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Council votes to rezone underused area of Route 1

by Judy Capone

PEABODY — City councilors approved a special permit last week to rezone an area of Route 1 that encompasses Best Gas, the Carriage House Motel and the Bel-Aire Diner from a DDD (Designated Development District) to a BH (Business Highway).

DDD zoning was established in the late 1970s and was originally adopted to make developing office buildings easier. However, the DDD involves a myriad of restrictions with regards to creating retail stores and restaurants allowing for the area to remain underdeveloped when it has the potential to offer some valuable retail centers. The change to a Business Highway would offer the possibility of a Route 1 that looks more like the Saugus end with bustling plazas and restaurants.

Attorney David L. Ankeles represented the Kallas Family (who owns Best Gas and the Bel-Aire Diner) and R One Realty Co., Inc. (owners of the Carriage House Motel) before the council last week. Ankeles stated that with the DDD zone title in place his clients “can’t put any building of substance looking for retail use.”

However, with the Golden Banana adjacent to the parcels of land in question and the Amazing adult video store across the way, the council was concerned that adult entertainment and adult retail stores might be vying for the property.

Ward 3 Councilor Rico Mello said, “The fear is if we deny the special permit we will end up with more adult entertainment.”

Ankeles assured the council that the zoning change would be “exclusive of adult uses.” And that such language would be included in the zone change. When questioned as to what type of establishments were interested in pursuing developing the land Ankeles stated, “We have no deals. We are trying to bring people in.”

The Carriage House Motel was also an important factor in the council’s discussions. The zone change from a DDD to a BH would lend a hand in ending the frequent police calls to the trouble-laden Carriage House, an establishment that Councilor-at-Large Michael Garabedian referred to as “a black cloud over the city of Peabody.”

Ward 5 Councilor Michael Gamache supported the motion, which he said would help “clean up Route 1.”

Gamache also noted that past attempts to develop this portion of Route One have failed because the DDD doesn’t allow certain uses. He also stated, “It would benefit the city to get rid of the Carriage House.”