Town Zoning Board to mull over Fallon Road self-storage facility
Published on May 14th, 2008
STONEHAM, MA - The town's Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) will deliberate on a proposal to erect a self-storage warehouse in South Stoneham at the former A.W. Chesterton property.
According to attorney Mark Vaughan, representing Wilmington-based The Richmond Company, his clients hope to construct a five-story, 95,000 square foot building along the eastern portion of the 16.2 acre parcel.
The site, once eyed by the commercial real-estate firm as a viable location for a Home Depot, is located off of Fallon Road near the Wilmington line and I-93.
"My client has decided that it makes sense to proceed with a development on the front portion of the site," the Riemer & Braunstein lawyer explained in a phone interview. "The feel very confident that a high-end, aesthetically pleasing self-storage facility would work for them."
The ZBA, which will consider the proposal on May 22 at 7:30 p.m., is being asked to grant a parking variance that allows for the placement of 9 spots at the facility.
Building Inspector Cheryl Noble denied the original application, filed on April 28, because the town's zoning bylaws require that 128 parking spots be placed at a 95,000 square foot commercial development.
According to Vaughan, the self-storage facility generates little traffic, and the use will never need to accommodate 128 customers at once.
In correspondence to town officials, Richmond Company representative David Armanetti pointed-out that a similar parking waiver was granted by the Zoning Board a few years ago, when a self-storage warehouse was built along Montvale Avenue.
"The off-street parking spaces as provided as part of our proposal are consistent with accepted standards and ratios throughout the self-storage industry," Armanetti argues.
Based upon materials submitted to the ZBA, the self-storage facility, which is a permitted use in the Fallon Road area, would stand about 60 feet high and be built to look like an office building.
About 400 square feet of office space would be placed on the first floor of the five-story building, and a 1,800 square foot loading dock would also be attached to the structure.
In April of 2007, the Planning Board granted a special permit allowing The Richmond Company to construct a 133,000 square foot Home Depot and 12,000 square foot office building at the Fallon Road site.
During the Planning Board proceedings, which lasted over a year, residents from the South Stoneham neighborhood blasted the Home Depot plan, arguing that it wreak traffic havoc along the Park Street area.
Last October, Home Depot officials informed the Wilmington firm that they would not proceed with the lease agreement. Since that time, Town Administrator David Ragucci has been working with the developer to identify a new use for the site.
According to Vaughan, his client has not determined what type of development should be placed at the remainder Fallon Road site, which was purchased from A.W. Chesterton for $7.4 million.
The self-storage facility, which would be situated on one-acre of the 16 acre parcel, will draw little to no traffic into the area and also require few municipal services, the attorney contends.
The new building would generate approximately $100,000 in annual tax revenue, according to estimates prepared by the petitioners.
"That's really why my client decided this would be a viable and appropriate use," said Vaughan of the traffic worries. "We heard very clearly the last time that one of the biggest concerns, if not the biggest, is traffic."
"My clients have really not reached any consensus on what would be the best use for the rest of that site. But they're confident that this use would not have an adverse impact on the rest of the site."
"I think it's pretty safe to say that there's been a recognition that this would not be an inappropriate use, in terms of impacts to the neighborhood," the Burlington-based attorney said.
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