Donut shop may be permanently frosted
Published on July 2nd, 2003
STONEHAM, MA - With a very short window of time to adjust to parking and traffic concerns as well as mounting criticism from local abutters, the petitioner for the planned 30 seat Dunkin' Donuts/Baskin Robbins eatery at 128 Franklin Street has withdrawn the troubled site plan.
According to Charles Houghton, attorney for Dunkin Donut petitioner Frank Pino and land-owner Gerard McCarthy, the petitioner needs time to "make major changes" and "redesign the site."
"We'll be back," said Houghton of the plan for the site at the corner of Franklin and Stevens Street. "There are several changes we need to make based on the traffic study. I don't even know all of the changes at this time, but we're going to change the site around quite a bit."
"We couldn't deal with these kind of changes in just a week," added Houghton. "Within that week, we decided we can make some of the changes, and we're going to hire a traffic consultant (Greenman and Peterson) of our own."
According to Houghton, it will take some time for their consultant to gather and digest data concerning the traffic situation at the Franklin Street site.
Houghton said he was still uncertain if subsequent changes to the site will appease abutters strenuously opposed to the project.
"It depends on which proposal we end up doing," said Houghton. "I don't even know which plan we're going to end up submitting. That's why we're withdrawing."
Houghton couldn't give specifics about when the altered site plan would be submitted, or the actual alterations being considered for the plan.
The independent traffic report, compiled by Vanasse, Hangen and Brustlin of Watertown, cited problems with insufficient parking on the site, the ice cream and donut parlor's effect on an already problematic intersection at Franklin Street and Stevens Street, the lack of a loading zone area and a congested plan to share space with Mac's Landscaping equipment.
The public hearing was initially continued until the July 1 meeting of the Board of Selectmen, but was moved, along with everything else on the agenda, to Wednesday July 2.
According to Board of Selectmen Clerk Muriel Doherty, the Tuesday Selectmen meeting wasn't posted 48 hours prior to 7 p.m. on Tuesday night, and instead was moved to Wednesday night.
"With the Special Town meeting and everything else going, it just slipped my mind to post the meeting," said Doherty, who then had to make arrangement for all involved parties to attend the Wednesday night meeting. "It's been a busy couple of weeks."
A pair of site plan hearings, including the most recent hearing held on June 17, revealed a neighborhood squarely against the project, and the potential traffic woes it could create.
"There will be no rest for the residents of Brook Meadow, Benjamin Terrace, or Franklin Street if this is built," said resident Ruth Sheffe. "We'll have the coffee and donut people in the morning, and the ice cream people in the afternoon and evening. When do we get a rest from it?"
Selectman Cosmo Ciccarello was skeptical that any redesign would solve traffic and safety concerns contained in the area.
"In my mind, you're not making that area any better...you're making it worse," said Ciccarello. "I don't think there's any way the Board could go along with something like that."
"I think it's going cause a lot of traffic and accidents," added Ciccarello. "That's my concern."
Ciccarello wasn't sure what, if any, changes would improve the site's viability as a location for a "fast food establishment."
"Is he going to come back with the ice cream and the Dunkin Donuts? Or is he going to have the Mac's Landscaping trucks, too?" said Ciccarello. "I have to keep an open mind. I'm not against any project, but it has to be common sense, and not cause mass confusion over there."
"I think they realize it themselves," added Ciccarello. "They wanted a donut shop, an ice cream shop, a place for Mac's Landscaping to house his business, and they wanted an ATM machine. They wanted their cake, they wanted to eat it, and they didn't want to share with anybody else."
Ciccarello suggested that the developer get together with the non-plussed residents, and attempt to find a workable solution for all parties involved.
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