Marblehead building left in limbo

MARBLEHEAD – A former Pleasant Street pre-school building is vacant and caught in a zoning bind.The owner of the former Sundance Pre-School at 247 Pleasant St. withdrew a request for a variance that would allow the building to be used for offices.Board of Appeals members were reluctant to grant a variance for that property Tuesday evening, but they granted the request without prejudice, which means the owner can come back again.The structure is a former florist’s shop in an area zoned for single family homes. It was converted to school use in 1998 and closed about three years ago. According to Town Planner Becky Curran the appeals board granted a special permit for that conversion as a non-conforming use in 1998 and can’t grant another special permit for a subsequent change of use.Curran said under the terms of the special permit the building can only be used as a school, a day care center, a non-profit enterprise or a government facility.To make that change legally Attorney Robert McCann had to request a variance based on hardship to the owner – but Curran said the appeals board has never granted a variance under those circumstances before.McCann said the owners, The Flats LLC, tried to get another school or daycare center for the property without success. The property can’t be converted to a single family home and is one of the largest lots in the area. “It lends itself to offices,” he said.Barbara Ferro, a neighbor, expressed concern about traffic in that area. Her husband, Mike Ferro, wanted to make sure that the building would not be any larger if the variance was granted. Appeals Board Chairman William Moriarty said there was no addition.Moriarty told McCann that the variance request seemed to be based on “a self-created hardship.”Board member Barbara Shefftz pointed out that the pre-school was not the only business building in the area that could face the same problem and if the board granted this variance they could easily face more requests.Board member Paige Hintlian sympathized with McCann’s concern that the building could turn into an eyesore if it remained vacant, but Shefftz told her that shouldn’t be a criterion.Seeing the likelihood of a denial, McCann asked to withdraw the request and the board allowed him to do so.