##VIDEO ID:c513o79hNLU## e e e e e e e e e Board of appeal hearing for January 14th 2025 is now in session this hearing is being conducted in accordance with the applicable provisions of the open meeting law including the updated Provisions enacted by the legislature last year the new law allows the board to continue its practice of holding virtual hearings until March 2025 this hearing of the board is being held remotely via the zoom webinar event platform this hearing is also being live streamed in order to ensure this hearing of the board is open to the public members of the public May access this hearing through telephone and video conferencing the information for connecting to this hearing is listed on today's hearing agenda which is posted on the Public Notices page of the city's website boston.gov members of the public will enter the virtual hearing as attendees which means you will not see yourself on the screen and you will be muted throughout must administratively unmuted when asked to comment board members applicants and the attorneys or Representatives will participate in the hearing as panelists and they will appear alongside the presentation materials from speaking panelists are strongly encouraged to keep the video on while presenting to the board as with our in-person meetings comments and support will be followed by comments and opposition the order of comments is as follows elected officials representatives of elected officials and members of the public the the chair May limit the number of people called upon to offer comment and the time for comment time constraints required for that reason the board prefers to hear from members of the public who are most impacted by a project that is those individuals who live closest to the project if you wish to comment on an appeal please click the raised hand button along the bottom of your screen in the zoom webinar platform click it again and your hand should go down when when the host sees your hand you will receive a request to unmute yourself select yes and you should be able to talk if you are connected to the hearing by telephone please press star 9 to raise and lower your hand you must press star 6 to unmute yourself after you receive the request from the host those called upon to comment will be asked to State their name and address first and then you can provide the comment in the interest of time and to ensure that you have enough time to do so please raise your hand as soon as Mr stbridge reads the address into the record do not hand before the relevant address is called or the meeting host will not know to call on you at the appropriate time these instructions will be repeated throughout the hearing take roll call of the board sorry thank you thank you for your assistance I appreciate it uh Mr stbridge good morning Madam chair president good morning Miss better barazza good morning Madam chair president good morning Mr Collins morning Madam chair president good morning uh Mr aen morning Madam chair pres good morning so as I as I noted earlier we are a five member board today uh and with that I'll turn it over to Mr stbridge thank you madam chair we will begin with the extension schedule for 9 :30 a.m. I will read all of the extensions in one behind the other um at that point if there are any questions you can ask the chair about them and we'll take a vote or one vote on all of them and then go from there to begin with we have case boa 134 4282 with the address of 65 m next we have a boa 874 954 with the address of 303 305 Bennington Street then we have case boa 134 7341 with the address of 23 Chestnut Street next we have case beway 105 0294 with the address of 382 suar Street and finally we have case boa 121 1702 with the address of 95 to 97 Broadway any questions from the board hearing none is there a motion to Grant the extensions as requested make a motion to Grant the extensions as requested sir a second thir Mr stbridge yeah m b brazza yes Mr Collins yes Mr yes chair votes yes the motion carries next we have groundwater conservation overlay District case scheduled for 9:30 this is case vaa 1 67 0783 with the address of 18 wal Avenue is the applicant answer with their representative of pres would they please explain the case to the board good morning good morning all my name is uh Frasier Allen I'm with an address of 200 Falcon Street in East Boston um I'm the applicant for this case and I'm filling in for um the project architect David freed um this project um is under the the gcard overlay District um we filed our plans with u Boston water sewer and received a no harm letter on September 26 from Sean MC at Boston water sewer saying saying there is no harm to the uh the gcod um District any questions from the board may I have a motion Madam chair yes oh sorry not a problem good morning everyone uh Madam chair members of the board Christian Sali Boston ground trust and we have both uh Gard letters from the applicate excellent thank you thank you would that may have a motion motion approve go ahead David okay yeah I would make a motion to approve second thank you Mr St yes m p brazza yes Mr Collins yes Mr Akin yes chair M yes the motion carries thank you thank you now I'll begin with the hearing scheduled for 9:30 a.m. first we have case boa are there thank you madam chair uh we will ask at this point if there are any requests for withdrawals or deferral and yes for a reminder that we are a five member boy today uh yeah 295 West First Street um be with me please it's about it's on the top of the fourth page Mr stri or second from the top it's an article 80 case I'm sorry 295 West yes so that would be case boa 166 9854 with the address of 295 West First Street would you go ahead and explain please uh yes thank you Mr secretary for the record attorney Nick coula mcder quilty Miller and Hanley 28 State Street in Boston seeking an administrative deferral due to the five member board um but also uh a quick deferral we're just uh working on some some uh changes in response to some of the neighbors uh on the ground floor for the project thank you next uh date Caroline we can do February 4th now great uh would that may I have have a motion motion to defer this case until February 4th second is there a second second Mr stbridge yes M bowza yes Mr Collins yes Mr aen yes chair votes yes motion carry see you then thank you uh Mrs secretary uh 28 aen Street in West Roxbury that would be for on page five k boa 164 0872 with the address of 28 a street you go ahead and explain please uh thank you Mr sambridge uh good morning Madam chair members of the board Attorney John Pini on behalf of the applicant for 28 Lane Street in West Roxbury we're requesting a deferral as uh we had received an updated refusal letter on September 26 however the notices that were sent out for today's hearing originally uh the original reference the original refus a letter from June so that has to be Ren noticed okay uh Caroline we could do February 25th that's fine okay may I have a motion motion to defer until February 25th 2025 may have a second a second Mr sdge yes Mr B Braza yes Mr Collins yes Mr aen yes chair votes yes motion carries to you then thank you um deferral for 303 Sumer street so that would be for case vaa 167 1 932 with the address of 303 suner Street go ahead and explain attorney small good morning Madam chair members of the board attorney Derek small I have a business address at 51 doson Road BR Dr um we're seeking administrative deferral um this morning due to uh five member board uh carine we can do February 4th or February 25th February 4th is f okay may have a motion motion to defer until February 4th 2025 we have a second second Mr stbridge yes m b brazza yes Mr Collins yes Mr aens yes V yes the motion carries see you then thank you is good morning up for 35 CN well that would be for case boa 16712 29 the address is 35 San Street would you go ahead and cl to the voice please uh yes good morning Madam chair members of the board Mary Kate Campbell with the law firm Drago and piscano at 11 Beacon Street um we are requesting a deferral just due to the smaller board we can do December 4th or December 25th December do you mean February I mean sorry February we don't want to delay her that much we'll do the fourth thank you okay uh with that may I have a motion motion to the F until February 4th is there a second second Mr stbridge yeah M bza yes Mr Collins yes Mr Aken yes sure votes yes the motion carries to you then there be any further request for withdrawal to deferrals but not good hearing none we'll move on to the next to companion cases that that is case boa 164 8737 with the address of 26 Belmont Street along with that we have case boa 16487 38 with the address of 28 belon Street if the applicant end their representative of present will they please explain the case to the board sure hello uh this is Tim Shen I'm an architect in charlest down at 9 Wall Street um sorry my video is not working I'm not sure why but um 26 and 28 Belmont Street are there's an empty parcel there now and 26 is the project on the left it's uh going to be a twoam it's the proposed construction would be a two family with four parking spots there's an existing curb cut there now we would utilize the existing curb cut for a uh four car you know two two tanms four four parking spots it would consist of two three-bedroom units the lower unit would be 1,475 ft the upper one would be 1528 um the building next door is that we proposing to build is number 28 Belmont Street and that would be a single family and that would be uh a drawn is three bedrooms it could be four um and there is no curb cut there now our proposal was to to do a single 10-ft curb cut this way providing two parking spaces and the way the cars line up on the street we'd only be losing one space and basically one space picking up six on the street so that's the strategy there um some of the V you know some of the violations are um Conformity with building alignment uh we held back the single family just to break up the facade it's a 50t long facade and we've put Bays on and some uh recessed entry just to break up that facade um some of the other there's an F violation we're only over a little bit like 200 ft on one 150 on the other or something so we're really close to 2.0 uh open space we're over but I'd say at this density level you know most of my projects are we do have a fair am fair amount of open space um part of the design just down the hill from this number 34 and 36 we put an almost identical project through this board and the only difference on this one is we flipped the two family in the single to take advantage of that existing curb cut but the strategy was uh there's a 19th century retaining wall up on top of the hill um holding back the St frenches graveyard the Catholic burial ground so you know the grade changes from the sidewalk up to that burial ground by about 25 ft um so that caused our it causes the building to to be a four-story but the garage levels basically just on both projects was just buried into the