The owner of the vacant lot at 299 Broadway is considering legal action after Somerville’s Planning Board rejected a special permit application that would have allowed Ocean State Job Lot to move in.
Before unanimously rejecting the application on Thursday, the Planning Board defended zoning changes in the area against accusations by Ocean State Job Lot CEO Marc Perlman that they were targeted against the store.
Board member Elizabeth Moroney also responded to concerns from neighbors that the lot is a target for crime.
“It pains me to think (residents) are thinking, ‘We just want something there,’’” Moroney said.
“If Ocean State Job Lot wants to go into a different place in the city … I would look at that and see if that were a suitable site for this business,” she added. “I wish them well.”
Robert Allen, attorney for property owner Jim Cohen, said his client is considering legal action against the city.
Among Cohen’s concerns, Allen said, is that the Planning Board has taken a position that the site would have to be redeveloped in order to allow it to be used.
Referring to an initial meeting with Mayor Joseph Curtatone in 2009, Allen said the store’s CEO was told, “Over my dead body would Ocean State Job Lot go in there.”
“It was an uphill battle from there,” Allen added.
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Hi, I just discovered this site and it looks promising. But who is running it? You don’t have any kind of ‘About Us’ page
We’re still figuring out who we are. An ‘About Us’ page will be up very soon. For now, reach us at info@postsomerville.com.
Ya, no Ocean State Job Lot please, It’d totally F’ up traffic on Broadway. Great store but they need to stay out in the burbs.