By Matthew K. Roy
Staff writer
May 04, 2009 05:01 am PEABODY — A proposal for a new CVS on Lowell Street could be before the City Council by next month, attorney Jack Keilty told councilors last week. The pharmacy's fate hinged on a zoning change requested by the developer, Concord-based Omni Ventures. Councilors voted 9-2 on Thursday in favor of the change, which makes a parcel near the intersection of Lowell and Bourbon streets a business highway, rather than residential, zone. Omni has a deal with Shirat Hayam of the North Shore to buy the parcel. The majority of councilors gave their support to the change after learning Omni had also reached an agreement to buy an adjacent piece of commercial land currently occupied by Town & Country Homes. The property will allow CVS to take advantage of an existing curb cut that matches up with a traffic light. Cars will be able to access the CVS at the light, which will mitigate the traffic impact on congested Lowell Street. A driveway that now separates the two parcels will be removed and the existing building knocked down to make way for the CVS. The new CVS would replace the store operating in a shopping plaza across Lowell Street. Councilor-at-large Anne Manning and Council President Barry Sinewitz objected to the change. "It's too much of a leap of faith for me," Manning said, noting that if the CVS deal should fall through, the city has made itself vulnerable to a different type of development. "Anything can happen," she said. Keilty, who represents Omni, said the change was needed to finalize the two deals to buy the properties on Lowell Street. The project still needs to be approved by the Conservation Commission, and councilors will decide whether to grant a special permit for a drive-through. Ward 5 Councilor Dave Gamache praised the project because it will expand the city's commercial tax base during trying economic times. "It's a good change of zoning," he said, "that will allow the city to reap some type of benefit."
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