Zoning Board Stalls Decision on Proposed $3 Million Caldor Shopping Center-August 20, 1980

The Norwood Zoning Board of Appeals once again stalled its decision on the proposed $3 million Caldor shopping center on Route 1 after discovering that developers failed to file for all necessary municipal permits. The stumbling block centers on traffic access: developers intended to utilize Carnegie Road within the adjacent Park Place Industrial Park—which is zoned limited industrial, whereas the mall site itself is business-zoned—allowing southbound motorists on Route 1 to safely enter and leave the mall via an existing traffic light.

Although developer attorney James Hilliard of Bronson & Hutensky confirmed that his clients had purchased land in Park Place to secure access, he admitted during the hearing that he intentionally omitted the specific traffic permit from the original application. Hilliard explained that adding the permit to the petition after securing the agreement would have delayed proceedings into September, potentially violating a purchase option agreement requiring no undue delay. When board member Philip W. Riley asked, “Then why didn’t you include this permit in your original application?” Hilliard quietly replied, “yes” to knowing about the requirement, conceding he planned to return for it later. Board Chairman Joseph J. Randall and other members expressed surprise at the omission, noting they initially assumed Carnegie Road was similarly zoned.

The revelation stunned a packed hearing room filled with angry abutters and local merchants who are fiercely opposing the project. Town meeting member Kenneth Ball warned that local residents would suffer severe neighborhood traffic congestion, urging the board to block the development. Furthermore, Gordon Berry, chairman of the Uptown Merchants’ Association, issued a stark warning: “If they put that mall in, I don’t think the downtown shopping district will survive.” Berry cautioned against towns degenerating after suburban malls force downtown merchants out of business.

The zoning board will consult Town Counsel Justin C. Barton to determine whether it can legally grant variances based on the proposed traffic plan without the corresponding traffic permit having been formally processed. Hilliard estimated that the entire regulatory approval process for the shopping center will take at least a year to complete.

Archival Note: This article has been dynamically reconstructed from the original public record print archives of the Patriot Ledger