Planners support zoning change

The city of Watertown Planning Board unanimously recommended Tuesday afternoon that the City Council approve a zone change for 426 State St., the first hurdle of many the developer will have to pass before a proposed Dunkin' Donuts can be built on the site.

The 0.3-acre lot is proposed to be changed from residence C zoning to commercial zoning. Current zoning does not allow commercial uses.

"I don't see any major issues with this request," Planning Board Chairman Norman J. Wayte II told his colleagues during a brief discussion of the proposal.

The land is owned by Route 57 Development LLC, whose principal is P.J. Simao.

In July 2009, the city agreed to divide 420 State St. into three sections, allowing a 0.3-acre section of the property to be sold as vacant, developable land.

The City Council will act on the zone change before the developer submits a site plan for the shop.

Also at the meeting, the Planning Board recommended the approval of an amended planned development district for Ives Hill Retirement Community and a site plan for the proposed expansion. The group plans to construct an 18-unit enriched housing facility on its Jewell Drive campus.

At its August meeting, Planning Board members outlined 28 concerns they had with the project, the most serious of those being with water pressure and emergency access to the site.

The board recommended the project's approval after engineers from GYMO Architecture, Engineering and Land Surveying, Watertown, submitted updated project plans that addressed those issues.