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Planning board approves Central Pizzeria at 122 West Main with sign variance and conditions
Summary
The Somerville Planning Board approved a change-of-use and minor site plan allowing a pizzeria at 122 West Main Street, granting limited signage relief and imposing conditions including a cross-access dumpster easement, at least one ADA parking space, a minimum 20% storefront glazing variance and a $650 tree-fund contribution.
The Somerville Planning Board on Wednesday approved a change-of-use and minor site plan that will convert a vacant storefront at 122 West Main Street into a fully operational pizzeria, while granting limited signage relief for the property.
Attorney Robert Falinson, representing applicant 122 West Main Real Estate Corp., told the board the proposed pizzeria is a permitted use in the borough’s B1 business district and that no building footprint expansion or parking reconfiguration is proposed. Architect Robert Donado described interior gutting, new storefront glazing, an upgraded facade and a modest wall-mounted illuminated sign sized to the narrow 16.3-foot storefront.
Donado said the application seeks limited signage relief because the building is taller than it is wide and the sign is intended to aid wayfinding on a dense commercial block. He testified that the pizza oven’s exhaust vents through the roof and is intended primarily to remove heat rather than smoke, and that required fire and life-safety systems (alarms, visual alarms) will be installed. The applicant also agreed to screening for rooftop mechanicals if they are visible and to conduct post-installation sound testing with mitigation as necessary.
Owner Skender Gjebukaj, sworn for the record, said typical hours of operation will be about 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. on weekdays (with an earlier close on Sunday) and that staffing will be small — the owner estimated roughly four to five employees on typical weekdays and up to about eight during busier periods. He confirmed the adjacent restaurant will share dumpster service and that the owner will coordinate daily pickups as needed.
Board members pressed for specifics on glazing (the ordinance requires 40% storefront glazing), exterior lighting, screening of rooftop equipment, exhaust visibility from adjacent properties and waste-management access. The applicant said the renovated storefront will provide approximately 20%–30% glazing and agreed to submit color sign renderings to the borough’s Architectural Review Board for comment. The applicant also agreed to provide cross-access easement documentation for the shared dumpster.
Before voting, the board’s counsel summarized the conditions the board intended to impose: compliance with the planner/engineer and fire-official review letters (PB1 and PB2), installation of code-required alarms and visual devices and any sprinklers required by code or the construction official, post-construction sound testing and mitigation if needed, submission of ARB color renderings for final sign design, submission of a cross-access easement for dumpster use, designation and striping of one ADA parking space in the rear lot, and a $650 contribution to the borough street-tree fund in lieu of planting a tree on the narrow frontage. The board also required proof of any liquor-license expansion associated with the adjacent property if that expansion is part of the applicant’s plans.
With those conditions in place the board moved, seconded and voted in favor of the application. Recorded votes in the roll call that followed show the members present voting yes, and counsel instructed that the approval be memorialized consistent with the stated conditions.
The board closed the hearing and thanked the applicant for investing in Somerville’s downtown.
