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Planning board approves Bertolino Foods office addition, conditions permit on engineering sign-off
Summary
The Peabody Planning Board voted to approve a site permit for an office addition and manufacturing expansion at a Fifth Street warehouse occupied by Bertolino Foods, but the approval is conditioned on a favorable engineering review by the Department of Public Services.
The Peabody Planning Board on Sept. 4 approved a permit to allow an office addition and related changes at a Fifth Street warehouse occupied by Bertolino Foods, conditionally allowing the project to move forward pending a favorable engineering review by the Department of Public Services. The board voted unanimously to approve the permit with that condition after hearing from the property owner and staff.
The project, presented by property owner Dave Harrison, would convert part of an existing roughly 40,000-square-foot warehouse on Fifth Street into new office space and add a building footprint where lawn and parking currently sit. "This is gonna be their corporate headquarters," Harrison said, describing a two-story office addition with an elevator and meeting rooms. He told the board Bertolino Foods currently has about 176 full-time employees and 50 temporary employees and expects to add about 40 to 50 workers over the next few years.
The condition the board attached is procedural: the Planning Board’s approval is contingent on receiving a favorable review from the Department of Public Services (DPS), specifically engineering. "The Community Development Department is fully in favor of this project," said Andrew, a Community Development Department staff member, but he urged caution because "there's no memo yet from department of public services, a review of this." The board’s motion approved issuance of the permit "conditioned on a favorable DPS review," and a roll-call vote recorded unanimous support.
Board members asked technical questions about the plans. Dr. Judith Otto questioned the scale on the reduced site map, saying, "It says 1 inch equals 40, but obviously, that's not correct," and requested a graphic scale be added. A board member summarized parking counts presented for the project, noting a net increase in parking: "parking spaces lost to 26, parking spaces proposed 69, net increase of 43 spaces." Harrison described landscaping and shielding for loading docks and said some loading docks would be used for recyclables and trash.
Supporters on the board and in staff said the expansion fits the site and could help retain and grow a local employer. One board member said after visiting the site, "this is about as nonobtrusive an addition as you could place with a building in that area" and expressed support. Another board member, speaking about the company's owner, said, "I've known Leo Bertolino for 25 years. He is one of the most solid guys," and noted the owner's goal to employ more people.
Formal action: Mr. John Ford moved to approve the permit with the DPS condition; the motion was seconded and carried on a unanimous roll-call vote. The roll call recorded yes votes from Dennis Feld, John Ford, Roy Simos, Dr. Judith Otto, Joseph Gagnon, Matthew Genzale, Tom French and Thomas Bettencourt.
Next steps: the approval is effective pending the engineering memorandum from DPS. If DPS identifies required changes, the board will need to reconvene or require the applicant to submit revisions to satisfy engineering conditions. The Community Development Department told the board they had not yet received the DPS engineering review as of the Sept. 4 meeting.
The Planning Board handled the item during its regular meeting at Peabody City Hall; the board also considered several other continuation requests at the same session.
