207 Highland Avenue Statement of Grounds
STATEMENT OF GROUNDS FOR TWO SPECIAL PERMITS FOR
207 HIGHLAND AVENUE, SALEM
Brief History of Recent Uses at 207 Highland Avenue: (Zoned B-2)
The existing commercial building and large paved parking lot at 207
Highland Avenue were built in about 1970 for a large auto sales dealership
which for many years was operated as “Highland Chevrolet”. Over the
subsequent years, portions of the building were used by unsuccessful or
transient users including smaller auto sales, a food bank, and a religious
church.
In 2015, a portion of the building was leased and renovated for
DaVita Health to operate a regional dialysis health center, which remains
there at present. That use was approved by the ZBA by a Decision dated
Sept. 2, 2015. The remainder of the building remained unimproved until
2023, when the ZBA approved Special Permits dated August 14, 2023 for
Rogus Motor Group, LLC to operate there as a used car sales business.
Both Decisions are attached to this application. Rogus Motor Group’s
business subsequently failed, and it vacated the building, leaving much of
the building space vacant again.
The applicant here is 207 Highland Avenue LLC, a company
organized under the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, which is
under contract to purchase the entire property, subject to receiving zoning
approval for the uses requested here. This LLC is owned and operated by
a group of experienced businessmen, some of whom have previous
experience and expertise in the adult day care business and the grocery
store business.
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The proposed retail grocery store business is allowed in this B-2
zoning district, and requires 77 on-site parking spaces, which are provided.
The adult day-care business requires a Speci al Permit to operate in
the B -2 District, and requires 60 dedicated on-site parking spaces, which
are provided. Virtually all of the day-care’s users will be transported to and
from the day-care daily by a fleet of about 8-9 passenger vans that will
leave them and pick them up at the front entrance of the day-care.
Grounds for the Special Permit for Adult Day-Care Use:
a. The adult day care is a basic community need as part of the social
fabric and economy of Salem. Allowing this use in this location will
serve real needs of the senior residents of the City and its
surrounds.
b. The on-site parking provided is compliant with the City’s
requirements, and the entrance, exit and traffic flow on-site were
established by previous ZBA Decisions; it has worked for years
without any significant problems, and should be continued as
shown on the applicants’ Plot Plan.
c. The building is already served by adequate municipal utilities and
public services for both uses, including water and sanitary sewer
services.
d. This is an existing commercial building with extensive paved
parking that has occupied this location for over 50 years. Because
the work proposed will be relatively small additions and extensive
interior improvements to the building, there will be no negative
impacts on the natural environment in the neighborhood, or
surface water drainage..
e. The property is in a B-2 (Business Highway) Zoning District,
adjacent to Highland Avenue. The character of the neighborhood
near the property is almost wholly commercial business, retail and
service company uses. In more recent years, a residential
condominium (Hawthorne’s Crossing) was developed off First
Street, which abuts the subject property. The proposed updating
of the building and proposed new uses are consistent with and will
actually improve the neighborhood character.
f. The potential fiscal impact of allowing these uses is very positive.
The construction and renovation work to improve and modernize
the building will create construction and contractor jobs, and the
proposed uses will add dozens of full -time and part-time jobs to
Salem’s economy. The improvements will certainly increase the
assessed value of the property and add additional property tax
income to the tax base of the City of Salem.
Grounds for Special Permit for Shared Parking:
Section 5.1.7 of the Ordinance reads:
“Shared Parking. No part of an off -street parking area required
by the Ordinance for any building or use shall be included as part of an off-
street parking area similarly required for another building or use unless the
type of buildings or us es indicates that the usage of such parking area
would not occur simultaneously, as determined by the Board of Appeals via
the grant of a special permit.”
As shown on the applicant’s Plot Plan, the applicant has more than
the legally required on-site parking spaces for the grocery store, and for the
adult day care center. However, because the adult day care center uses
vans to take it’s users to and from the day-care, and closes at 4:00 PM, it
has no practical need for all of its legally required spaces at any time, and
especially on weekends when it is closed, and during weekday hours after
4:00 PM when it is also closed, it is proposed that a special permit be
approved allowing the grocery store to share the use of those of its spaces
not needed by the adult day care, by mutual agreement.
Conclusion:
For all of the reasons recited herein, the Board has adequate grounds
for and should approve the special permits requested.