BEVERLY — Anyone itching to weigh in on the plan to build a Walgreens in North Beverly will have to wait another month.
City officials were forced to postpone last night's scheduled public hearing on Walgreens after a resident pointed out that it would have been held in violation of a city ordinance.
Planning Director Tina Cassidy said the resident found a provision in the city laws that prohibits a meeting of a "multi-member body" if it conflicts with a City Council meeting. The Planning Board was scheduled to hold the Walgreens hearing last night at the Senior Center, at the same time the City Council was meeting at City Hall.
The resident called City Hall with the information yesterday morning, forcing city officials to postpone at the last minute a hearing that was expected to draw a large crowd. More than 100 people showed up to the first public hearing about Walgreens last month at the library.
Cassidy said she was not aware of the ordinance, which she said was adopted in 2003. In fact, last month's Walgreens hearing was also held on the same night as a City Council meeting.
The continuation of the public hearing has been rescheduled for March 20 at 8:30 p.m. at City Hall during the Planning Board's next regularly scheduled meeting.
The board is considering a proposal by Symes Associates to demolish a portion of the Appleseed's strip mall at the corner of Dodge and Conant streets to build a Walgreens with a drive-through pharmacy.
Symes has said it will preserve a portion of the 300-year-old building on the site, but many residents have objected to the Walgreens due to concerns about traffic.
At last night's City Council meeting, meanwhile, councilors listened to a presentation from state housing officials about incentives for cities and towns to create "smart growth" districts.
Communities can receive between $10,000 and $600,000 in state funding, plus an additional $3,000 for every new housing unit created, in exchange for adopting special zoning districts that allow higher-density developments.
The state encourages such districts near public transportation, and Beverly has five train stations.
Mayor Bill Scanlon said the city would more likely consider adopting a smart growth district on a "project-specific basis."
"If a project came forward, we would look at it and see if it was good for us," he said. "We wouldn't carve up big acres of the city."
Staff writer Paul Leighton can be reached at 978-338-2675 or by email at pleighton@salemnews.com.
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