July 31st, 2002
STONEHAM, MA - The face of Stoneham square took one step closer to getting a lift after a pair of special permits were awarded last week. The owners of McDonoughs Liquors, the Cahills, at 9 Central Street, and the owner of Highland Printing, Harry Paicoplous, were both granted special permits for parking spaces by a vote of 4-0-1 at their third Planning Board public hearing session last Wednesday night.
“These are business owners who stayed in Stoneham Square during tough financial times, and want to add to their successful business,” said Planning Board member Kevin Dolan.”I think this is a good solid project that is going to add a lot to the square, and to Stoneham.”
The crux of the special permit discussion was parking impact that the two projects would have on downtown Stoneham. Both buildings, according to attorney Charles Houghton, will be razed, and two four floor buildings will be constructed. The building at 9 Central Street will contain 14 upper floor apartments and 3,250 square feet of commercial space, and will sit atop a 15 car parking garage. The 409-413 Main Street property will contain 12 upper floor apartments and 10,450 square feet of commercial space.
Traffic Engineer Gary Hebert, of the engineering firm of Fay, Spofford and Thorn-dike, painted a picture of the normal flow of parking in Stoneham Square. According to Hebert and numbers he tabulated with national traffic calculations, the garage would be more than sufficient parking at 9 Central Street, but the Main Street location would need to account for 12-15 additional parking spaces.
“The flow of parking in any town is like grains of sand,” said Hebert, an independent engineer commissioned by the town to assess the state of parking in Stoneham Square. “It changes from hour to hour, minute to minute, and certainly that area of Stoneham is no exception.”
Hebert’s basic findings concluded that Stoneham Square currently has adequate parking during peak times, but that those parking may have to walk between 200-600 feet. The parking is spread out in a 600 foot radius, and, for example, people may have to park in the library lot and walk to a Stoneham Theatre show on a Saturday night.
The 12-15 struck many, including the petitioners, as sadly ironic due to an eminent domain taking of 15 parking spaces owned by Paicopolous for municipal parking. The land acquisition took place at a lot adjacent to the Stoneham Public Library parking lot, and the lot currently serves as staff parking for the library staff.
According to Houghton, the petitioners are currently in negotiations with several private land owners to lease or purchase parking spaces. The most frequent site mentioned was the parking lot for Dairy Mart at the corner of Maple Street and Main Street.
“We’d like to get a commitment from the Board tonight, and then we can step up negotiations for things like parking spaces,” said Houghton.
The largest opponent to the project was Attorney Larry Murray, the owner of the former Odd Fellows Building at 1 Central Street. According to Murray, the new height of the project would affect the quality of his building, and would result in an empty building.
“The proposed structure will be much taller than the existing building, and 12 windows at 1 Central Street will be blocked by the proposal,” said Murray. “There will be no light coming through the windows, and all the leases on the property have changed since this development was proposed.”
“Each of the leases now provides language that will allow the lessees to leave if there is an obstruction,” added Murray.
The Planning Board attempted to address Murray’s concerns by requesting a setback at the top floor of the 45 foot building, and Houghton was receptive to the suggestion.
“We’re more than happy to provide a setback that could ease the effect on Mr. Murray’s building,” said Houghton. “He repeatedly requested that we decrease the number of units in the proposal, and we just can’t make that work with a parking garage component.”
With special permits in hand, both petitioners move on to site plan review with the Board of Selectmen. According to Houghton, both owners are beginning to address details big and small after the commitment from the Planning Board, and a September date at the Board of Selectmen could be a reasonable time frame.
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