After listening to two hours of discussion, including public input, Planning Board Chairman Stephen Kokkins gave his opinion on Mark Investments LLC’s pre-submission plan for a 14,000 square-foot CVS proposed for the corner of Route 6 and Front Street – and residents in attendance nearly leapt off their seats in applause.

“I personally see very little chance of an approval of this application at this time,” said Kokkins, eliciting cheering and clapping from a crowd of almost 150 people, most of them opposed to the large-scale pharmacy proposed for the current location of the historic Captain Hadley House.

It looked like a celebrity might have been inside the Marion Music Hall the night of October 6, judging by the line of people that formed to get into the door around 7:00 pm. In anticipation of a significant turnout of residents, the Planning Board scheduled the pre-submission conference at the music hall to accommodate a growing number of voices speaking out against the proposed pharmacy that many said would be detrimental to the quality of life of Marion’s citizens.

Attorney for Mark Investments Marc Deshaies said the company had since changed some of the plan’s details after taking into consideration comments the board made during the initial meeting on September 2. The Captain Hadley House would still be relocated to the easterly-most side of the lot, but the proposed building’s design and façade was significantly altered in hopes that residents would find it more aesthetically in alignment with the small town nature of Marion.

“You sent us packing with a lot of suggestions,” said Architect Kevin Paton. “We’re back in front of you tonight with a new look.”

Gone was the standard rendering of a CVS in Anytown, USA. The new design showed black asphalt shingles on the roof, white cedar shingles on the building façade, cottage-style windows with shutters, roof dormers and gables with Greek revival trim detailing, and a front porch-style raised entrance with a white railing.

No one argued that it was not an improvement from the last standard prototype for a CVS building, but a crucial concern remained the size of the building relevant to lot size.

The architecture had changed, as Kokkins pointed out, but the scale remained the same. Planning Board member Rico Ferrari was the first to ask why this particular CVS needed such a large footprint after researching the square-footage of other pharmacies like CVS.

Ferrari threw several sundry questions about CVS’s business plan at the Mark Investment representatives who did their best to answer them without directly speaking for CVS.

Paton said key factors such as the preferred reduced height of the fixtures (merchandise shelves), and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements contributed to a more spread out plan. People in attendance gasped when Paton responded to Ferrari’s question as to how many customers per day would be serviced at the location – between 500 to 600 customers daily.

“By virtue of what it provides … about half of its business is drawn by people who drive by a facility,” said Dean Holt of Mark Investments, emphasizing that studies conducted show that people tend to stop off at pharmacies while already en route to other places as a matter of convenience. “So that is an important concept to understand.”

Holt said CVS chose that particular corner location on Route 6 specifically because of the traffic on the arterial roadway where between 10,000 and 12,000 cars pass daily.

Planning Board member Robert Lane began asking questions using legalese pertaining to lease agreements between CVS and the developer, leaving some residents in attendance wondering aloud what they were talking about. What it came down to was occupation of the building, and whether Marion would be stuck with another vacant store on Route 6 – like the old Cumberland Farms across from the new one.

This was all constructive talk, but Kokkins said he wanted to steer away from business plans and stick to what really matters.

“Anything that affects the town,” said Kokkins, “if it is character, if it’s function, congestion … That’s what we’re interested in.”

It is still the same building Mark Investments proposed in September, stated Kokkins. “We’re talking about the gateway to Marion,” he said. With Dunkin Donuts at a five-percent lot coverage that works, and Cumberland Farms with a ten-percent lot coverage that is too congested, Kokkins said CVS would fare better by proposing a seven- to eight-percent lot coverage next time. That would reduce the size from 14,000 square feet down to 5,500 to 6,200 square feet.

“Which is less than half that you proposed,” said Kokkins. “We’re not telling you how to run your business,” he continued. “But I think this shows our rational guideline.”

Planning Board member Eileen Marum wanted to focus on Article 10 Section 1.3 of the Town’s Zoning Bylaws, counting the ways the project did not comply. She opposed adding congestion to the roads and the diminishing of the historic character of the town with “cookie cutter formulated store fronts” and “garish color schemes” of a store “which sells everything from candy to condoms.”

By now people were cheering, and Marum continued criticizing the prospect of having CVS as a neighbor in Marion.

“And not a good neighbor by Marion’s standards,” said Marum. She said the proposed plan would “permanently disfigure and scar the intersection of Front Street and Route 6, the gateway to Marion.”

Planning Board member Michael Popitz said he would welcome a drug store in Marion, but a smaller one on a larger lot somewhere else. He said he also did not want to see the Captain Hadley House “turned on its side and tucked into a little alleyway.”

“My personal feeling is … the real issue here is … does Marion want to have a big CVS in the center of town?” asked Popitz. “I personally say no. It’s just not a good fit for the town.”

Norman Hills, Planning Board vice-chairman, said this proposal would require a major site plan review for a number of issues like parking requirements, special permits, and the location of the lot within a velocity and flood zone. He likened the proposed plan to “paving paradise.”

The board considered several letters submitted by residents and members of the board, including 17 of them in a packet available to the public upon signing in to the meeting.

Just before opening up for public comment, Ferrari suggested residents consider the desired “future character of Marion” when it comes to Route 6 because, said Ferrari, Route 6 is currently dilapidated and downright ugly the way it is today, mentioning several structures already in existence.

“Right now,” said Ferrari motioning toward the color rendition of the revised building façade, “that’s looking much better than anything you got [now].”

Given a rebuttal, Holt said the sensitivity over town character the board and the residents would ultimately express was not obvious in the beginning, but he was not sure how much latitude the developer would have in decreasing the size of the structure.

It’s not about having larger stores just for the sake of having larger stores,” said Holt. “It’s not to their advantage to operate stores that are too large.”

Resident Bill Saltonstall asked the board to simply reject the proposal even before an application is formally submitted.

“So that future consideration is no longer required and we can all relax,” said Saltonstall.

Lee Vulgaris, a resident of South Street, said he would probably be stoned to death for what he was about to say, but he suggested to his fellow residents anyway that this proposal might be “the best of what we can get.”

“Because the devil we know is better than the devil we don’t know,” said Vulgaris, whose words were met with applause rather than stones.

The next meeting of the Marion Planning Board is scheduled for October 20 at 7:00 pm at the Marion Town House.

By Jean Perry