hillside so the idea was just to have essentially a vault um I think technically this is probably a three story because I believe it's more than 60% buried but it's it's shown as a four-story structure we do have the feet height violation where be we'll end up at 39 ft above the sidewalk um and that's essentially the project what we the project we did next door worked out really well we had a a fairly fairly low stressed neighborhood meeting um people were concerned about you know the Cur Cuts as always and um we had nine I think we have nine letters of support that have been submitted from Delmont Street itself from imediate of Butters and that's the project it'll be you know it'll be a single family and and basically what we call a Philly split so four par for the number 26 be four parking spots and some Mechanicals next floor up would be unit one uh the floor after that would be split before between unit one and unit two then the top floor be would be unit three and oh the rear setback violation yeah we've held the house itself to 15 ft but just the way it works out for our second eress in Our Deck with the way the retaining walls have to work The Terraces I guess I'd call them uh we do have a risk at violation as well um with that I'll hand it to you that's the that's the project we'll propose thank you questions from the board hearing none I'm looking at your actually I'm I'm looking at the height um it's zoning is requiring for the height to not exceed 35 ft but you have it at 38 fo9 is there any way to um meet the 35 ft because I don't know if you had a chance to read the bpd's recommendation but they are recommending that you work with plan Charles toown zoning um and to keep the height at 35 ft so you know that's that's a question for you is there a way that you can make it work I think we can get it a bit lower um just the nature of that first floor we just you know any other site if this was flat I would have made this a three-story structure we've got a you know just to get the back of the building up so you get any light at all um yeah I think we can come a little bit low if we tighten down our floor to floors I don't think we can get to 35 ft on this one um having worked on the project next door which is almost and I'm looking at your project um at 36 you say you did 36a 30 uh 30 yeah 34 and 36 if you look on shet A3 so we're looking I'm looking at it right now and and the fourth floor story um um it's just does not cover the majority it's just a portion of it but in this project you're you are covering a greater um square footage on that fourth floor yeah the back wall into that more complicated it needed to be I mean that we just the clients wanted to go at a rectangle in this one okay I don't have any further questions okay thank you thank you any other questions from the board hearing none we have public testimony Madam chair and members of the board good morning sigy Johnson with the office of Neighborhood Services this petitioner has completed the on community process our office hosted an 's meeting on November 12th which was lightly attended concerns were raised regarding rodent activity and the building proposed height uh our office has been provided with eight form letters in support from abutters which have been forwarded to the board with that background we defer to the Judgment of the board thank you any other raised hands Jessica do iess see no raised hands at the moment Brian Wood hi Brian I used okay go ahead Brian hi everyone my name is Brian Woods I'm a resident of 18 Belmont Street and Tim thank you for sharing the plans I wasn't aware of the meeting back in November but I do have concerns about the height um consistently on Belmont Street as it's a hill most of the properties that are built including the 34 36 property that you built Tim they all kind of the height just consistently goes down as you go down the hill concerned about the new project in favor of the project in general but just concern is that you know the roof line is going to block anybody who might want to put a roof deck on the RO houses between 10 and and 202 Belmont we'll get a down we can get floor to floors down a little bit and I'm showing a parit on the front we can get that parit down as well I think I can get I think I can probably get 18 inches off of it just looking at it okay great yeah I just wanted to voice that but otherwise you know in favor of the project in general you know we will I mean in the way the I don't even noticed we probably get the garages down a little bit tighter as well um we'll work at it um as you know assuming this get approved as we get into contract documents and I can share that with you Brian I remember you I remember I I remember you from the last one thank you any other raised hands um second we have no additional raised hands at the moment any other questions from the board may I have a motion I'm going to put forward a motion um first before I mention my motion I did look at the rear yard concern from BPD and and it basically aligns the rear yard kind of aligns with a similar condition on 34 Benmont so um I think I think um it's okay in regards to the height uh I would I would definitely recommend that the applicant works with BPD um so for this reason I'm going to put forward a motion of approval with approval with a provisor that the applicant Works to lower the height um of the building to work more in alignment with the zoning of 35 ft uh and then given that there are projects along the street that are already four stories uh I'm making this um recommendation there a second yes yes I will I I second that I think that's a very reasonable uh request and it sounds as if the proponent uh is able to lower that that Building height uh so yes I will second yeah Mr uh Miss V brazo yes Mr Collins yes Mr Aken yes chair votes yes the motion carries good luck thank you everybody next we have case boa 16722 H4 with the address of 431 to 439 Hanover Street if the applicant endure their representative present will they please explain the case to the board thank you m stbridge thank you madam I'm chair members of the board attorney Jeff drgo with drgo and Tuscano with the business address of 11 Beacon Street uh with me um I have Carlos SB who's the architect on the project uh here on behalf of the applicant uh for a project at 431-439 Hanover Street in the North End section of Boston uh just by way of background and you're looking at the existing building now uh we are here really just to um clean up the existing zoning on site so this particular building since my client bought it back in the 70s has always had 14 units uh residential units and two separate storefronts those storefronts currently um have a retail uh office and a salon inside um the unit layouts have always been there they're all separately Meed for gas electric and water since uh my client had purchased the building he went to simply pull a permit to do some work and it was discovered that somewhere the occupancy was just incorrect uh somewhere back uh years ago this was changed to an 11 unit building with a child or children center on the ground level which he's never had any of that all of the units are occupied they're a mix of ones and Studios uh in the building layout is already existing building is fully sprinklered as well um so we we we wanted to come to clean up the zoning obviously uh and to change the occupancy so uh the occupancy would be changed from uh 11 apartments and two uh 11 apartments in a children's center and store to its actual layout which is 14 residential units and two separate retail spaces on the ground level this particular uh section of the North End has identical buildings up and down of similar height of five stories uh it's an MFR LS uh District so mixed use type occupancy is common in this area as you can see from some of the from some of the site pictures uh we were cited uh for open space just because of the additional units that was already existing violation uh off street parking obviously the the building will remain so we're not creating any parking and then uh retail use over 2500 square ft is a conditional use uh in this particular section and because of the two storefronts that that creates that uh violation as well um the bpda recommended uh approval we did get also get the support of uh new Nick and non opposition at new rug as well um just I know we have a a picture of the floor plate uh the basement is common area utilities uh and then part of the commercial unit uh uh for unit two it's the lower level for storage and then uh first floor are the two commercial upper levels and then second third fourth and fifth floor are all pretty typical uh they're all residential units inside um and with that I can pause when we can answer any questions that the board may have thank you any questions from the board hearing none may I have public testimony Madam chair one question I just wanted to ask for clarification it looks like on the plans you have your square footage of commercial is under 2500 but you were cited for conditional use of retail over I'm just is there something is it over 2500 ft I I believe so Carlos I know designed the plans is on um I believe he's on as a uh and and can attest to the square footage I believe yes good morning can you hear me yes yes hello everyone I I believe that is correct um I I would have to confer with my drawings just to make sure but the way the drawings are set up uh the correct square footage is on the plants and I believe it's also because there's a lower level in the basement for one of the uh one of the units as well yes I understand now okay thank you I see thank you may have public testimony good morning Madam chair and members of the board my name is EV Jones representing the mayor's office of Neighborhood Services regarding 431 Handover read our office will defer to the board's judgment on this matter a community process was conducted including in a Butters meeting held on uh September 11th 2024 which was attended Lately by two constituents um there was no um major feedback from the constituents regarding this proposal but there was some concern um about like the noise condensers on the top of the building for the air conditioning um disturbing some of the close by neighbors um The Proposal was reviewed by North and Waterfront resident Association and north and Waterfront neighborhood Council as attorney Drago did Express at their monthly meetings uh at this time the mayor's office of Neighborhood Services differs to the board's judgement of this decision thank you for your time and consideration thank you madam we have no raised hand at the moment with that may I have a motion Madam chair I put a motion of approval have a second Mr stbridge yeah M better yes Mr yes Mr Ain yes chair votes yes the motion carries Lu thank you very much thank you all the next two cases have been deferred so that takes us to case boa 159 0919 with the address of 1220 Blue Hill Avenue um if the applicant and or the representative of President would they please explain