By MARK SARDELLA
WAKEFIELD — The Zoning Board of Appeals wants to see more details before approving plans for a café/bistro at 1179 Main St. in Greenwood. The owners of the property, Joe and Sarah Toretta, owned D’Amici’s Bakery when it was on Salem Street and own several other food establishments in surrounding towns. The proposed Greenwood eatery would have a different menu and a different name.
Attorney Michael McCarthy said that the couple had hoped for ZBA approval last night so that they could move ahead and apply for a Beer and Wine License. But while the board was generally favorably inclined, they wanted some loose ends tied up before granting the requested variances.
The property in question is on the corner of Main and Hanson streets, just past the Most Blessed Sacrament Church.
McCarthy said that there is currently a Post Office annex on one side of the existing building, which will remain. In the past, the other side of the building has housed a bagel shop and a dry cleaning business, McCarthy said. Also on the property is another building with five one-bedroom apartments.
The owners were seeking relief for parking and for the drive-up window which they want to relocate to the south side of the building.
The Torettas said that they would like to start out as a coffee/sandwich shop/bakery open for breakfast and lunch and subsequently open for dinner Thursday through Saturday. They said that the menu would be limited and the only ovens used would be convection ovens.
Drive-through customers would enter from Hanson Street and exit on Main Street. The board wanted clear “Do Not Enter” signage on the Main Street side and clearly marked striping on the parking lot.
The board asked for a new set of elevations and an updated plot plan showing the locations of signage as well as color renditions of planned signage on the building itself. They also wanted a plan for snow removal, trash pickup and outside lighting.
The hearing was continued to Jan. 28.
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The ZBA granted a variance that will allow William and Dana Nardone to move forward with construction of a larger new home at 45 Outlook Rd. on the site of the home where they have been living for a number of years.
Representing the Nardones, McCarthy reminded board members that they had previously approved the project in 2014. However, Nardone had since discovered that due to the steep drop in the grade behind the house, the height of the proposed new house would exceed the allowed 35 feet by just over two feet.
McCarthy stressed that the level of the roofline would not change from what had been previously approved. The change in height, he said, was strictly a technical matter due to the lower than anticipated grade. Barring a variance from the board, he said that the only ways to correct it would be to build a retaining wall around the site and fill it in or shave a floor off the proposed house.
One neighbor claimed that by doing work in the rear of the existing home in the past, Nardone himself had created some of the problem for which he was now seeking relief. Several other abutters spoke and expressed their concerns about runoff from the site.
But McCarthy reminded the board that the project was already approved and the only issue before them was the request for a height variance due to the topography of the site.
The ZBA voted unanimously to grant the variance.
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The Board of Appeals made separate findings that will allow the upgrading of Cingular Wireless/AT&T antenna installations. One of the sites is a monopole antenna on Bay State Road behind the Lodge of Elks building. The other location is on top of the Taylor Building at 414 Main St. The antenna upgrades will allow for continuing upgrades of the company’s 4G LTE technology.
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The board approved a minor modification to the Cumberland Farms’ 200 Lowell St. site plan for a steel roof ladder attached to the rear of the building. The board did require some attachments to the ladder to help prevent unauthorized access.
