News

Developer seeks rehearing of Demoulas variance

Seabrook Town Notebook
Angeljean Chiaramida
Published: July 3, 2009

The attorney for Developers Diversified Realty has petitioned Seabrook's Zoning Board of Adjustment for a rehearing on the May 27 variances the board awarded Demoulas Supermarkets for the renovation and expansion of their shopping center located north of the Route 1/107 intersection.

Demoulas received three variances from the ZBA for its project known as Market Basket North; one allows Demoulas to put two buildings on one lot, instead of only one as town zoning permits. DDR representatives were not present at the May 27 hearing.

DDR is a huge shopping center developer headquartered in Ohio. Since 2006, DDR has tried to gain permission from the town to build a nearly half-million-square-foot shopping center on about 50 acres of land behind Provident Bank, just east of the Route 1/107 intersection. After years of debate, DDR's large shopping center project was rejected by the Planning Board this spring, primarily because of traffic issues.

Demoulas executive Mike Kettenbach hired a traffic engineer and other professionals because he believed DDR's road improvements wouldn't be sufficient to absorb all the additional cars the large shopping center would draw. Kettenbach said without further improvements to Route 1, traffic drawn to the large DDR project would "choke" Route 1, harming the town's quality of life and inhibiting other businesses, like the Demoulas company's two grocery stores, along the roadway.

DDR did obtain permission from the Planning Board to build a smaller project on its site, a 136,000-square-foot Target Department Store.

DDR's attorney, Malcolm McNeill Jr., filed the request of a rehearing with the ZBA on June 25, less than 30 days from the date of the ZBA decision. The multi-page motion for rehearing, also filed at Rockingham Superior Court, according to the document, states in a cover letter that the reason for the rehearing is because DDR is directly affected by the (ZBA's) decision to grant the variances and is .20 miles from the Demoulas project. McNeill's motion also states Demoulas has been granted the same type of relief that DDR was denied by the Seabrook ZBA on May 31, 2006.

In the summary of his motion, McNeill requests that at the rehearing the ZBA "deny all three variances requested by (Demoulas)."

The ZBA will consider McNeill's request for a rehearing at its meeting on July 22. Should the board agree to rehear Demoulas' cases, however, that would not be done until the ZBA's Aug. 26 meeting.

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Seabrook selectmen have lowered the speed limits along Atlantic Avenue, Ocean Drive and Portsmouth Avenue from 30 to 25 mph. All are beach roads.

The move was prompted by a request from Dick Maguire, a Seabrook Beach Village District commissioner. Maguire told selectmen at their last meeting that traveling at 30 mph in a car is too fast for these narrow, residential roads, often filled with beach-goers.

As allowed by state law, selectmen lowered the speed limit after local police did a traffic study of the roads, determining the speed of 30 mph was greater than is reasonable and safe.

The new speed limits go into effect as soon as signs can be installed.

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The Seabrook Women's Club is welcoming new members. Any woman in the seacoast area who is 20 years of age or older is eligible to join the Seabrook Women's Club.

Annual dues are $10, and meetings are held the second Thursday each month at the Precinct Building on Route 1A at 7 p.m., unless otherwise noted. The next meeting will be on Thursday at 7 p.m. Comedy entertainment and an ice cream social are planned.

On Wednesday, July 15, club members will attend the Amesbury Playhouse for lunch and the performance of the comedy/mystery, "Catch Me if You Can."

On Sept. 12, the club will hold its annual yard sale.

For more information on the Seabrook Women's Club, call Dorothy Clark at 603-474-3590.

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Last call for the upcoming Seabrook Library and Historical Society presentation about Seabrook folk artist George H. Boyd. Rye author Jim Cullen will be present at the library at 7 p.m. on Thursday, July 9, to discuss his book, "Finely Carved and Nicely Painted," which is about Boyd, whose carved decoys and sea birds are sought by collectors and some of which have sold for as much as $6,000.

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Angeljean Chiaramida covers Seabrook for The Daily News. She can be reached via e-mail at achiaramida@newburyportnews.com, or at 978-462-6666, ext. 3271.