By DAN TOMASELLO
LYNNFIELD — Herb Chambers has agreed to install screening between the proposed new Porsche Service Station and Canterbury Road, atty. Jesse Schomer said during a recent Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) meeting.
The company is seeking Site Plan Approval under the Zoning Bylaw in order to construct a new Porsche Service Station at 433-451 Broadway, which is where Donovan’s Liquors is currently located. While the Route 1 North portion of the property is zoned General Business, a neighboring property at 807 Salem St. that is included as part of the Site Plan is located in a Residence A Zoning District.
As currently proposed, the Porsche Service Station will contain 12 service bays, washing stations, a parts department and spaces for employees and customers. The facility would have 149 parking spaces, 74 of which would be for the service station and 75 spaces would be for vehicle storage.
Schomer said Herb Chambers’ representatives met with a group of Canterbury Road residents during a site walk last month.
“We discussed the issue of screening at 807 Salem St. and some of their concerns about the noise,” said Schomer. “We discussed with the neighbors the placement of trees, the mix of species and where they would like those to be located near the property line.”
ZBA Chair Anthony Moccia thanked Schomer and the Herb Chambers team for undertaking the site walk with the project’s abutters to get their input about the screening. He asked why the 807 Salem St. property is included in the Site Plan Approval application.
“One of our charges is to impose reasonable conditions that mitigate the impact of the development that is subject to Site Plan Approval,” said Moccia. “The oddity is you offered up a residential lot as part of the Site Plan.”
Schomer said the 807 Salem St. property is included in the Site Plan Approval application because of some “minor grading activity there.”
Moccia also asked what would happen to the screening if Herb Chambers sells the 807 Salem St. property.
“We are agreeable to having it part of the Site Plan for the purpose of having the board impose conditions on the site,” said Schomer. “I don’t see any issue with the board imposing a condition that we are voluntarily saying yes to. We are also agreeing to it voluntarily with the neighbors, and have no intent to go back on that. There are no plans to sell the property now, but if a sale were to happen in the future, those trees would remain.”
Moccia asked if the Broadway lots have room to accommodate trees for screening if they were planted on those parcels instead of the 807 Salem St. property.
“The slope between the parking and the property line is pretty steep,” said Williams and Sparages professional engineer Richard Williams. “It would not be the best place to plant the trees, but we can take a look at it.”
In response to a question from Moccia, Schomer said the current plan is to plant the trees along a fence that will separate the Porsche Service Station and the 807 Salem St. property.
Moccia said he wants to get Town Counsel Tom Mullen’s opinion on the 807 Salem St. property being included in the Site Plan Approval application.
“The purpose of this is not to throw up speed bumps or hurdles to make it more difficult for this project to go forward,” said Moccia. “We just need to be implementing the provisions of the (Zoning Bylaw).”
Moccia also asked if the existing trees that would be removed as part of the Porsche Service Station project would be subject to the Tree Preservation Bylaw that the Planning Board enforces.
“Most likely,” said Schomer.
Moccia asked what types of trees would be planted in order to provide screening for Canterbury Road residents.
Schomer said a “mix” of trees will be planted.
“That is one of the things we were talking about with the neighbors,” said Schomer. “They definitely don’t want the solid row of arborvitaes along the fence. They want them spaced out a little bit, and want a mix. They want some pine trees and maybe some deciduous trees that do drop their leaves during the winter, but they do provide some more visual interest. We want to create something that is lush and provides a dense amount of screening, but at the same time doesn’t box in the neighbors.”
Moccia asked Williams to examine whether the 433-451 Broadway property is large enough to have trees planted for screening instead of on the 807 Salem St. property. He recalled that the Conservation Commission is also reviewing the project’s plans and it is going through a peer view.
“It wouldn’t be good that we approve the Site Plan only to have ConCom come in afterwards and impose certain conditions that require a change,” said Moccia. “We want to make sure it is sequenced in a way that we don’t have to worry about.”
Schomer said Herb Chambers wants the ZBA and Conservation Commission to close the two different public hearings at the same time to make sure both boards are on the same page.
In addition to screening, Schomer also said Canterbury Road residents recently expressed concerns about pest control after Donovan’s Liquors gets razed before the proposed Porsche Service Station gets constructed.
“They also expressed to us there were some existing issues with vermin around the site,” said Schomer. “We are going to discuss beefing up pest control measures around the site. We discussed with them the controls that would be required by the Board of Health prior to any demolition to make sure there are traps in place so that won’t be an issue when the building does come down.”
Schomer also said deliveries to the Porsche Service Station would take place during business hours.
“Deliveries to the site would be limited to things such as tow trucks and deliveries of parts, office supplies and things of that nature,” said Schomer. “There wouldn’t be any deliveries of large trucks of vehicles like what happens with the automotive dealerships down the road. What Herb Chambers has proposed to do is instruct their vendors, contractors and tow truck drivers to only have deliveries made during business hours. Having said that, we don’t want to overcommit here. There will be situations where a tow truck driver who doesn’t have a relationship with Herb Chambers makes a delivery during off-hours. That is not something we can control. If it does take place in a one-off occurrence, we will inform that driver or company that is not to take place going forward.”
In response to a question from Moccia, Schomer said dumpsters will be located at the rear of the Porsche Service Station. He also said the dumpsters will have a fence around them, and trash will be collected during regular business hours. The Porsche Service Station will be open from 7 a.m.-7 p.m. from Monday through Friday, and 7 a.m.-5 p.m. on Saturdays. The facility will be closed on Sundays.
Canterbury Road resident Nancy Pecoraro said the trees that get planted for screening “should provide shade, light and noise blocking.”
“While arborvitaes might be allowed, they are no more useful than a fence,” said Pecoraro. “But unlike a fence, they are a favorite snack of the deer that live a stone’s throw away in the Lynn Woods.”
Moccia asked Pecoraro what kinds of trees she wants planted to provide screening.
“The bigger the species, the better,” said Pecoraro.
Pecoraro also requested that Herb Chambers be required to maintain the 807 Salem St. property as part of the Site Plan Approval process.
Moccia inquired what are the current plans for the 807 Salem St. home.
“There are currently no plans for that property,” said Schomer. “It was part of a package deal when Herb Chambers acquired Donovan’s. It was Mr. Donovan’s former residence and it came with the property. Because it is residentially zoned, there is nothing we can do presently with it other than residential use. There are no plans to sell it.”
Canterbury Road resident Steve Digangi said he wants to make sure whatever conditions the ZBA incorporates into the Site Plan Approval process “are enforced.”
“When Lynnfield Commons went in, I remember them saying, ‘if there are any complaints, you can just call the police and if there are any cars going up, get their license plate and there will be a log,’” said Digangi. “We called and a dispatcher said one time, ‘what log?’ I got threatened one time by a car that dropped someone off at Lynnfield Commons. It’s all fine and good that you are making these conditions, but I just plead that they get enforced.”
Moccia said Building Inspector Joe O’Callaghan will be responsible for making sure the conditions included as part of the Porsche Service Station approval process “are honored.”
“I can’t sit here and absolutely guarantee you that under no set of circumstances will there ever be a violation, but they are obligated to build the project substantially in accordance with the conditions that we impose,” said Moccia. “We hear you and will try to be as sensitive as we can.”
After the discussion, the ZBA continued the Porsche Service Station public hearing to its next meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 7.
“We will continue to work with the neighbors,” said Schomer.
