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The Planning Board has tabled a discussion of a proposed development by the Treetop Group at 972 Main St. until its next meeting on Sept. 8. An abandoned muffler shop currently sits on the site.
The Aug. 4 meeting was planned as a continuation of discussion from July when most of the debate was about turning radii in the parking garage.
Radii is the plural of radius, the area of a circle, but in discussion members occasionally used the term radiuses or just radius as the plural form.
“We’re looking for a redesign of the turning radii with the option to reduce parking spaces to manage the width on passage ways,” Planning Board Chair Jack LeMenager said at the time. “We’d probably be ready to approve that.”
After the Aug, 4 meeting, he added, “The applicant has satisfied the Planning Board in all aspects of the proposal. The only open question pertains to the garage and the inadequate dimensions of travel lanes. The applicant has gone back to the drawing board to revise the design. The garage was the final challenge and if the applicant needs a variance, that decision is the responsibility of the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA).”
It isn’t, at least not yet. Zoning Coordinator Carla McGrath reported, “I have no information on 972 Main.”
The matter may come up at the Sept. 8 meeting, given Building Commissioner Tom Kennedy reported he has received plans for a redesign of the garage, which he said “looks encouraging and much closer to what we need.”
Commenting on the time this is all taking, from meetings dating back to at least June 2025, with adjustments to setbacks, whether the building would have recessed windows and entryways to residential units and commercial space, among other things, member Keri Layton said, “It will be worthwhile if we end up with a project that sets a great precedent for development to come in this corridor.”
Kennedy added approval of the first project in the Main Street Mixed Use District has been a “learning process.”
The turn-around issue was just the latest snag.
“The revised plans submitted July 6 continue to contain several outstanding issues that prevent staff from completing a full technical review of the proposed development,” Town Planner Taylor Herman wrote to members before the July 7 meeting. “In addition to the missing documentation requested throughout the process, the revised plans propose several dimensional elements that require variance relief. Throughout the process, both the Planning Board and staff have repeatedly requested the Applicant provide a turning radius analysis demonstrating how vehicles would enter, exit and maneuver throughout the interior parking lot.
“Despite repeated requests, the requested documentation has not been submitted,” Herman continued. “Without this information, the staff is unable to determine whether the proposed parking configuration safely accommodates vehicle circulation, whether vehicles can reasonably maneuver within the site or whether the requested parking related relief is appropriate.”
Requested relief includes shrinking spaces from 19x9 feet to 18x9.
Plans were submitted July 7, but Kennedy pointed out dimensions on some plans were not accurate, creating “a burden for staff to review” and in requests for variances or waivers “you have to show a hardship. What would be the hardship showing they need lower dimensions?”
In a July 6 letter to the Planning Board, Treetop’s attorney Jeffrey Ugino responded, “I am happy to address these matters in greater detail July 7.”
At the meeting he mentioned needing waivers because the plans were 1 inch short of the 12-foot sidewalk setback and possibly shrinking the requirement for a 24-foot driving aisle in addition to the size of parking spaces, while the agenda also indicated there would be discussion on a “Special Permit required to allow a 5 foot rear setback for parking abutting residentially zoned district when 10 feet is required.”
There was little or no discussion and no decisions made July 7, but Kennedy repeated the latest plans have a 10-foot setback.
“The building was a little too large, but we worked things through,” he said.
Adding a wrinkle to things is the fact that a fire in mid-April on the site is triggering requirements for environmental remediation by the state Department of Environmental Protection and demolition of the building may uncover other issues.
The fire was the result of an explosion involving oil containers on the site, firefighters extinguishing a small fire at the scene. No injuries were reported.
The Winchester Fire Department received mutual aid from surrounding departments to man station coverage in town.
Neil Zolot has been a freelance journalist more than 40 years. He has worked for newspapers on the North Shore and in the Boston area.
