2026-09-16 - Board of Appeals

00:09All right, hello. Welcome to the Malden

00:11Board of Appeals. Time is now 6:30 and

00:13we are ready to begin.

00:17The Malden Board of Appeal is holding a

00:19public hearing this Wednesday, September

00:2116th, 2026 at 6:30 p.m.

00:25at Malden City Hall, 215 Pleasant

00:27Street, Room 106, Herbert L. Jackson

00:29Council Chambers

00:31on the following position uh petitions.

00:36>> [clears throat]

00:36>> Uh this this meeting may be recorded by

00:38Urban Media, as formerly known as Malden

00:39Access Television.

00:41Uh Erin, if you could do the roll call.

00:44>> Desposito?

00:45>> Here.

00:45>> Bilgin?

00:46>> Here.

00:46>> King?

00:47>> Here.

00:47>> You?

00:48>> Here.

00:49>> Friel?

00:49>> Here.

00:50>> Kramer and Sherwin are both absent

00:52tonight.

00:54>> Uh yeah, Kramer um

00:57May Kramer and Adam Sherwin are both

00:58absent.

01:00Um Alex, you and Maria Desposito are

01:04standing in for them.

01:06I'm going to turn you guys on, too.

01:10So

01:14we're all on.

01:18Uh old and new business, every of you

01:19have a chance to review

01:21uh

01:23the uh old business?

01:25>> You know

01:26>> The minutes from the July 15th

01:28>> from July 15th?

01:31>> Yes.

01:31>> Yes.

01:32>> Do we have a motion to approve?

01:33>> Motion to approve.

01:35>> Second.

01:38>> All in favor?

01:39>> Aye.

01:40>> Aye.

01:41>> Minutes have been approved from the July

01:4215th meeting.

01:45>> All right, Petition 26-007

01:48by Mystic Valley Regional Charter School

01:50seeking a variance on the code of the

01:52City of Malden as amended

01:54Federal 4 Section 4

01:56.16.090

01:58Table of Intensity

02:01specifically awning sign in the

02:02residence A zoning district as per plans

02:05SUEER 077161-2026

02:11at the property known in as known as in

02:14number 31 Granite Street Malden, Mass

02:16and also known by the city's assess

02:17assesses.

02:19Um, do you want to do you are you here

02:21for them? Do you want to do the

02:21presentation?

02:28Okay, just state your name.

02:30>> Yes.

02:30>> Good evening, my name is Al Carrier. I'm

02:32the owner's project manager and resident

02:35engineer, a civil engineer working for

02:37Mystic Valley Regional School from the

02:39beginning of the project [snorts] to to

02:41the end. And here we just

02:44to represent the school

02:46and to

02:48answer any questions that you may have.

02:49I think the sign out the sign design

02:51review application was submitted along

02:53with

02:59>> Please mute.

03:00>> Um, happy to answer them.

03:03>> Better?

03:04>> Oh, yeah, I guess so.

03:06Thought I pressed the button, but

03:07>> [laughter]

03:08>> Well, we could hear you fine.

03:09>> Okay.

03:12>> That was me. That was my fault.

03:14>> No worries. No worries.

03:16Yes, so just

03:18again, Al Carrier, civil engineer,

03:20resident engineer for the project. He

03:22had to represent the school

03:24for for the board of appeals and as I

03:26said, all of the information that was

03:28requested in the sign design review

03:29application, that was submitted I

03:31believe for the appeal as well.

03:33And just here, you know, here to see if

03:36we can receive approval

03:38to put the sign

03:40basically

03:41it's not lit. It's about 7 inches high

03:43in lettering along the cross of the

03:46about 20 feet across. Letters 7 inches

03:49high and it says the Mystic Valley

03:50Regional Charter School right on the

03:52front canopy of the building, pretty

03:54nondescript, no lighting, uh yellow in

03:57color, and and uh the front of the

03:59canopy uh background is maroon in color,

04:02and that matches the school colors and

04:04some of the other um uh type of signage

04:06for the for the school buildings.

04:09We try to stay

04:10pretty small with this and and fit it

04:12within and

04:13um so that you can see it from the

04:14street, but again, not lighted, no um

04:18you know, not a

04:20too disruptive to the neighborhood. Uh

04:21no uplighting or anything related um

04:24with that, so.

