Planners tackle zoning petition
By Emily Devlin |
PUBLISHED: April 12, 2010 at 12:00 am | UPDATED: July 12, 2019 at 12:00 am
FITCHBURG — Petitioners who proposed a zoning amendment to ban medical offices on Main Street will make their case before the Planning Board Tuesday night.
The petition calls for an amendment to the city zoning ordinance, to require that medical offices acquire a special permit from the City Council before opening downtown.
The City Council heard anti-abortion advocates speak in favor of the petition in March, before sending it to the Planning Board for review. Anti-abortion advocates oppose the Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts' plan to open an office at 391 Main St.
"We try to encourage people to stay on topic, and try to refrain from undue repetition of the same points," said Planning Board Chairman Paula Caron.
The Planning Board will make a recommendation to the City Council following the hearing, and another hearing before the council will take place on May 18, before city councilors take a vote on the proposed amendment, according to Caron.
But Caron said it's questionable whether any change to the zoning ordinance can prevent Planned Parenthood from moving to 391 Main St., because contractors have already pulled a building permit for the property to renovate it to make it suitable for medical use.
The permit was issued on March 24, according to the permit application provided by the city Community Development Department, and states the renovation includes selective demolition of existing space and new electrical, heating, sprinkler and plumbing upgrades for a new medical office.
Planned Parenthood officials have not said whether a lease has been signed, and did not return phone calls seeking comment.
Caron said because a hearing on the proposed zoning amendment wasn't posted until March 30, Planned Parenthood's plans would be unaffected, as will existing medical offices.
Caron said there could be advantages to passing an amendment banning medical offices on Main Street, from an image standpoint, even if Planned Parenthood weren't in the picture.
"In particular, in the downtown, (city officials) want to attract a more business-friendly environment, more of a restaurant and retail venue," Caron said. "For a long time it has been a lot more of the support services."
Anti-abortion advocate Ted Turner of Lunenburg said he plans to attend the Planning Board meeting, "just to see what happens," but said he believes the Planning Board will be hesitant to take action, like the City Council has been in recent months.
"I think the city councilors are serious people, and they're trying to do a good job," Turner said. "But to me they look at everything from a business and lawsuit kind of perspective."
The Planning Board will meet Tuesday at 6 p.m. at City Hall.
Emily Devlin