Business & Tech
No Decision on Dunkin' Donuts Drive-Thru
Zoning Board of Appeals grants continuance to Scrivanos Group, owner of the Dunkin' Donuts on the Fells Parkway, to address concerns raised by the Planning Board.
In a decision that was met by the groans of about two dozen Melrose residents in attendance, the Melrose Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) voted unanimously on Wednesday last week to grant a continuance to the owners of the Dunkin' Donuts at 470 Lynn Fells Parkway, who are seeking to add a drive-thru window to the store.
The case, which was originally third on the evening's agenda, was pushed to the last slot on the agenda by ZBA Chairwoman Rita Mercado, who said that such a move would allow enough time for everyone to participate.
However, when the time came for Dunkin' Donuts owner The Scrivanos Group to present its case, they asked for a continuance, stating that the Melrose Planning Board raised a number of issues during a lengthy meeting on Monday, July 26 and the group needed extra time to address those issues before presenting their plans to the ZBA.
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The Scrivanos Group — a North Reading-based franchisee of Dunkin' Brands that operates over 120 store locations throughout New England — is not required to meet with the Planning Board a second time, but will submit their updated plans to the ZBA at the next scheduled meeting on Wednesday, Aug. 25.
Denise Gaffey, Melrose City Planner, said that the Planning Board felt that The Scrivanos Group did not submit enough information with its initial application for the drive-thru window.
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"There wasn't really sufficient analysis of the concerns about pedestrian safety," among other issues, Gaffey said, who added that the plans seemed over-simplified. "There were many insufficiencies with the application in terms of the level of detail and the level of analysis that one would expect for this type of proposal, given the concerns with that site — the adjacency to the schools and to two very tricky intersections."
That criticism led The Scrivanos Group to ask the ZBA for a continuance, saying that the two days between meetings had not given them a chance to fully address the concerns of the Planning Board. The ZBA voted 5-0 to approve the continuance.
Melrose residents who had stayed for the entire meeting in order to voice their concerns in a public forum about the plans for a drive-thru at the Dunkin' Donuts were visibly irritated by this decision, with some saying that The Scrivanos Group was deliberately stalling in order to limit public opposition.
