Planning board grants special permit for dental office at 267–273 Main St.; requires MBTA parking agreement

The Malden Planning Board voted 7–0 on Feb. 12 to grant a special permit allowing a dental office at 267–273 Main Street, a building that previously housed a restaurant and sits along the Northern Strand Community Trail.

The permit, granted with four conditions, permits only dental-office use, requires the petitioner to provide a copy of an agreement with the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) for parking area use, allows only minor floor-plan modifications without returning to the board, and limits basement use to storage, utilities and the secure handling of medical waste. Michelle, Planning Department staff, told the board that the approved first-floor building area is 1,443 square feet and that, based on that figure, eight parking spaces are required under the city standard of 5.5 spaces per 1,000 square feet.

Why it matters: the property does not have on-site parking and sits on property lines; the petitioner presented an…