the case of court Mr I are you raising your hand for this case yes I am thank you okay please proceed Madam share I'm members of the board thank you for the opportunity I am Al EST the architect on the project with Casa architecture on construction address of 79 Devon Street orchester uh joining me is Mel delopez she's a chief operator officer of project 77 the owner of the property overall this project is pretty straightforward consists of renovating the basement of a three family building into an apartment uh they're building a lot of these in the city of Boston through the uh the amazing Adu program um and uh our uh this project meets all of the requirements of the Adu uh program uh one thing to note is that the reason why we have to go through the CBA process and the community process is because the building is not owner occupied um if we could um stay on this page for a second of the floor plan on the left side is blueville Avenue that's the frontage and as you can see we're Excavating an aaway to the entrance of the the apartment uh the apartment will be good size about 1100 sare ft Three Bs two bathrooms in unit laundry open kitchen and living area and we're also taking advantage of the grading uh so the grading slopes down towards the back of the the property and that gives us the opportunity to create a walkout patio and uh take a of the natural light as far as a parking uh you can fit four parking spaces in the back of the property U currently uh none of the tenants have a car none of the tenants that are uh in in the building have a car so that the parking is not being used at the moment uh the property is 31 mi from the Marton Street MBTA station so is well within the transit oriented development threshold of5 miles and which typically allows for increased density as well as reduced parking now we presented this Pro at the ABS meeting in June of last year uh and then subsequently to the councilor's office on October of last year receiving full support in both of both of those um subsequently to that we presented the project to the gmnc on October 17th uh who opposed the project uh following that meeting we met again with the council's office on November 6th uh to discuss the concerns raised by the gmnc and to demonstrate that we're committed to addressing any concerns uh ultimately we feel strongly that uh this project allign with the city of Boston uh goals to uh uh increase uh uh bring bring more high quality uh housing and uh We've successfully uh received approval for three of these in the past very similar three family projects renovating the basement into an apartment um and uh two of them are currently under construction now this is the first one that we're doing in matapan um however uh there was a nearly identical project um that if anything had more site it was tighter site uh that was approved in May of last year uh it's just a couple of blocks away uh also L 11 um and the one thing I do want to stress is that while this uh uh this project is not owner occupi um it is being developed by a small minority and woman Le team uh and Meli can certainly elaborate more on the values of the company as well as the uh some of the operations uh personally as someone who has worked in real estate for over 12 years uh and um have been able to call Boston home for over 20 years and someone who has gotten to know the project 77 team um closely and work with them closely I I stand by this project I'm happy to take any questions when you confirm the Florida ceiling height in the basement sure uh if we go to if you scroll down like a couple of pages we can see that uh I think maybe it's the next one or the one after that it's uh it's this one doesn't have bad ceiling heights yeah right here okay so um ceiling is 10' 7 and the lowest at the bottom of the central beam is 9' 8 and A2 so pretty good guys here thank you questions from the board okay hearing none may have public testimony Madam chair and members of the board for the record my name is Jeremy bbery I am the mapan community engagement specialist for the office of Neighborhood Services the applicant has completed the community process which consisted of an abst meeting held on June 6 with few our residents and attendance no inquiries are made nor or no support or opposition was voiced at the time uh the project they met with gmnc the greater Madan neighborhood Council where they voted to oppose the project stating the property is not own occupied and should be required to adhere to their current Adu regulations they also stated the property has had several ISD violations uh they did mention density parking and pedestrian safety regarding the entrance sidewalk and driveway locations believing the driveway was inaccessible uh due to the inability for cars to turn into the driveway without hitting the building uh the Civic did go on to state if the proponent decides to add a unit to the top floor then J MC the greater mapan neighborhood Council would support the project uh thank you for your time in the mayor's office of Neighborhood Services would like to defer to the board for the judgement at this time M have no raised hands good I'm sorry good morning Madam chair members of the board abdulla Becket from councelor Brian War's office at this time due to uh feedback from the greater Manan neighborhood Council the counselor will go on um go on record in opposition um thank you thank you we have no raise hands at the moment Laura did Laura Toano Toano speak on behalf of council Flynn I think she's just asking to be a panelist not okay sorry about that um my that's okay are there any other questions for the I do have a question for BPD um has there been past projects that have come before us for similar kind of an Adu um conversion um where it's not owner occupied and and what was the results of that uh thank you Miss B Baraza good morning everybody Jeff Hampton Boston planning department uh to my knowledge nothing that has been labeled as an Adu it's been simply a change of occupancy from a three to a four um I know uh there is a huge push uh by the city and this department in particular to get these adus before the zoning commission and then zoning as quickly as possible um so I think there might be a little bit of confusion between using the terms Adu versus a change of occupancy right my follow adus are very specific right right so that's going to be my followup question since it is a change of occupancy from 3: to 4 um there really is no requirement whether it's owner occupied or not correct okay thank you clarification any other questions from the board may I have a [Music] motion Madame chair I like to put for a motion of approval with the provisor that the project under goes BPD design review is there second second Mr stbridge yeah M Madam Sher if I could interrupt for a second Miss P barazi you don't want the d Rie and the reason why because I think it's important to note that in our recommendation we didn't see this B uh the Florida ceiling Heights and building code issues but I think as the uh the appell and had demonstrated that you know he had more than enough uh in terms of height yeah and since it's mostly internal um I don't know if we really need to do that okay I just put that I just flagged that because your plan reviewer noted a lot of details um and I figured that they probably wanted to review it so I can remove that I'll I'll leave it up to you just I'll leave it to ISD to flag any code so I would like to change my motion to approval okay is there a second second Mr stbridge yes M Bar brazza yes yes Mr Collins yes Mr aen yes chair votes yes the motion carries good luck thank you everyone next we have case boa 161 546 Sero with the address of 133 Devon Street if the applicant what and or they representative president would they please explain the case to the board uh yes thank you this is par as well I'm I'm the architect on this project as well uh has architecture and construction address of 79 the mon Street uh thank you everyone for the opportunity uh first I'd like to start by saying that I live on Theon Street I on the street about a year and a half uh about a year and a half now uh so basically just a block away from from this project um we had the opportunity to present this project at the aut meeting on July 9th of last year uh and to the residents Association on member 5th and October 3rd uh and mention it to the council's office uh we receed support uh from these parties uh and after um just as an example after hearing uh the feedback from the residents Association we made a couple of changes for example we decided to get rid of a roof deck that we were proposing um and uh just an examples of of us working with the community which is what we want um so the subject property is on a vacant parcel other than a three-car garage uh the project consists of a new four story 7even unit building uh includes four 1 bedro apartments and three two bedroom apartments uh the amenities will include a fitness area in the uh in the lower level bike parking and also energy efficient design incling solar panels uh now we strongly believe that this project fors uh the major initiatives to create more housing uh to help with the affordability affordability challenges and we also feel like this project fits within the context on the CH changing Urban fabric um again project7 is a relatively small landlord whose project team is led by minority and woman own team uh now uh if I could talk about the scale for a second uh What uh if we could go to the first page actually y right there so uh bottom right picture uh to look at the scale what's interesting about this side is that the grading slopes up towards the back of the property essentially all the the basements from all these properties along this uh this uh this street here are aligned with the sidewalk uh therefore while we're proposing a four-story building uh the top of the building in the front essentially align with the top of the Ridges of both adjacent properties and then as far as the design uh we took uh hints from the two adjacent properties they have a pretty consistent language with the bay windows for tting de and also breaking the scale up on the third floor with the sort of like the overhang uh and we uh took hints from that uh and applied it to to this project to make it uh fit a little bit better within the context uh now if we could go to page four please I want to zoom out a little bit and talk about the site uh the project is a approximately .17 mi from the Four Corners MBTA station again well within the transit oriented development maximum .5 miles that allows a little bit of high density and reduced parking uh the project also has an excellent walk walk score of 80 um and if we could go to page [Music] four might be the next page or Y one on the top left uh there's almost like a diagram um uh I if you can see the site there is outlined by a red uh dash line on the top left um uh on the same street thank you so on the same street as you can see on the left side there's some higher density