Zoning subcommittee backs Caruso plan to replace industrial lots with commercial parking structure on Squire Rear Road

The Zoning Subcommittee voted to recommend granting special permits to R and S Realty Trust to consolidate and replace preexisting nonconforming industrial buildings with a new commercial parking structure at the property on Squire Rear Road.

Nancy O'Neil, attorney for the applicant, said the project would replace two aging industrial uses that draw heavy truck traffic and would reduce vehicle trips by an estimated 96 trips per day and by 74 trips during morning and evening rush hours. She said the development would substantially increase municipal revenue from the parcel — quoting an estimate of about $270,000 per year in property tax and roughly $116,000 per year in licensing fees, combining to about $350,000 annually — and that the chief of planning and community development submitted a letter of support.

Councilors who spoke in the hearing described the existing use as noisy and truck-intensive and supported the cleanup and modernization of the site. Councilor Garrino Sawaya said the project "aligns perfectly with the characteristics of the neighborhood" and called it a cleanup of an offensive use. Other councilors said the change would lessen heavy-truck traffic and improve neighborhood conditions.

The subcommittee voted to grant the relief subject to the findings and conditions of site-plan review; the special permit received a favorable recommendation and will be forwarded to the full City Council.

Presenters included Steven Caruso (R and S Realty Trust), project architect Joe Titone, engineer Rick Salvo, and attorney Jerry D'Ambrosio.