Marblehead board stops hearing on vet clinic, reschedules for June 24

MARBLEHEAD – Dr. Jeffrey Rockwell’s plan to build a veterinary clinic at 10 Ocean Ave., the present home of Ocean Florist, suffered another setback Tuesday night.The Board of Appeals stopped Attorney Paul Lynch’s presentation and continued the hearing to Tuesday, June 24, at 9 p.m., instructing Lynch to send them the latest plans for the clinic and the traffic study one of Lynch’s consultants has completed. June 24 is the same night the Planning Board is scheduled to take the matter up again.The hearing began May 27, the same night as a Planning Board hearing on the clinic, and was continued to last night. There were 70 neighbors of the site present, many of them in opposition to the proposal. Eighteen of the families have hired their own lawyer, Attorney William R. DiMento, to monitor the proceedings.Board of Appeals member Barbara Shefftz said the appeals board has not been given a set of the revised plans for a smaller clinic building, and said she would like to see the traffic study as well.”This is a very important hearing. I don’t feel prepared to go forward,” she said.Lynch said the revised plans were not in their final form.Acting Board Chairman Karen Tenenbaum said the lack of the revised plans and the traffic study placed the board “in an awkward position.”Attorney DiMento reminded the board that they must act on the application within 100 days of the filing date (May 5, 2008) to avoid constructive approval. That gives the board until mid-August.After the continuance vote DiMento said Lynch’s admission that he and the town planner and the board have discussed this matter privately is “a serious concern.” Lynch said Town Planner Becky Curran told him to submit applications to the Planning Board and Board of Appeals simultaneously.