South Shore Plaza Withdraws Braintree Rezoning Request

BRAINTREE — Ownership at the South Shore Plaza withdrew its request to rezone residential property the company bought to highway business. If approved, the proposal would have allowed the mall to turn more than 4 acres of land near Flaherty Elementary School and the Quincy Reservoir into a recreational business. More than 100 residents came out to a Town Council Meeting Tuesday, and many of them objected to the South Shore Plaza's plan, considering it an intrusion on their neighborhood.

Tim Fox, the director of development for Simon Group, who owns the mall, didn't name a specific tenant during the proposal, but said the mall wanted to lease the land to "an athletically-focused user." Fox said the new business would be at least 1,000 feet away from the nearest home. He also addressed rumors on social media that the rezoned property would be used to build apartments or a hotel, like other shopping centers in Greater Boston have done.

"There were concerns this was going to be a residential project, it’s not," Fox said. "There were concerns this was going to be a hotel, it’s not."

But several residents in attendance said they were mostly worried about the mall encroaching on the existing neighborhood, creating more traffic and noise at night.

One resident, Kelly Moore told the Town Council there's no reason to approve the rezoning besides to benefit the South Shore Plaza. She said the council has an obligation to protect the residents, and that it shouldn't rezone the property just because the mall bought it.

“They took a chance and bought multiple properties past Lakeside Drive," Moore said. "They invest $1.5 million, and its a gamble. That’s business, we take chances all the time, but the one chance we don’t want to take as residents is something that would be detrimental to where we live."

Jill Coyle, a former planning board member, whose been critical of the Braintree's proposed rezoning plans, argued that the mall doesn't need to expand past its existing property. She urged the Town Council to deny the mall's rezoning plan.

"This rezone obliterates the existing neighborhood that was there long before the South Shore Plaza …,"Coyle said. "This was and is a residential neighborhood."

The South Shore Plaza wasn't without its supporters, most of which were store owners, including Miltons owner Dana Katz. Katz said the mall has always been good to him and his family. He said its success has allowed the company to hire 60 employees, many of whom are Braintree High School students that are trying to develop life skills. Katz said he supports the proposal because it gives the South Shore Plaza another avenue to be successful.

"The last thing any of us want are more vacancies," Katz said referring to a common trend of store closings at malls across the country as they fail to compete with online retailers.

Mayor Joseph Sullivan was also supportive of the rezoning request, but said he's heard valid concerns from both sides and stopped short of endorsing the mall's plan.

"It’s important we have the balance of the strong business community as well as be sensitive to the neighborhoods," Sullivan said.

Town Councilor Charles Kokoros said he was against the proposal and said he doesn't think the South Shore Plaza is as in danger of closing as other malls in the region.

"This regional mall is the king of regional malls," he said. "The other ones that have failed did not have nearly the amount of stores."

Following the objections of Kokoros and many other residents, the South Shore Plaza withdrew its proposal. Withdrawing the request allows the company the opportunity to come back to the Town Council with a new rezoning proposal. If the proposal went to a vote and failed to get two thirds support, it wouldn't be allowed to be brought up for another two years.

"It’s pretty clear there’s a lot of folks here that are concerned, and there’s work to be done," Fox said. "It’s probably best for us to withdraw at this time, do more work and come back soon."