Melrose Considers Banning Medical Marijuana Treatment Centers

A joint public hearing between the Melrose Board of Aldermen and the Melrose Planning Board was held Monday night at City Hall.

While a formal vote may not have taken place Monday night following a joint public hearing between the Melrose Board of Aldermen and the Melrose Planning Board at City Hall, city officials generally seemed to support a proposed ordinance that would ban medical marijuana treatment centers from being established in the community. Only a couple non-city officials spoke during the roughly half-hour hearing, including a pair of Melrose High School students and one Melrosian. However, all three agreed that banning medical marijuana treatment centers is the right thing to do. The Planning Board is expected to discuss the ordinance and submit a recommendation to the Aldermen in the next 21 days. If the city eventually approves the ordinance, …

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Construction is Underway at the Upham Street Residential Development Site

Eleven residential units will be erected at the Upham Street property, according to Melrose City Planner Denise Gaffey.

Eleven residential units of various types are in the process of being constructed at the Upham Street residential development site, according to Melrose City Planner Denise Gaffey. On Jan. 24, 2011, local developer Mark "Woody" Carroll received conditional approval from the Melrose Planning Board for an eight-unit residential development. However, he submitted a new proposal in the spring that called for more residential units to be built at the site. “According to the Applicant, a combination of financing requirements, market constraints, and structural limitations proved to be insurmountable obstacles that rendered the previously approved 8-unit development seemingly unfeasible,” according to a document containing the decision of the …

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Five Things You Need to Know Today

5 Things You Need To Know Today—Monday, June 25

Open parks program starts today; 30 and over pickup basketball; Planning Board meets.

Share your news and expertise by blogging on Melrose Patch! 1) Life's become just cloudy days:  Showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 7 a.m. Some of the storms could produce heavy rainfall. Patchy fog before 9 a.m. High near 73. South wind around 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90 percent. Tonight, showers and possibly a thunderstorm before 11 p.m., then a chance of showers after midnight. Low around 59. West wind between 5 and 8 mph. (Forecast by the National Weather Service.) 2) Saturday in the park, I think it was the fourth of July: The Open Parks Program starts today at Melrose Common, every Monday-Friday from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. The Melrose Recreation Department will have several instructors at the park all summer, available to play …

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Five Things You Need to Know Today

5 Things You Need To Know Today—Monday, March 26

Blood drive; toddler bedtime program at library; Planning Board meets on Upham Street development.

Get Melrose Patch each morning in your inbox with our daily newsletter! 1) Windy, W-I-N-D-Y: Mostly sunny, with a high near 48. Breezy, with a northwest wind between 15 and 25 mph, with gusts as high as 37 mph. Tonight, clear, with a low around 22. Blustery, with a northwest wind between 15 and 20 mph, with gusts as high as 32 mph. (Forecast by the National Weather Service.) 2) Give a little bit: The American Red Cross is holding a blood drive at the VFW Prince Post from 1:30-7 p.m. In March, all presenting donors will receive a coupon for a free lunch pack at Cumberland Farms, which includes a freshly prepared sandwich, any size fountain soda or frozen beverage, and a 1.5 oz. bag of Cumberland Farms brand chips. 3) I want you to move: The…

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Letters to the Editor

Letter: A Boutique Hotel for Old Sparks Lot

Melrosian Michael Dell Isola expounds on our recent "Visions for Vacancies" column that asked what you'd like to see in the former Sparks lot at Main and Grove.

Editor's note: This letter is in response to Melrose Patch's first "Visions for Vacancies" column that asked Melrosians what they'd like to see go into the former Sparks lot at Main and Grove Streets. To the editor: That spot is a gateway to the City's business district, just as picturesque Ell Pond is to the North. There is great potential to elevate Melrose to both a business and lodging destination as we are perfectly located between Routes 1, 93, and 128, not to mention the MBTA rail line. Seven miles north of Boston is no more than a 10-minute ride (unless you're on a mo-ped!) Paraphrasing from our website, "Melrose is a desirable compromise between the crowded metropolis of Boston and the frontier of rural exurbia (whatever that …

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Visions for Vacancies

What Should Go In The Old Sparks Location at Main and Grove?

In our new "Visions for Vacancies" series, we ask you what you'd like to see in vacant buildings or lots around Melrose.

Let's call this a modern spin on community planning—Melrose Patch's version of a charette, a digital drawing board where all ideas are on the table. Each month we'll present a new vacant building or lot and ask you to tell us what you think would be the best use. Forget what zone it's in, ignore setback regulations, dump lot coverage rules and all the other zoning jargon that puts people most to sleep. If you had your way, what would you like to see there? What would be the best use for the community? We launch this new series by featuring the former Sparks Computerized Car Care building and lot at the corner of Main Street and Grove Street. The site, officially 42-44 Grove St., is at the southern gateway to the downtown business district…

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City Hall and School Meetings: Oct. 3-7

Melrose board, commission and committee meetings taking place this week.

The following Melrose boards, commissions and committees are scheduled to meet this week. Agendas are available in PDF format on the city's website. The Melrose Board of Aldermen will meet at 7:45 p.m. Agenda highlight: Authorizing health department agreement between Melrose and Reading. The Melrose Planning Board will meet at 7:45 p.m. Agenda highlight: Continued site plan review of Blueberry Hill Lane subdivision. The Winthrop School Site Council will meet at 2:30 p.m. Agenda highlight: Completion of the School Improvement Plan (with addition of MCAS data). The Roosevelt School Site Council will meet at 3:45 p.m. Agenda highlight: Updating School Improvement PLan. The Melrose High School Site Council will meet at 6 p.m. Agenda highlights…

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City Hall and School Meetings: Sept. 19-23

Melrose board, commission and committee meetings taking place this week.

The following Melrose boards, commissions and committees are scheduled to meet this week. Agendas are available in PDF format on the city's website. The Melrose Board of Aldermen's subcommittees will meet at 7:15 p.m. Agenda highlights: Sale of alcoholic beverages at restaurants starting at 10 a.m. on Sunday (Protection and License Committee and, if recommended, Legal and Legislative Matters). The full Board of Aldermen will meet at 7:45 p.m. Agenda highlight: $125,000 appropriation from Mount Hood Reserve Fund to Mount Hood Capital Improvement account, for restoration of Slayton Tower. The aldermen and the Planning Board will hold a joint public hearing at 8 p.m. on a proposal to make amendments to the city's zoning ordinance as it …

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Planning Board Approves New Essex Street Condo Building

Next spring, McGrath Enterprises will demolish the current industrial building at 185 Essex St. and in its place construct a four-story, 16-unit condominium building.

Monday night the Melrose Planning Board approved plans to construct a condominium at 185 Essex St. The four-story, 16-unit building will likely begin construction next spring. The project moved quickly through the Planning Board's review process. McGrath Enterprises owner Tom McGrath and his team of designers first met with the board regarding this project on July 25. After a public hearing on Aug. 8, McGrath came before the board on Monday to finalize the project. The plan calls for the demolition of a 7,800 square foot industrial building, which currently houses a roofing company and dance studio, and construction of a roughly 5,900 square foot, four-story condominium and will be pulled back from the corner intersection—the current …

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