Council OKs Yogurt Shop Amid Fight Over Plowing Plaza Sidewalks

The frozen yogurt shop itself was not controversial, but whether or not the City Council should saddle its permit with a condition that the property owner shovel snow from the sidewalks was a source of sharp debate among councilors.

Orange Leaf is coming to Peabody with a shop next door to the Dunkin' Donuts at 79 Lynnfield St. The frozen yogurt shop needed a special permit from the council for a fast food restaurant in a neighborhood business zoning district and was therefore before the council on Thursday.

J. Vozzella & Family is the entity that plans to operate the Peabody store, which is the fifth franchise location on the North Shore. There are Orange Leaf shops in Salem, Danvers, Marblehead and Gloucester.

The Peabody store will be open 11 a.m. – 10 p.m. Sunday to Thursday and 11 a.m. - 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Attorney John Keilty did not give a timeline for when the shop is expected to open, but said there will be a full interior build out of the vacant space.

Ward 2 Councilor Arthur Athas said the traffic inside the shopping plaza was too congested and cramped, particularly at a sharp turn in front of the coffee shop where it becomes difficult to navigate with cars parked on either side of the travel lane. He didn't expect Orange Leaf would alleviate that issue.

But traffic aside, Athas was more concerned with the property owner, Linear Retail, clearing snow and ice from the sidewalks along Lynnfield and Summit streets that directly abut the plaza.

He said that wasn't done well last winter and led to dangerous situations where schoolchildren or shoppers were often forced to walk in the street next to the bustling traffic.

He said he did raise that issue with Linear Retail and the company promised to do a better job in the future, but as a way to ensure that, Athas made a motion to approve Orange Leaf's permit with the condition that the property owner keep the aforementioned sidewalks clear.

That motion was met with stiff opposition as fellow councilors argued it was unfair to saddle the yogurt shop with the property owner's responsibility to public safety. Further, none of the other tenants have such a restriction; it would just create additional liability for Orange Leaf.

They said the issue should be dealt with by amending city ordinances, in the same way the city stipulates businesses downtown are responsible for clearing sidewalks in front of their storefronts.

"I don’t disagree with what you’re trying to do, I just disagree with how you’re going about it," said Ward 1 Councilor Barry Osborne.

Athas was adamant. He disagreed the burden would be placed on the tenant and offered to make a separate motion, asking for the same thing. He didn't wish to pursue an ordinance change, as suggested by his colleagues.

"I don’t have much time left and I just want to do the right thing for that area," he said, referring to the fact that he lost his re-election bid. "You can spend two years talking about ordinance changes if you want."

"It’s sort of like a double standard – we expect residents to clear their sidewalks...but we’re afraid as a City Council to ask businesses to do the same thing," Athas said.

Councilor-at-Large Jim Liacos, who is also departing the council after this year, amended Athas' original motion to instead approve the permit without the condition. That passed 8-1. Councilors Mike Garabedian and Rico Mello were absent and Athas voted "no."

One resident did voice concerns about worse traffic congestion in the plaza with the addition of Orange Leaf and said "it's almost possible to find a parking spot now."