Take-out is proposed for former post office
Old South Diner owner seeks special permit
BY PETER B. BRACE INDEPENDENT WRITER
Empty since the U.S. Postal Service moved to new quarters at 140 and 144 Pleasant St. last year, the building at 112 Pleasant St. could soon be getting a new tenant when all the permits are secured.

According to the Planning Board, Old South Diner owner Gary Roy wants to put a take-out restaurant in the building owned by Leroy Viera. At the board's meeting tomorrow night, scheduled primarily for review of phase two of Bob Matthews' re-development of the Point Breeze Hotel, Roy will ask the board for a special permit for the new establishment.

Cautious about his presentation to the board, and about getting his other permits, Roy declined to comment on the specifics of the proposed take-out business. Roy currently owns and runs the Old South Diner at 57A Old South Road, which offers breakfast, lunch and dinner with sit-down and take-out food, including pizza, sandwiches, hot dogs, burgers and salads.

Along with the special permit, Roy is asking for a waiver from the onsite loading and five-foot maximum front yard setback requirements. He also needs permission to put five parking spaces - and extra spaces for no more than four employees - on land adjacent to the building that is partially owned by the town.

As trustee of the property, Viera's daughter, Laura Viera Labbe, claims ownership of the .57-of-an-acre lot and the three buildings; the town is contesting the claim. The town, believing it owns the property but still unable to prove it, and not wanting to deny Labbe's father the income from leasing the building, signed a non-disturbance agreement with the Vieras in early December 2007 that allows the Vieras to lease the property free of any impingements by the town.

The U.S. Postal Service's 20-year lease of the building ended on July 31, 2007; the $3,000 a month rent was Leroy Viera's sole income. Should it be determined that the town does own the Vieras' property any time during Roy's new lease with them, the agreement allows Roy's business to remain on the premises for the duration of the lease. The town claims that a taking of the land and its three buildings from Viera by the County of Nantucket in 1956 for drainage installations is valid and that it owns the land, not the Vieras, according to Hyannis attorney Donald Lynde, who Labbe hired to protect her father's property.

Leroy Viera bought the half-acre lot in 1946 and, said Lynde, has been paying property taxes to the town for all that time. Additionally, Viera, 82, has had to secure building permits for various projects on his property over the years, incurring permit application fees. He also secured two approval-not-required plans from the Planning Board, all in his name, leading Lynde to the conclusion that the county and town have acknowledged that Viera owns the property.

Roy's Planning Board public hearing is tomorrow night at 7 p.m. in the garage at 2

Fairgrounds Road. For details, call 228-7233. I