Home Depot gets approval from Planning Board
Published on April 18th, 2007
STONEHAM, MA - The town's Planning Board unanimously endorsed a proposed 133,000 square foot Home Depot and adjacent three-story office park along Fallon Road last Wednesday night.
According to Planning Board Chairman August Niewenhous, because of the size and scope of the project, proposed to be erected at the former headquarters of A.W. Chesterton at 225 Fallon Road, last Wednesday night's approval was preliminary in nature.
Specifically, Niewenhous explained, the Planning Board will again meet this April 25 on the Home Depot plan, so that the elected officials are satisfied that all necessary conditions are tacked onto the final decision.
During the public hearing process, which stretched over a nine-month span, the project proponents, represented by attorney Mark Vaughan, of Burlington's Riemer & Braunstein firm, consented to a number of contingencies, mostly related to traffic mitigation.
Vaughan, who is currently on vacation, couldn't be reached for comment on the recent Planning Board vote.
"The final decision will present very stringent safeguards for the project's impacts on the community," said the Planning Board Chair, during a phone interview earlier this week.
"There will be a lot of conditions [attached onto this approval]. And because it's such a large decision, we will review it in detail on April 25," furthered Niewenhous, who labeled the post-decision review as virtually unprecedented during his long tenure on the board.
The Richmond Company, a commercial real-estate firm based out of Wilmington, reportedly purchased the 16.2 acre site, located in south Stoneham near the Winchester line, last spring for $7.4 million. Facing strenuous opposition from Park and Marble Street residents in the bordering south Stoneham neighborhoods, Vaughan and Richmond Company Senior Project Manager David Armanetti repeatedly rehashed the project's traffic mitigation plan in order to satisfy local resident's demands. Some of those mitigations, which will be incorporated into the final decision on April 25, include:
• The creation of a cul-de-sac along Park Street at Mosley Park, which will prohibit traffic from cutting across the roadway to I-93 and other southern points from Marble Street or to Marble Street from North Border Road.
• The construction of a slip ramp from Park Street onto I-93 North, which is intended to allow vehicles coming from Marble Street direct access to the highway - instead of having to alter their routes in a manner that burdens the Main and Marble Street intersection.
• Infrastructure for a one-way "slip-lane" onto Park Street from North Border Road will be in place to act as an "insurance plan" in case diverted vehicles overwhelm other surrounding neighborhoods; • A $100,000 bond will be placed with the town for the construction of the one-way slip-lane, which could be put in place within 12-months of the opening of Home Depot;
• A $250,000 mitigation package will be given to the Town of Stoneham, specifically for traffic enforcement and State Police patrols of the nearby Sheepfold Reservation;
• The developer will foot the bill for a full redesign and layout of the South/Main/Pond Street intersection, as well as several other nearby intersection improvements, even if the planned Boston Regional Medical Center redevelopment is still going through state reviews. According to Park Street resident Joseph Teneriello, the founder of the Citizens for the Ethical Development of the Fallon Road Area (CEDFRA), he was very pleased with the Planning Board's decision. Teneriello, whose CEDFRA group spearheaded the beginning opposition to the Home Depot project, commented this week that the residents of south Stoneham will be adequately protected from any project-associated traffic, thanks to the mitigation package offered by the Richmond Company.
CEDFRA, which originally fought against any Home Depot being constructed at the Fallon Road site, later dropped that stance and began compromising with the developer, with traffic impacts being the primary consideration. Based upon the developers estimates, 3,200 new vehicle trips will be created each day with the construction of the Home Depot. However, by blocking off Park Street with a cul-de-sac, Armanetti and Teneriello contend that a significant portion of the estimated 8,400 cars that travel down Park Street, and the over 12,000 commuters that cross into Stoneham from Marble Street, will find alternate routes.
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