Peabody Planning Board conditionally approves site plan for 103 Foster Street

Peabody — The Peabody Planning Board on Dec. 4 conditionally approved the site plan for 103 Foster Street, voting unanimously after the applicant agreed to meet conditions set out in a Department of Public Services memo dated Dec. 4, 2025. The approval is contingent on the applicant satisfying all comments and conditions in that memo prior to issuance of a building permit.

John Kelty, attorney for the applicant, said the applicant submitted a revised one‑page plan showing a narrowed curb cut and supplemental material after an on‑site meeting with city staff. "What we've done, if you look very closely at that right hand side of the plan, is slimmed down the actual curb cut opening to a 30 foot opening, giving pedestrians kind of a safe haven area between our property and the property to the north," Kelty said.

Kelty summarized conditions from the Department of Public Services memo, including requirements that the applicant provide, at its expense, a camera inspection of the culvert in Foster Street at the property entry and record the preexisting condition of the adjacent canal wall so the city can compare conditions after construction. He also said that city staff and the building commissioner asked the applicant to install a "tight tank" in lieu of standard MDC floor drains in the flood zone, with periodic emptying. Kelty described the tight tank as the detail that would become standard for construction or renovation in the flood zone.

Board members pressed the applicant on technical details. One member clarified that the culvert — which handles stormwater for the site — is distinct from the canal wall and that the requested camera inspection would determine whether the culvert has been damaged. On plumbing, Kelty confirmed that the plumbing code requires floor drains but that the tight‑tank detail would be added to stamped plumbing drawings for permit review.

A board member also noted zoning language obligating landscaping where side or rear yards abut residential zones, citing "section 10, 10 6 10 4 d of the general regulations," and said substituting only a fence for a required landscape buffer would likely require ZBA approval. The applicant said they understood those requirements and would address them; the applicant also confirmed that residents would have access to the facilities shown on the plan.

A motion to conditionally approve the site plan application (plans dated Nov. 24, 2025, with the supplemental plan) was moved by a board member and seconded by Doctor Judith Otto. In a roll call vote, members Dennis Feld, John Ford, Roy Simos, Judith Otto, Joseph Gagnon, Matthew Ginzali, Tom French and Thomas Bettencourt each answered "Yes." The chair announced the motion carried.

The board received the late submittal materials — the revised plan and the DPS memo — and accepted them into the record prior to the vote. With conditions from the Dec. 4 DPS memo to be satisfied before permit issuance, the board took no further action on revisions at the meeting.

The agenda closed with no appointments to report; a motion to adjourn was then approved unanimously.