TOWN OF HOLDEN
ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS
HEARING
The Richmond Company, Inc. Case No. V 0710
The Zoning Board of Appeals held a public hearing on July 26, 2007 at 6:30 p.m. in Memorial Hall, 1196 Main Street, Holden, MA on the Petition of The Richmond Company, Inc. for property located at 4 – 6 Holt Road, 1147 Main Street and 1133 Main Street for VARIANCES for four driveways and a reduced distance from intersections for a new Walgreens Pharmacy.
Members of the Board in attendance: Ronald Spakauskas, Ronald Oslebo, Roy Fraser, Silvio Annunziata and Fred Lonardo.
The Chairman called the hearing to order. Attorney Robert Longden, representing the applicant, addressed the Board. He presented a plan with the existing conditions and another with the pro-posed pharmacy. The applicant and attorney have met with the abutters and several boards in the last year. The plan is a result of these discussions. He further explained that the pharmacy is allowable because the area is zoned commercial. They are seeking dimensional variances.
Atty. Longden further explained that the current three-lot configuration now has six unrestricted driveways in a small area, and that the reduction to only four driveways is an improvement. The plan includes two driveways on Main Street, one 36-feet wide for the two-way traffic and one 20-feet wide for access to the drive-through in the rear of the building. The other driveways, one on Holt Road and one on Laurelwood Road are in the rear of the building.
Several abutters spoke against granting the variances objecting from issues to due with the size of the building to the plan to reconfigure intersections. However, these concerns are not within the purview of the Zoning Board of Appeals.
The residents wanted to see the Laurelwood Road entrance gated. The Board said it was for emer-gency vehicles only. Residents were also concerned about confused drivers coming down Laurelwood Road and trying to gain entrance to the drive-through at that entrance.
Holt Road residents objected to the exit on their road, which the Richmond Group’s traffic experts say will probably only generate one vehicle per hour. The traffic design plan also includes widen-ing Holt Road from its present 14 feet to 22 feet next to Walgreens to accommodate a turning lane and emergency vehicles. However, the abutters felt this would make it even more difficult for pedestrians than it is now.
MassHighway, which has jurisdiction over traffic lights on the Rte. 122A state highway that is Main Street, has declined to move the traffic light situated half a block away to the intersection of Holt, Boyden and Main Street, saying Holt and Boyden do not generate enough vehicle traffic. Dennis J. Lipka, Director of Growth Management, said the town has pursued that improvement with MassHighway to no avail.
Richmond Group representatives also displayed a plan that showed how the driveways would look if the developer followed commercial district bylaws, without having to seek a variance. That plan would have only the two driveways allowed, both in the rear of the lot, with all traffic entering and exiting on Holt and Laurelwood. Atty. Longden said this would not be desirable or feasible and would not work. Drive-through pharmacy service is now standard for successful pharmacies.
Lance Lazar, a Bancroft Road resident, suggested the plan needed additional work to make it more pleasing to the neighbors. He felt that the building at 14,500 square feet, would be too large a presence.
Other residents were concerned about property values in their neighborhood, once the Walgreens is built.
The Chairman explained to the abutters that this plan will now undergo site plan review with the Planning Board, at which time some of the residents’ issues will be addressed.
Since there were no further comments or questions, the public hearing was officially closed at 9:30 p.m.
The Board voted 4-l to grant the Variances with the condition that 1) The granting of this variance is contingent upon the successful review and issuance of the appropriate street entry permits by MassHighway. S. Annunziata was opposed.
Ronald E. Spakauskas, Chairman
| 