multi family developments a zero lot line uh if we scroll down a little bit you can see what that looks like at the bottom so this is actually on the same Block in the same street just down the down the street from the project um also on the other side of the property just essentially a house away from U Columbia Road um there's some commercial properties and one of the process is actually zone for multif family uh that could potentially be developed for higher density uh development uh and this is why we feel that the project does fit within the context um of of the site uh looking at the parking um uh if we go to page five where all the floor PL are so essentially what proposing five uh five parking spaces in the back of the property that are tucked under the rear of the building um now one thing we do have to confirm is um if um we're proposing five parking spaces but um if we're not not able to get a um accessible parking uh waiver uh due to technical invisibility uh then we may need to reduce that to for to provide an accessible parking space um now one thing to note is that because um because of the creating uh the design consists of a split level design so you come in uh again you uh the first level is aligned with the sidewalk you come in that's where your accessible unit is um some package area you go up half a story and then you're at the rear parking you go up half a story again you're on the second floor in the front of the building you go up another half a story and then you are at the second floor at the rear of the building so this is a split level design where you have half a stor um difference between the front of the building and the back of the building um and if we could uh I page seven here with all the different uh perspective I think it'll be uh nice to to see what uh building will look like it should be like the last page of this [Music] package oh excellent so this is what the project would essentially look like happy to take any questions questions from the board what's your front yard violation again I'm trying to fill it up yeah uh that's a good question uh I see the like a zoning analysis yeah if we go to the site plan actually it do have a like a a page uh the site plan actually oh yeah I see it okay I just found it so your front yard your your front yard so you're required 20 ft and you're proposing 8 foot6 I mean the reason I I call that out is because it looks very large and I can see why perspectively it it's very close to the front to The Pedestrian uh sidey yard okay I don't have any further questions thank you any other questions from the board mam chair I just like to get an understanding of the accessibility routs as the disabilities commission requested is there a common what are the common spaces is there a common Fitness room other common spaces and and are those all accessible from that first unit sure so that's that's a great question so one of the comments I remember was the the roof deck that if we wanted to have that sh roof deck we would also essentially need to provide a uh an elevator and so we you know we got rid of that roof deck for a number of reasons that being one of them um as far as the the fitness room uh that's something that we were uh hoping to have in the lower level however one of the comments from uh the building of the ISD was that we needed to extend the stairway down and so we're looking at options to relocate that uh Fitness area so it is accessible by uh by that first floor uh accessible unit tenants thank you y any other questions from the board may have public testimony Madam chair members of the bo for the record my name is Jeremy bbery I'm the rockbury community engagement specialist for the office of Neighborhood Services the applicant has completed the community process which consisted of an abd's meeting held on July 9th where abers voiced no concerns uh the project then met with Devon NY Brunswick Association where resident stressed the need for an off street parking plan and the removal of the fourth deck uh with that the project received a vote of support uh still uh thank you for your time and the mayor's office of Neighborhood Services would like to deport to the board for their judgment thank you thank you Madam chair members of the board thisel Becker from councel Brian's office um with having support from the community um The Counselor would like to go on Rec and support for the project thank you um Mr are you looking to give testimony here your hand is raised alz are you looking to give testimony he is the applicant he applicant okay you have no additional raised hand the moment okay with that may I have a motion Madam chair I'd like to put forward a motion of approval with um couple of provis one that the project under goes BPD design review to make adjustments on the front and rear roof line so it is a little bit more contextual the second is to um redesign the parking spaces to allow for more open space to the tent to uh to the residents um third to do site planning design review to provide uh landscape areas again to promote um and create buffers along the parking area and then lastly um to review the front yard setback okay uh with that is there a second second Mr stbridge yes m p brazza yes Mr Collins yes Mr Aken yes chair votes yes motion carries thank you everyone next we have case vaa 166 29 22 with the address of 993 High Park Avenue if the applicant end the representative pres would they please the case to the cour want you the applicant here you Canute yourself hi members of the world my name is mar roas and I'm helping Mar bu with the process of uh applying for a change of usage from a non-compliant space to no conditional space to a nonconditional space uh met with the ISD and the only thing that they requested was the ventilation system to be provided by an architect and the checklist um from them we met with the we met with the city on uh with the neighbors on February 21st there was no opposition from anybody from the neighborhood uh and so that is all that we have actually to present that was the only question that they had about the ventilation that needed to be certified from it was from a non conforming to nonconforming as well barber shop and to be in place thank you any other any questions from the board hearing none MTH testimony yes Madam chair members of the board Conor Newman with the mayor's office of Neighborhood Services this time the mayor's office like to defer to the Judgment this board uh due to Personnel changes we don't have a lot of background information on this uh previously uh and previous on Le is on hosting the butters meeting uh we have our records uh from October 31st to 2023 I know they were before the board and previously denied uh when they did not uh attend that hearing um our office is presently unaware of any concerns um there's a number of other businesses on the stretch as well um with that will defer of the board thank you thank you do not um see oh that's one okay have we have no additional raise hands at the moment that may I have a motion make a motion to approve there a second there us a second Mr stbridge yes Mr Braza yes Mr Collins yes Mr yes chair votes yes motion carries good luck thank you one the memb next we have case boa 159 0921 with the address of 1458 bluhill Avenue the applic know the representative pres they pleas explain the case to the board yes uh hello everyone uh Al s is here architect for the project uh with Kasa architectural construction address of 79 Devon Street in doorchester uh with me here today is Meli delopez uh the Chief Operating Officer of project 77 LLC get the owner of the project uh so uh this project it's it's very similar to the one we discussed earlier for 1220s essentially the same same project consists of renovating the basement into an apartment of an existing free family project um and again they're building a lot of these uh through through the city plus of Adu program which is you know not what we're following however we are meeting all the requirements of the Adu programs in ter so number of EES Etc um now uh the apartment will be good size around 11 1,000 s ft if we could go to page five please will be three bedrooms two bathrooms in unit laundry open kitchen and lion area we're also taking advantage of uh so in here in this PO plan uh the frontage is on the left side uh that's Blue Hill Avenue and you can see the new entrance the new areaway to provide direct access into the apartment uh we're also similar to 1220 we are uh taking advantage of the site rating it slopes down towards the back uh creating a large guaca patio with double doors and uh just taking advantage of natural light uh currently this property is the does not have a wide enough uh wide enough side yards to provide a driveway so there's no access uh vehicle access to the rear of the property uh that will remain unchanged uh this project is .1 miles from the Blue Hills MBTA station um and so well within the transit oriented development threshold of .5 uh we presented this project at the abod meeting on uh July 15th of last year and subsequently to the council's office on October 1st uh receiv receiving scort from uh both of those at that time uh we then presented the project to the gmnc on October 17th of last year uh who opposed the project uh following that we met with the council's office on November 6 of last year uh to discuss the concerns raised by the gmnc as well as demonstrating our commitment to addressing their concerns uh ultimately we we feel strongly that this uh project aligns with the uh City's goals to uh bring uh uh increase uh high quality uh housing uh in the city uh and uh uh we've um we've uh successfully got approved for three of these already uh uh basement uh apartment conven ESS converting from a three family to a four uh four unit occupancy um and two of them are currently under construction uh we haven't done one in matapan yet uh but there was a similar one that I mentioned earlier 1424 uh same deal uh uh that an existing three family uh very similar to this one existent three family building renovating the apartment into uh the basement into an apartment um and again I want to stress that this project has been developed by a small minority and women-owned team and I as an architect and someone who's lived in Boston for 20 years and worked in real estate for 12 years and knows the project team I stand by this project thank you everyone and happy to take any questions questions from the board here none may have public testimony mad chair and members of the board for the record my name is Jeremy bbery I serve as the Mad pan community engagement specialist for the office of Neighborhood Services the applicant has completed the community process which consisted of an abers meeting held on July 15th with no voters and attendance the project then met with gmnc the greater main neighborhood Council where they voted to oppose the project stating the property is not owner occupied and therefore should abide by their ad regulations specific to greatan uh