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Board approves special permit for drive-through at 651 Belmont Street despite small FEMA floodplain overlap
Summary
The board granted a special permit to allow a drive-through lane for a proposed commercial building at 651 Belmont Street, finding only a small corner of the site falls within a FEMA floodplain that has been historically piped underground; the project must still obtain conservation approval.
The Zoning Board of Appeals granted a special permit to Deangelo’s Inc. to construct a new commercial building with a drive-through lane at 651 Belmont Street, despite a small portion of the lot appearing on FEMA flood maps.
Attorney Michael Spillane told the board the parcel was shown on an older FEMA flood insurance-rate map and that the historical channel — West Meadow Brook — was piped underground decades ago: “We have two options in order to proceed with the construction. One being, we can go to FEMA and have them… remove this property from the flood plain. That could take a month. That could take a year. Could take longer than that. So under the zoning bylaws, we've elected to come and seek a special permit.”
Spillane also noted that a Shaw’s building nearby is partially within the same flood zone and was constructed previously. Ward 3 Councilor Phil Griffin, whose ward includes the site, spoke in favor and said he had not observed flooding at the location in 30 years: “I’ve never seen that area flood at all. I think it’s just an antiquated law regulation never got, taken care of.”
Board members said the overlap appeared limited and that the zoning board’s approval would allow the applicant to proceed to conservation review. The board voted 5–0 to grant the special permit; the project must still obtain any conservation-commission approvals and comply with any FEMA or engineering requirements before construction.
