Legacy Place parcels picked for adult zone; vote planned
Except for a few people, no one really wants an adult use zone in Dedham.
Not residents, who fear for their property values and for the safety of their children from the undesirable elements that typically come with adult businesses. And not public officials, who have searched for a location that will withstand a constitutional challenge.
After months of discussion, a town subcommittee is recommending Dedham’s adult use district be made up of four parcels at Legacy Place, a new $200-plus million project with its first store, L.L. Bean, opening next week, and three other nearby properties on Stergis Way.
A vote is planned for a Special Town Meeting in November.
“When it comes down to it, there is no perfect spot,’’ said Selectwoman Sarah MacDonald, who chairs the subcommittee. “There are not that many areas of town where it made sense.’’
Dedham residents and officials have learned the hard way over the past four years, that without an ironclad adult designation in town, an X- or R-rated establishment can open anywhere it wants. And if the town tries to stop it, the town can be sued.
Last fall, Dedham settled a four-year court case with Amazing.net, the town’s sole adult video and book store. The Rhode Island-based business won the right to retain its longtime location at Route 1 and Eastern Avenue after proving that Dedham’s 18-year-old adult zone had been set aside specifically so no one would locate there. The sprawling former Stop & Shop shipping facility, on the Dedham, Boston, and Canton line, was considered an “illusory’’ district because it was a single parcel with a single owner that has no road access to Dedham.
The current district, on University Avenue and Allied Drive, was established in November amid a bevy of concerns, including its proximity to the Westwood border, the Route 128 train station, and the impending $1.5 billion Westwood Station shopping and living complex.
Dedham town counsel George Pucci has tried to quell fears by stressing that the town isn’t inviting such businesses in, but offering a layer of protection.
Subsequently, although they have opposed using their location as the site, owners of Legacy Place have said they would rather control the district than be at the mercy of it.
“Like everybody else, Legacy Place’s original position was, ‘Whoa . . . we don’t want it near us,’ ’’ said its attorney, Peter Zhaka. “We began to attend committee meetings and thought, if you’re going to do it, you should be it, rather than across the street from it.’’
The Adult Use Overlay District Committee tried to heed concerns, taking the district as far from residential areas as possible and trying to ensure it has no visibility from the highway. Members also met with Westwood officials, who also sent letters insisting that there not be adult use districts “abutting each other and each other’s residential areas.’’
“Dedham had a lot of process around this,’’ said Phil Shapiro, chairman of Westwood’s Board of Selectmen. “A successful outcome on this is an affirmation of the principle that there is no good way to have your own problems transferred to a neighbor.’’
Michele Morgan Bolton can be reached at mmbolton1@verizon.net. 