04:26And if there's any other technical

04:27questions, uh happy to answer those or

04:31anything else regarding the application.

04:35>> All right, thank you. Anybody have any

04:37questions?

04:46You good?

04:48>> Yeah, I'm just curious if anyone from

04:50the public wants to comment. I don't

04:51have any specific questions yet.

04:53>> Is anybody here to speak for or against?

04:56>> [snorts]

05:00>> Nothing in writing?

05:01>> Nothing. I did not I didn't receive

05:03anything via email or any phone calls

05:05either.

05:06>> [clears throat]

05:10>> So, it has nothing to do with the size,

05:11it's the

05:13um

05:14zoning designation. This is a

05:16residential site and a residential

05:18neighborhood, so it's typically not

05:20allowed.

05:23>> You went before the sign committee?

05:25>> I'm sorry?

05:26>> You went before the sign committee?

05:28>> I'm with the school.

05:29>> Pardon me?

05:30>> I'm the I'm the civil engineer

05:31[clears throat] representing the school,

05:33Mystic Valley.

05:34>> committee for the city?

05:36>> The sign committee the application says

05:38sign design review. That was submitted

05:41and it was submitted to the city and

05:43then we received uh

05:45uh the

05:45the decision that it was in a

05:47residential A district, it would not be

05:49allowed and that we would need to come

05:51here to the Board of Appeals to receive

05:53permission to um put the a fix the

05:55lettering to the building.

05:57>> Okay, that was their only that was their

05:58only issue.

06:00>> Yes.

06:01>> Okay, cuz that cuz I know when they

06:03appeal it's reason that it also showed

06:06one about additional signage.

06:09But that's that wasn't from the

06:13sign committee.

06:15>> No, I don't I don't We We have just the

06:17one strip of lettering across the front

06:19of the canopy of the building.

06:20>> But what I mean, the campus has signs.

06:24>> Well, yes, some of their other buildings

06:26and throughout town have other larger

06:28signs, um but

06:30>> No, I don't care about that.

06:31>> This one here we try to keep small.

06:33>> Right, just right there. I mean, the old

06:35school that you know, they're using they

06:37got the fire department building, they

06:39got the old sign, Johnson School

06:41building there

06:43um that they use.

06:44>> [snorts]

06:45>> And there was one of the on the church

06:47across the street. But but the sign I

06:50just want to be sure sign committee's

06:52only issue was

06:54issue

06:55because it's in residence A.

06:57>> Correct, cuz it was in the it was zoned

06:59as a residential A district.

07:00>> Right.

07:01>> Some of those other buildings are in

07:03residential A district that have those

07:05that that have signs on them, whether

07:07they were reviewed or not, I I'm not

07:09aware, but this is the new building.

07:11It's the the gymnasium for the middle

07:13school.

07:14Which is uh located 31 Granite.

07:17Tucked in kind of along with their other

07:19buildings.

07:26>> Any other questions?

07:29So, do you want to make a motion?

07:35>> We don't make motions to approve things.

07:37>> [laughter]

07:38>> I motion to approve.

07:45>> I'll second.

07:50>> Motion by Desposito to approve petition

07:5226-007

07:54for 31 Granite Street for the sign,

07:56second by King.

07:58Desposito?

07:59>> Yes.

08:00>> Bilgen?

08:01>> Yes.

08:02>> King?

08:02>> Yes.

08:03>> You?

08:04>> Yes.

08:04>> Froyo?

08:05>> Yes.

08:07>> Unanimous vote that petition 26-007 has

08:10been approved.

08:11>> Excellent. Thank you. I will

08:14I will follow up.

08:15>> Yes, I'll follow up with you once the

08:16decision is in writing and um I'll send

08:18you everything probably, I'm assuming,

08:20by Monday.

08:21>> That's fine. I appreciate it. Thank you.

08:23Thank you everyone for your time. I

08:24appreciate it. Thank you.

08:25>> Thank you.

08:26>> Somebody want to make a motion to

08:27adjourn?

08:28>> So moved.

08:29>> Motion to a

08:32>> Second.

08:33>> I'll second. [laughter]

08:36>> Motion by you to adjourn, second by

08:37Bilgen. All those in favor?

08:39>> I.

08:40>> I.

08:40>> I.

08:40>> This meeting has been adjourned at 6:38.

08:45>> 6:38.