gmnc also voiced serious concerns about pedestrian safety uh again based on the proximity uh of the proposed unit entrance to the sidewalk in the property's driveway sitting does not own or have an easement to the land next door uh we have received no letters of opposition or support at this time thank you for your time in the mayor's office of neighhood services would like to defer to the board for the Judgment thank you thank you and mam chair I see no raised hands at the moment thank you any other questions from the board hearing none is there a motion I'll make a motion to approve with planning department review and no building code relief is there a second I think David um hearing Jeff from BPD he mentioned that uh we don't really need to ask for PPD design yeah they started addressing some of it you know our concerns were that we didn't see any of the building code issues in the plans however the appellant is shown here uh that they are going to address some of the concerns that we had so we really don't need design review uh we'll let ISD just handle the building code issues okay so just no building Cod thank you David course okay with that is there a second a second Mr stbridge yeah m b Braza yes Mr Collins yes Mr Aken yes chair votes yes motion carries good luck thanks everyone next we have case boa 165 1349 with the address of 109 Beach Street if the applicant and the representable Pres they please explain for the board hello um I'm Aaron Wise I'm the owner of 109 Beach Street and I am proposing um replacing my front porch my architect Charles kuss is also on the call um MK she in rosale oh that's nice um so our existing porch is rotted and falling apart so we need to do something to repair it and we'd like to improve our house in keeping with the neighborhood we're planning on on on the enclosed porch that we have right now making that a mud room um but we feel that the open porch is more appealing and keeping with making the neighborhood carb appeal nicer um so we want to add a covered porch outside we are um within the setbacks our existing house is within the setbacks on the left and right and we're proposing going out I think an additional 5 fet into the front yard and from what I understand if there are two other houses on our side of the street on our block that are also within the front yard setback then it isn't a violation are questions from the board no mam chair it's pretty straightforward hearing n may I have public testimony Madam chair members of the board for the record my name is Jeremy bbery I am the randale community engagement specialist for the office of Neighborhood Services the applicant has completed the community process which consisted of an abuts meeting held on November 12th with very few abuts on attendance to but his did voice support uh the project was not required to go before any Civ group as it fell outside of any Civ group's area uh with no letters of opposition of support uh received at this time thank you for your time in the M's office of Neighborhood Services would like to tort to the board their judgement thank you raise hands we have no additional voice at the moment thank you thank you with that may I have a motion Madam chair I'd like to per for a motion of approval second second Mr stbridge yeah Mr B Braza yes Mr Collins yes Mr Akin yes share votes yes the motion carries good thank you the next case has been deferred so that takes us to case boa 167 3059 with the address of 279 North Harvard Street which is also an article 80 case and if there are the representative the applicant and all their represent a pres would they to the board yes sir can you hear me yes we can excellent uh good morning Mr secretary Madam chair I figured can I leave the call now yes you yes please I'll put on all right all set all right uh good morning again Mr secretary Madam chair members of the board attorney Joe Hanley uh mic Cy Miller and Hanley 28 State Street in Boston here representing the Austin Brighton CDC is the proponent for this uh new senior housing uh development in Alon with me is John Woods who is the executive director of the aluson Brighton CDC as well as uh Lucas herringshaw who is with uh roie Architects and we'll take you through uh the presentation uh after I go through a brief uh overview here so um the site and uh the proposal uh the Alon Brighton CDC has been serving uh the Alon Brighton neighborhood for 45 years now uh thousands of individuals almost 600 units uh that they serve uh for affordable housing uh for elderly and uh Workforce individuals and this site is an opportunity uh for us to or for the Austin Brighton CDC to address uh the need for senior housing which is obviously uh a major need not just in this neighborhood but throughout the city next slide please so um some of the project goals here and you'll see on the left um the project site itself along uh North Harvard Street across from the uh BPL branch of the Honan library and uh again what we're seeking to do is to uh provide um new housing for uh local seniors and allow them to age in place in the neighborhood and also uh we're really excited that this is a restoration project the site includes the uh Hill Memorial Baptist Church uh and so that structure is uh remaining and going to be restored and paired with uh a development to serve not just seniors but also some Community programming uh within the church building itself self uh which it has served for a number of years but lacks accessibility and other things and we will have those upgrades as well uh we've worked really hard through the bpda process and the Outreach process to mitigate impacts on existing neighborhood traffic and I think what you'll see in the presentation is we're really proud that we're uh delivering a superior product for our seniors uh with uh contributing architectural design and um vast open space but but also targeting passive house certification for sustainable development next slide please so just some existing conditions um view from the north on the um upper left um this site is bounded on three sides by public streets as you'll see in the upper left looking to the north you're looking at the intersection of coolage in North Harvard and the bottom slide shows you the intersection of coolage in East Street and then to the right um in the red reddish hash will see the the site and in support of the zoning you have a um an existing non-conforming site that is obviously oversized quite a bit in its zone of the 2f 5000 subdistrict the site is a little over 26,000 square fet of land in that 2f 5000 subdistrict next slide please just take you through the project summary so 49 uh you will see in the photo here uh in the aial uh again um the fact that we are boarded on uh three public streets uh again uh eastn Street to the right on your photo kulage Street to the left and the existing Hill Memorial Baptist Church to remain and be restored at towards the intersection of Easton and North Harvard Street you're proposing to create 49 units of all income restricted senior housing uh within this new development and as part as the combined restoration project um the height is four stories uh the proposed zoning height is um 452 ft and uh the total gross square footage of uh just under 48,000 grow Square ft and the existing church is a little under ,000 Square ft and is being uh renovated and um repurposed uh with amenity space Community uh space uh and the addition which we're really proud of of um usable outdoor public open space which you'll see both along the edges but also within um the courtyard center of the site for a resulting F of 1.79 next slide please just take you quickly through the zoning um we need uh relief in seven areas as I indicated before the underlying zoning is a 2f 5000 obviously that is not its existing conditions it's uh a lot of uh 26,700 Square ft uh we think that with uh both retaining the existing Church structure um and making way for much needed affordable senior housing uh with ample open space uh that is supportive of the relief with respect to this unique uh property site and we've worked through those constraints in a way to uh provide a contributing development so first release relief excuse me is for the MFR housing again in a 2f uh it's not a 2f use but we are uh seeking that relief in order to provide for senior AFF a housing um also the uh rear the front yard we have actually three front yards because we're on three streets uh seven is required on East 10 on coolage and um we have eight a little over eight on North Harvard and um and five 5.6 and then a zero on coolage or a little over zero in coolage which is where the available land is and order to allow for the creation of the affordable housing which is then offset with um an open space of almost 200 square fet uh per unit so we obviously don't need relief for that uh but we are very proud that that is driving it um also with respect to the rear yard I'm sorry we're 8.2 feet off from the rear yard which is 20 uh this site also Narrows as you go back which uh supports that that relief the building height three stories is allowed uh we're seeking four 35 is is the um height and uh limitation we are proposing 43 I will note that the steeple for the church is taller than that so existing conditions uh are supportive of that uh as well as the off Street uh loading we do have an accommodation it's just not compliant dimensionally uh and programmatically uh because we are creating 15 parking spaces and we have a drive lane uh we're able to meet the spirit of that requirement and as this board knows with respect to the parking uh we are required uh no parking is required under the new text Amendment 154 for all affordable but we thought it was important in working with the neighbors in the city and the community that there be some accommodation here especially for the demographics that are uh being targeted next slide shows you the zoning refusal letter which I think I went through and I'll be available to answer questions as it relates to zoning and the next slide I am going to hand it off to Lucas and the team from roie to take you through the presentation thank you Madame chair Lucas thank you Joe uh Lucas Haring with ro Architects uh this slide shows the side plan and building sections as Joe mentioned there is ample open space throughout the project both uh the public Realm where we're moving the fence along North Harvard East Co Street opening up all once fenced area to public a large public Plaza and there's also a more private open space to the Courtyard uh towards the center of the complex uh to give breathing room to the the existing church building and provide outdoor space for the residents um next slide [Music] please uh elevations of the project uh variation in material as Joe mentioned we are below the height of the existing Church steeple and we have setbacks on all sides uh presting the building is more of a three story read from the street more in line with the the neighboring buildings next slide please and we have a series of