79 Pullman Street (ZB-2026-073)
At a glance
- What: Zoning Board of Appeals petition ZB-2026-073 for 79 Pullman Street, an about 2,328 SF drive-thru restaurant.
- Where it stands: ongoing. The ZBA approved both special permits on 2026-08-10 (per the transcript), and the Planning Board approved the Parking Plan (PB-2026-062) 3-0 that day with modified conditions.
- Next: none recorded; Planning Board parking plan done.
The proposal
- Petitioner: Charter Foods North.
- Present use: vacant lot. Zone: split-zoned ML-0.5 (Manufacturing, Limited) and MG-0.5 (Manufacturing, General).
- Purpose: remove existing site improvements and build an about 2,328 SF restaurant with a drive-thru, outdoor seating, about 29 parking spaces and other site improvements.
Relief sought
- Special Permit: food service (drive-thru) use in ML-0.5 and MG-0.5 (Art. IV, Sec. 2, Table 4.1, Business Use No. 6).
- Special Permit: to modify the parking dimensional, layout, and/or landscaping requirements, loading requirements, and/or the number of required parking spaces (Art. IV, Sec. 7.A.2).
Status and next steps
- ZBA approved the drive-thru special permit and the parking special permit on 2026-08-10 with staff conditions, striking the south-line shade trees (1A), 25 percent compact spaces (1H) and rooftop screening wording (1I).
- Parking reduced from 29 to 27 spaces so none are in the Pullman Street front yard; drive-thru lane about 214 ft (240 ft required), escape lane about 242 ft.
- Applicant projects about 30 percent of orders through the drive-thru, 60 percent via mobile app and delivery, 10 percent dine-in; hours 9 a.m. to 4 a.m.
- The Planning Board approved the Parking Plan (PB-2026-062) 3-0 on 2026-09-16 with modified conditions.
Discussion time
About 37 minutes across 2 meetings (from transcript timestamps; approximate).
| Meeting | Minutes |
|---|---|
| 2026-09-16 - Planning Board | 15 |
| 2026-08-10 - Zoning Board of Appeals | 22 |
Log
- 2026-09-16 - Planning Board - Item 3 (PB-2026-062): Parking Plan approved 3-0. Engineer Patrick Doherty (MidPoint Engineering) presented a Taco Bell with full drive-thru (applicant Charter Foods per captions; minutes say Lacy Topaz LLC), replacing the earlier Chipotle pickup-window design on the former learning-center site; Michelle M. Smith said the ZBA recently approved the same configuration. No public comment. Board struck the extra interior tree (waiver), replaced ornamental grasses in the strip between the drive-thru and parking with a low open ornamental fence, and allowed the second test pit to be waived if supplemental geotechnical data shows consistent soils.
- 2026-08-10 - Zoning Board of Appeals - Hearing: Midpoint Engineering presented a Taco Bell with drive-thru on the former Silven Learning Center site (earlier plan was a Chipotle pickup lane). No public speakers. Both special permits approved with waivers and three conditions struck.