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Christine Stepanian, owner team seek 0‑space parking waiver at 301 Main Street; board presses for lease and site measurements
Summary
Applicants seeking to convert a vacant service station at 301 Main Street into a small flower shop asked the planning board to reduce required on‑site parking to zero, citing a long USPS lease. Board members asked the owner to provide the lease, perform a site clean‑out and convene a sitewalk to test whether 2–3 spaces could be recovered or whether a loading zone could mitigate delivery impacts.
At a public hearing August 4, prospective operator Christine Stepanian and co‑owner Robert Zulli asked the Groveland Planning Board for a special permit and site‑plan waiver to convert a former service station at 301 Main Street into a small retail flower and plant shop and to reduce the required on‑site parking to zero.
"I don't see it bringing a lot of traffic problems," Christine Stepanian told the board, describing most sales as phone or online orders with occasional deliveries. But board members and residents pushed back on a 0‑space waiver, citing long‑standing public parking patterns and an apparent lease that gives the United States Postal Service control of the site's spaces. The property owner, Lee, told the board the USPS lease allocates 10 spaces and said the lease term is long (referred to in the discussion as a 99‑year arrangement).
Board members requested a copy of the USPS lease to verify how many spaces are reserved and asked the applicants to conduct a site clean‑out, measure the parcel, and arrange a sitewalk with planning staff to determine whether additional parking could be marked or created. Members suggested interim design options—angled stalls, using the rear lawn area if allowable, or a 30–45 minute loading zone under the awning to accommodate deliveries. The board voted to continue the public hearing to allow the applicants to return with a lease copy and revised analysis.