elevations so looking North uh towards uh the church um we can see that the pitch TR forms are related to the the Bell Tower and that the uh building is oriented in such a way as to step back from the face of the church uh both in the front and on the side areas uh some separation from the church um gone through extensive process with City agencies and preservation Consultants uh saving the church was important to the neighborhood and the community and restoring it to its uh community space function I think is very important to the project next SL please again stepping back breaking down the massing to relate to the neighboring buildings and stepping back at the fourth floor to provide visual relief next slide please and on East Street uh scaling the building so it's more in line with the neighboring buildings and point it back away from the street so it's actually behind the neighboring Residential Building in line with the existing Church to allow Providence for the church to be maintained and the neighborhood Cadence to be preserved next slide please and just a view from the front uh showing the space is provided between the church and the new proposed building and along with the public Plaza that would be open to the public with benches and a coverage space to protect people Wai for the bus from rain thank you great thank you Lucas and just in conclusion um we as Mr Stamper indicated this was a a article ad small project review which was issued uh and approved recommended for approval by the BPD back in November and I I would on behalf of the Austin Brighton CDC and the mcnamer house who we are who they are partnering with I just want to thank um both Community groups that were supportive and helpful uh the baia and the AA as well as our district city council Liz Braden who is instrumental in helping to um uh direct us through the feedback and Outreach process and we're really excited to um bring this restoration and much needed um affordable senior housing project to our most vulnerable residents in in Austin Brighton thank you any questions from the board hearing none can I have public testimony yes Madam chair members of the board Conor new with the mayor's office of neighborhood services at this time the mayor's office deferred to the Judgment of this board as you heard from the Al's representation uh this went through a BP Le Community process but as the former all brightley is on I can speak to the fact that the Elon bright and CDC has been looking at this site for a long time and has engaged with the community conversation for many years uh before you see the project here today in front of you um they connected with the bright and Austin Improvement Association which was very supportive of The Proposal uh they met with the Aon civic association they also secured a letter of support from the Brighton Alon historical society that was very pleased about the focus on adding um homes for seniors well at the same time retaining um the aspects of the church as well um and the architecture there um they had a community meeting with the public uh in late September uh with many in the community uh expressing excitement for the project um and many Meers expressed hope that a lot of Alon Brighton seniors be able to to stay in the neighborhood uh with these new units coming online are we're unaware of any major concerns uh with that we refer to the board thank you thank you I just want to take a look at them for stand minor are you looking to testimony yes I am uh good morning Madame chair members of the board Mina perz represented the Carpenters Union on behalf of our members that live in the city of Boston I want to go and correct and support this project and then was someone from plan zoning looking to give testimony so I put their hands down if not I voted Teresa yes oh go ahead um a couple of things can you just state your name and address my name is Eddie Wyant um I own the property at 29-31 coolage Road um and um I'd like to discuss a few things uh first of all it's coolage Road not coolage Street um I don't know interesting that you didn't get that right the um we're worried about parking uh you said you're going to put in how many spaces 16 can can you just walk through your comments briefly there it's not a back and forth at this point he can he can respond at the end okay um the um Cool's road is a oneway street U which from my understanding what would have to happen you'd have to go down E Street or Arden Street to get the coolage road so you'd be going by uh CU my house is right at the end of Barden uh you'd be going by my property and we think that there will be a significant uh congestion issue uh there would be difficulty if you only have 16 parking spaces uh we have residential Park parking on coolage road um there would seem to be um an overload of cars there you know there wouldn't be much room for residents of that area to park um the the lighting from the building U like to know what that's going to be is it spotlights are there um you know are there emergency U capabilities um what kind of lights will they be um the the parking lot um we'd like to know where the entrances and exits are which streets we know it's eastn and we know it's co Road the height of the building uh was stated to be 40 or 45 1/2 ft and then um you stated that it was going to be 43 ft so don't understand that um you know the the area is a is a two to three family um home area and uh we're concerned that it'll diminish the character of the neighborhood um he won't look residential anymore this is a fourth generation house that I live in um we we've been living in you know I've owned this house for close to 40 years um my grandfather lived in it my great grandfather lived in it um there we're worried about the rats there's been a huge there's a huge rat problem on coolage road uh you know doing this kind of work I think will will U create sir can you wrap up your points so so far I've heard parking lighting garage entries rats height is there any else no pretty much that's it but these are signific okay you know we're we're a Butters I don't know if there's going to be anybody here we didn't know about the meeting we never got information about it we finally got this thing from the board of of services board of appeals but um Zoe look testimony here yes hi all uh my name is Zoe shudy I'm a project assistant in the the development review division of the planning department here to express planning department support of the project um this project was approved by the bpda board on November 14th 2024 it filed its spr on August 15 2024 and had a planning department hosted public meeting on September 23rd um and did extensive additional um independent community outreach as well um we're happy to see this project move forward and progress in the design review phase of article 80 as well and defer to this board for further action thank you thank you I'm five addition raise hands i' go to Thomas and and Tim if you can provide us with new information please tell us if youing support opposition uh good morning Madam chair members of the board uh Thomas Leonard Executive Board member of the Altin civic association I'm stepping in today in place of our president Tony deidoro uh this project was presented and reviewed during the Austin civic association meeting on October 16 2024 the project received significant support from ACA members many of whom cited the need for addition income restricted senior housing in the alustin Brighton neighborhood the developer also worked closely with direct Butters throughout the community review process specifically the director butter directly behind the project the Ley family and have received support uh from the director butters for this project uh thank you madam chair members of the board for your time and consideration M hello this is Jane m go ahead give us your address and brief tell us if you're in support opposition I am in support of this uh project I am on the board of the mcera house which is advising uh the CDC about uh design and usage because we run 80 units of elderly affordable housing in Austin down the street and uh We've held a number of uh Community meetings and um we've had very very little um opposition and we wholeheartedly uh support this because there really isn't any U uh especially the senior community use um we don't have any Senior Center here in Alon and the Jackson man which provided some Senior Services is is uh very limited in Services because of safety issues in the building thank you thank you good morning this is Mora McCrae from city council Liz bren's office uh the council would like to go on record with strong support for this project it'll bring vital um vital affordable units to the lower Austin neighborhood thank you than Karen hi this is Karen Smith I'm a lifelong resident of Bon and I also am currently the president of the MN our house board of directors and what I'd really like to speak to is reinforcing the need for affordable housing it's the you know widely known that waiting list for affordable senior housing is often years that speaks to the demand and that's true at MN Mar house as well so we look forward to trying to alleviate the tremendous need that we see in addition we are realizing that as the age of seniors is increasing in terms of the average age in senior housing we really need to look to the infrastructure and the ability for MN house to partner with the CDC on good strong programming would be a tremendous opportunity and a shame to waste it we think the location across from the library will allow us to work even more closely with City agencies so we are in strong support and look forward to making this a stellar Housing Opportunity that's affordable for seniors thanks okay keep going M two raised hands here uh y okay yeah Bernette and then Holden my name is bernardette Leakey I am a lifelong resident of Alon Brighton we are the immediate direct abutters to this project at 2325 coolage Road and we are in full support of this elderly project that um they want to bring to this community and neighborhood the project will add to an already Vibrant Community the residents at this living area and our local neighbors can build meaningful relationship and enjoy social engagement the plans that have been presented to to us throughout this entire process has been unrailed we've met plenty of times there's been plenty of notices provided to everybody and the project is going to be very comfortable safe and convenient living space for our seniors residents will enjoy the convenience of having access to a great neighbors shopping dining and all additional services that they may need we are in full support of this project my uh family has owned this property at 2325 coolage Road and also the land directing a budding to the project for 50 plus years we have very close neighbors that are in full support of this thank you very much Holden hi thank you this is Holden Lewis and across the street at 276 North Harvard um largely in support of the project but just wanted to point