Selectmen say Route 1 needs better planning for success

SAUGUS – Route 1 in Saugus is well-known for its oversized signs, big box stores and its many restaurants. However, one selectman said Route 1 is not being utilized to its “maximum potential.”?There?s a lot of potential revenue the town could realize if they had someone planning the use of Route 1,” said Selectmen Vice Chairman Steve Castinetti. “I think zoning certainly has to be looked at on Route 1 and with the casino coming into East Boston there?s a huge potential for us to attract bigger and better businesses. If we sit back and wait for two-to-three years, we will be in a position to watch everybody around us recognize revenue that we could have if we act now.”Castinetti said the town needs to revive its Development and Industrial Commission.?I think the main reason it?s a good idea is that the current financial position the town is in,” he said. “If we don?t do something to maximize revenue, we?re looking at two options for next year: less services or higher taxes, period.”Town Manager Scott Crabtree said he supports re-forming the commission and on Friday sent out an announcement seeking applicants for five volunteer positions.Planning Board member Peter Rossetti said the commission would promote the development of new business in town. According to Rossetti, zoning needs to be looked at on Route 1 if the town wants to attract bigger businesses, specifically height and occupancy requirements.Rossetti, who is also the president of the Saugus Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, said the height limit for buildings on Route 1 is 90 feet with a permit and 35 feet without a permit.?When you have a low height like that, it kind of produces the idea that the thing that we?re looking for are single-story, cement-block buildings,” Rossetti said. “Instead we could have a building like 605 Broadway, the Eastern Bank Building. If we could have that kind of building ? it would certainly promote the town.”Rossetti served as chairman of a previous incarnation of the commission and said members tend to “fade away” when they come up against opposition. He said it?s also difficult for volunteers to attend meetings regularly.?Part of the problem with these committees is you have volunteers who obviously have other things they?re doing,” Rossetti said. “Also you need to have certain amount of professional people and you need to have a commitment from the town that if they come up with something, then it?s going to go somewhere and they?re not just spinning their wheels.”Rossetti said the commission should also include people from other committees like the Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals, while Sean Grant, the Chamber of Commerce Executive Director, said the chamber is ready to help in any way possible.Castinetti also pointed to zoning as a major problem with Route 1, noting it needs to become “its own zoning” and not treated the same as Saugus Center or Cliftondale Square.?We can?t treat it as if it?s a residential neighborhood if we want to make some money from it,” Castinetti said. “If you look on either end of us, you?ve got hotels in Revere, hotels in Peabody, but not in Saugus. Businesses are not going to locate to a town that makes it difficult to survive.”Selectman Debra Panetta said the commission is an exciting opportunity for Saugus.?For years I?ve been advocating for a master plan and I think this is the first step in the right direction,” she said.Selectman Stephen Horlick said he wants to see more “mixed-use” developments on Route 1 that could benefit the community and offer “good-paying” jobs.?There are so many single-story structures ? If you were to go up multiple levels, you could have business and condos on top and on the bottom do retail or a restaurant,” Horlick said.Horlick said a new Development and Industrial Commission could help spur development, but its members have to be “committed.”?It?s not a short-term process, it?s going to take a lot of time,” Horlick said.Anyone interested in joining the Dev