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Redevelopment plan for Steward's/Marathon site at 177 S. Broadway seeks multiple variances; neighbors largely supportive
Summary
A redevelopment plan for the gas/convenience site at 177 South Broadway seeks multiple zoning variances, including reduced build‑to percentages, front‑setback relief, and a larger freestanding sign; the ZBA continued the public hearing and asked for final sign dimensions and details.
(Note: public hearing continues) The owner-proponent team and their counsel presented a multi-part redevelopment proposal for the property at 177 South Broadway — the long‑standing gas/convenience site — that would relocate and reconfigure the convenience store and canopy, construct a new building with a second‑floor false façade, provide pedestrian access from Lincoln Avenue, and add landscaping and civic green space.
Attorney Libby Clark spoke for the applicants and explained the project history going back to prior variance approvals and a long series of planning and design review steps that included Design Review Board review and a Planning Board sketch plan. The redevelopment team said site constraints (the lot’s trapezoidal shape, existing underground fuel tanks, truck circulation and weight restrictions on Lincoln Avenue) limit layout options and informed the proposed placement of the building and pumps. The team also presented night‑time lighting and massing studies and said the design includes a pedestrian entrance on Lincoln Avenue and a brick façade to anchor the corner.
The application seeks multiple area variances: reduced build‑to percentages on Lincoln Avenue and South Broadway (site does not meet required 70% build‑out on those frontages), front setback relief from South Broadway (the proposed building is about 36 feet back rather than within the 0–12‑foot build-to zone), and a freestanding sign area larger than some zone limits. The applicant said the minimum building height denial cited by staff may be resolvable with design changes shown in updated elevation drawings, and therefore that element may not be needed. The applicants proposed a 24‑square‑foot freestanding/monument sign (reducing from the existing larger sign on poles) and discussed options to reduce the sign area if required; applicants said Mobile (the fuel brand) has standards that influence monument sign size and noted ongoing discussions about whether both Mobile and Stewart's logos must appear.
Board members asked about truck circulation, preservation of pedestrian connections, façade alignment with neighboring commercial buildings, and the Design Review Board conditions on demolition of an existing house on the lot. Neighbors and an adjacent resident who lives directly behind the site (26 Lincoln) spoke in support and said the applicant has worked to move noisy equipment to the roof and otherwise mitigate visual and noise impacts. The board advised the applicants to provide definitive signage sizing and noted that some area variances are substantial but reflect long‑standing nonconforming site conditions and functional constraints. The public hearing remains open; the board asked the applicants to provide final signage dimensions and any additional materials before the Sept. 29 meeting.
(For clarity: the Design Review Board previously found the existing building historically significant but allowed demolition based on hardship; the Planning Board also issued sketch plan approval for the overall redevelopment.)