out that at the last meeting the design that was shown to us how to step back um top floor on the the building facing North Harvard Street and they they maintain that on all other sides but um with you know just a really flat big imposing building I thought it was really helpful to have that fourth story stepped back it made it a little bit less imposing on what is now a fairly residential street though a busy one um I'd Echo uh Eddie's concerns around access to the building essentially eastn Street and poage Road will become de facto streets like driveways for the for the building um which will probably wind up removing some parking for the neighborhood um and I do have some concern about um emergency V vehicle access and and how that's going to be handled that hasn't really been addressed in any of the public meetings but um not sure if it's too late to think about those things now at this point that's all thank you have no additional raise hands uh would the applicant like to address some of the concerns that were raised yeah thank thank you madam chair and um appreciate all the input and and um point taken coolage Road not coolage Street got a lot of projects going on but um we definitely appreciate uh not just the direct of butter support and uh from the Lees and others but um with respect to the gentleman's concerns um I think it is important to talk about the drive lane this is something that um we spent uh a lot of time with BTD with the city uh with the bpda and the neighbors to get right so uh if if you look at the uh site plan renderings and uh of that it is in on Easton and out on coolage road uh gentleman is corrected as a coolage road is a oneway uh and so it's precisely designed that way so that vehicles uh aren't going into the residential uh rear of that um context of the area and so with regard to parking um yeah you'll see it there so again uh in on East and out on coolage and uh with respect to parking we have 15 spaces uh through the bpda process we were encouraged to do far less so there needed to be a balance that was struck obviously we have an affordable housing crisis not a vehicle crisis in the city uh but we do think that it could benefit from a an appropriate allotment of minimal parking uh for services for visitors and uh for those seniors that you know um still have a vehicle and want to drive having said that we've also integrated a number of uh Transit friendly aspects uh shuttle and bus uh um in the like uh van service that can get access things that are really more gerain uh to the end uh use here with respect to the height um this is a public document that we submitted if I did misspeak the height is proposed at 45.6 and I believe the existing steeple is around 53 but again that's all in uh the pending documents and obviously the height um uh varies and the massing has been broken up Mr Holden had mentioned uh some of the uh front elevations along North Harvard um this project continues to go through through bpda design review and we appreciate his comments and look forward to working on that there was also a mention on road control we will have that as part of our construction management plan and we look forward to working um with all the Butters and all neighbors uh should the project uh proceed forward final thing I'd like to say is it's not accurate to suggest that uh there wasn't notice and there wasn't lot of process on this uh myself the Alon Brighton CDC we take uh great pride in the amount of extensive work we did in excess of what is required from article 80 I think you heard that from bernardet and the he and the thees who are our direct to Butters in addition to the article 80 process which requires um a public meeting we actually did two of our own AB butter meetings that we organized and invited folks over to the hon and branch Library uh we personally dropped fers in everyone's neighborhood and we communicated that through the district city counselor on and both Community groups to make sure that we captured everyone so the process continues and again I want to thank uh all of the abutters for their input and I I hope that that was helpful in response thank you madam chair other questions from the board hearing none is there a motion I like I like to say that this project is very commendable it was really nice to see that the applicant received a lot of support from city councilors and state representatives so I commend you for those for that effort um I also think that you are creating a a huge Community um asset and impact and providing 49 affordable uh age restricted homes that's very much needed uh in in Austin and also in in the in the Boston area so there's a lot of really wonderful things about this project and its impact and for these reason that I would like to make a recommendation of approval um with a provisor that you follow the recommendations from the BPD memorandum is there a second second Mr SE yes Mr brazza yes Mr Collins yes Mr Aken yes chair votes yes motion carries good luck thank you madam chair members of the boarding into the hearing scheduled for 11 a.m. um today um folks should remember that we are a five member board today um and also we will ask if there are any withdrawals requests for withdrawals or deferrals from the 11:00 heing Andre I know you're on go ahead hear me m sorry I was on mute I request for a u a deferral as plans were recently submitted and haven't um yet been reviewed what project I'm sorry what address oh sorry about that this is 93 91 Howard Avenue okay last last case of okay so that's 11:30 we're asking about 11 now sorry about that thought that was 11 11 or 1130 we're on 11s right now Sor I 11:32 sorry M you okay so sounds like you can proceed with the 11s sounds good thank you with that we the first case is case bo8 166 5889 with the address of 100 to 120 ipswitch Street this is also an article 80 case and if the applicant enoy their representative of present would they please explain to the board someone from skate Charles [Music] gate good morning this is Brett Benson from util I think we're having a couple of our panelists join as well are you the one presenting or someone else I'll be presenting along with Sullivan and wer okay so do you want to start morning can you hear me yes I'm sorry um good morning Madam chair this is Gregory Samson with Sullivan and Wester um um I'm here on behalf of the petitioner scape charlesgate LLC um and with me as mentioned is is Brett Benson of B uh we are seeking relief for the proposed project at 100 to 120 ipswitch Street which is also known as two charlesgate West it's in the Fenway neighborhood of Boston the project involves the construction of a new 28 story mixed use building consisting of 48 400 residential units about 2400 square feet of first floor retail space and Associated site improvements uh the project will provide much needed housing for the Fenway neighborhood including 68 affordable on-site units along with a financial contribution to the Fenway CDC to support an off-site housing project uh the project proposes substantial landscape public realm and Street improvements including in all a new all day year- round publicly accessible open stairway and enclosed elevator that will join ipwi Street and bston Street to create a more direct pedestrian connections to the Fenway open spaces and destinations the project also proposes substantial Financial contributions to the local and state agencies for parks and open space improvements uh article 8 revieww process for this project began in November of 2021 the applicant worked with the bpda the city and local neighborhood groups for several years to find the project project recently received it's B bcdc design approval in June and bpda board approval in July of last year um with that I will turn it over to Brett to walk through some of the details of the projects and then we'll summarize with some information on the zoning Rel Le we're seeking and then we'll be available to answer any questions thank you right great thanks so much good morning Madam chair and members of the board thank you for your time we can advance to the next slide please so this is a very rich site um it's influenced by City scale neighborhood scale uh and also City Block scale concerns the site really has two frontages one along ipsw Street at a lower level and one along the Back Bay fence on an upper level the existing building is beyond its useful life uh it does not do a good job of addressing its surrounding ings but it does however include a very well-traveled but poorly lit stairway L uh tucked into the neighboring building uh that provides a vital pedestrian connection between uh some of the vibrant activities around Fenway Park uh in the open space of the fence as well as provide a shortcut to East Fenway in the Back Bay Beyond we can go to the next slide please so just zooming out to consider some of the Citywide context um this site sits at the intersection really have two histories of urban planning in Boston the first is a 19th century Emerald necklace including the Back Bay F and the second is a 20th century idea of the high spine concentrating height and larger floor plates along the turnpike and these two different contexts really influence the massing and the materials of the building next slide please at the neighborhood level this site together with the Fenway Triangle where the Pierce is located was identified as a Gateway parcel in the zoning code and together with nor Eastern's building h these three Parcels really form important uh Gateway moments to the Fenway neighborhood and the Back Bay F parks and just like building h and the Pierce we believe it's appropriate for a finely designed and tall building to Mark these important moments in the city next slide in this diagram we're documenting the various forces that have shaped the building massing the base zoning code allows 135 ft of Building height and the diagram on the upper left shows this height on the parcel but based on our analysis is of the site and also extensive input from the planning Department's Urban Design staff and public comment we adjusted the massing significantly to respect the setbacks from the neighboring buildings uh and also set the taller areas of the building away from the fence to minimize the impact of Shadows and wind on open space Also importantly the adjusted massing allows for the creation of a new public stair that's open to the sky and an elevator connecting uh uh IP switch Street with the Back Bay fence I also just want to highlight our ambitious sustainability goals for this project which include passive house certification uh and to look at one metric we're outperforming the city's greenhouse gas emissions targets with all electric systems and a very efficient billing envelope next slide because of the significant grade train change um this building essentially has two ground floor plans this is the upper ground floor plan on Boyston Street you can see the public stair and public elevator that's within the parcel boundaries and negotiates a 14 