North Braintree CVS Re-Zone Approved

Coming off a recommendation from Mayor Joseph Sullivan and favorable action by the Planning Board and Committee on Rules & Ordinance, a proposal to re-zone a portion of the former South Shore Auto Lines to make way for a CVS received unanimous approval from town councilors on Wednesday night.

The development at 90 Church St., along with future work slated for 7-11 Independence Ave., will help create a corridor in Braintree with "the potential to serve as an appropriate gateway into our Town from Quincy," Sullivan wrote in a letter to the Town Council.

The council voted 8-0 with Ronald DeNapoli absent to approve re-zoning 9,677 square feet of Residence C land to General Business. Site plan review will come next in front of the Planning Board.

No neighbors spoke at Wednesday night's meeting. Attorney Frank Marinelli said that the developer has spoken several times with those who live nearby and sorted out issues such as lighting and the hours of operation. The CVS, which will replace the one nearby in Quincy, will be open from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.

The site has been home for decades to automobile-related businesses, including South Shore Chrysler for many years, and then South Shore Auto Lines when Chrysler pulled out following the economic collapse in 2008.

The plan is to demolish the buildings on the site, including a home in the currently-zoned Residence C portion that is not conforming to Braintree's zoning laws, Marinelli said.

A reconfigured site, zoned entirely General Business and including smaller and more strategically located curb cuts and a brick veneer, clapboard and gabled 12,900 square foot CVS with a drive-through is "appropriate as a manner of planning policy," Marinelli told the subcommittee last month.

For more information, see this previous article: http://braintree.patch.com/articles/prospects-good-for-cvs-move-from-south-quincy-to-north-braintree.