grade 14t grade change down to ipood Street that's on the upper right of this plan there's also a public bathroom located in the public elevator Lobby that was a direct request from the community next slide on the lower ground floor plan along ipswitch Street we've included the residential Lobby and two retail spaces loading for the buildings accomplished off street with access from a shared alley and there's no parking proposed for this site next slide our landscape improvements uh at Boon Street at grade with the Back Bay F use uh the materials and details that are typical of the emerald necklace parks next slide and you can see that this public stair will be constructed of granite Treads and risers uh it also includes planting pockets in the retaining wall to reduce the scale of the grade change uh and really try to better integrate it with the landscape next slide please the building is designed to maximize the continuity between the public stair and the public elevator Lobby so the stone materials of the stair continue into the public elevator Lobby and a transparent glass curtain while provides views between the stair and the lobby also at the base of the stair we carved out the lower levels to really connect the stair with ipsit Street and make it part of the public realm next slide and just looking at the stair from further west along iwi Street uh we worked really hard to make the stair feel open and connect to the street next slide then moving up to Boon Street uh we really carefully study the pattern the materials the variety of the neighboring pre-war buildings to help inform the design of our building along this Frontage next one and the Boon wing of the proposed building is really carefully calibrated to align with the neighboring parit and the brick and stone facade continue some of the major horizontal lines from the pre-war buildings we broken the facade into vertical Bays to continue the dominant architectural character along whon Street next slide and then moving a little further along Boyston Street to the Boker overpass intersection you can see how the massing of the building steps back from the park Edge as it gets higher uh the lower Boyston Wing is detailed with warm Earth Tone bricks and Sandstone to blend with the neighbors and then that taller portion of the building is detailed with lighter tone bricks with projecting hses to create a more textured base where the building meets the ground and then the taller section also picks up the theme of breaking the facade into vertical Bays with angled faces that will catch the Light in different ways throughout the day next slide and here looking at the building from across the muddy river in the Back Bay fence the stepped massing of the building is is probably most apparent um and each of these Terraces Landscaping on the roof decks will carry the image of greenery up the height of the building next slide and just continuing around the building with the view from landstop Street the tower forms a nice Terminus to the street while the stepped massing allows for more distant views to credential Center and then finally on the next slide this is the view from the Boker overpass coming from stero Drive uh the building marks this important gateway to the Fenway neighborhood uh and the brick and the granite primary facade materials the fine detailing that we've done around the windows with warm tone metal panels and also some of the subtle inflections of the facade and the penthouse uh to catch the Light we think are going to present uh a refined and kind of classic design uh that we hope that we think will pass a test of time at this important site so on the next slide we'll move into some of the um details of the zoning relief that we're requesting uh the list is here it's for f uh maximum F allowed of nine what we're proposing is 14.3 uh this is all within the Gateway Development Area overlay maximum build height as I mentioned earlier 135 ft proposing 279.899 uh minimum open space required 30,000 square ft proposed is 5568 uh maximum number of stories allowed is eight proposed is 28 Street wall continuity is required and it is not continuous as proposed off street parking is also required at 300 spaces and we're proposing none and we're within the gcod overlay as well on the next slide uh the major justifications for zoning relief here include that the site is regularly shaped with five sides and two different street frontages the existing buildings have mismatched floor plates which really significantly limits their potential for reuse the site varies quite dramatically in elevation based on unusual topography uh with significant grade changes complicating the layout and the proposed building massing minimizes effects on the neighborhoods uh and has gone through bpda board and bcdc uh votes of approval next slide summarizes the primary public benefit um so we're acute addressing the acute housing shortage in the Fenway neighborhood which includes providing 68 on-site affordable homes uh which is increased from earlier submissions in the project the project establishes a really important gateway to the neighborhood with removal of an outdated office building and as I was explaining it connects ipwi Street to the emerald necklace with a really transformative public stair and elevator uh as well as providing an accessible public bathroom for Emerald necklace visitors that's located off of that elevator Lobby uh we're improving The Pedestrian experience of ipwi street with Wier sidewalks new plantings and active uses of the ground floor uh and the project is partnering in the preservation of open space around the fence with a number of local institutions including contributing to the care and maintenance of the Urban Tree canopy and the F uh providing support to stakeholders to develop additional affordable housing and also providing an opportunity for local MBE or wbe businesses at the iWood Street retail location and then finally on the last slide this is a summary of the um Community benefits uh which total over $3.1 million so this includes both a mix of improvements that the project will take on as part of the construction as well as contributions to government and nonprofit organizations to support the affordable housing Transportation improvements uh parks in open space and the subsidized retail space that I mentioned just before and with that thank you thank you so much for your attention thank you questions from the board hearing none have public no I do have some I do have some um just trying to get my my thoughts here um do you know uh thank you for that presentation it was really great to see kind of the history of the Urban Design of the area and how your project tries to work um with those two kind of urban languages it was really ni to hear that um can you tell me what types of amenities you're proposing uh for the project certainly so there are a number of amenities both interior and exterior that are proposed on the Boon level plan uh there's a major amenity space so we'll have a number of the um kind of typical residential amenities that we would see uh both Lounge spaces co-working space Fitness and the like and then on the upper level where the building Terraces and steps back will have amenities associated with the roof decks that provide the open space so they mostly not for public is for the residents currently yes um And in regards to um uh I know that you're not proposing any parking and maybe the the BPD um project manager can help me answer some of these questions you have you're proposing 200 bikes and I was I'm I was very curious about about this has there been any study that you're aware of or maybe BPD where you have large scale residential living such as this um 400 residents 400 units and will 200 bikes actually be used um because you're not doing a one to1 typically you would have to be required to do 400 and at you know at what point in terms of scale does it become ridiculous in terms of assuming that you're going to have 200 residents using bikes um and so I would love to hear a response because I'm seeing I'm seeing this on large article 80 projects and the kind of um square footage that it uses um for the building so that's a question for you and then a question for the the BPD project manager that was assigned for this project great well not seeing the BPD project manager on the call immediately I'll answer your question first at least which is um in addition to the Bike Room we are providing two blue bike stations one at I switch level one at Boon level uh oh I see Scott Greenhall who is our BPD project manager who can um answer this after me secondly um this uh developer operates a very similar building just a block away uh called the bond on Boon Street uh and they uh undertook uh a number of studies relative to um the Bike Room that they provided and the number of bikes that are in that space given a very similar mix of unit types and sizes and found that it was about uh a kind of two unit to one bike uh space was a comfortable ratio given uh both the surrounding infrastructure public transit the blue bikes um in this mix and I see Scott on the line if you want to take it from a policy perspective Scott thanks Brett and good good uh morning everyone I'm Scott Greenhall project manager and the Boston planning Department's development review division um I think Brett what Brett said was accurate and we did negotiate with Brett and his team that um with with them not doing the one to one bike to uh resident or to unit ratio we did negotiate an additional Bike Share contribution to the uh Bike Share system right but have you have you actually studied with this higher density residential living how many are actually using in storing bikes and buildings you know given that we removed requirements for parking sure I myself have not I can uh check in with our transportation colleagues because I'm not an expert in transportation um or bike storage but I can I'm trying to understand kind of the impact right in terms of what residents are using as modes of transportation and um and if that Rao is appropriate because the usage is is warranted so if you if you can ask that from your department and let us know because this is not the only project that we're starting to see 200 300 bike storages sure yeah I can do that and get back to you great you any other questions from the board yeah one other question I see in terms of the IDP is a 30% contribution and Jeff or actually Scott you can answer this um why was this project not perview to the newer increase of IDP I think it's now 177% that sure yeah that was that was basically put forward at the end of this past last year uh in 2024 yes it's because the project had filed its project notification form and draft project impact report prior to the effective date of the inclusionary zoning policy that's right okay thank thank you I don't have any further questions any other questions from the board yeah just one question Jeff do you know if your client has uh chosen a GC yet I think that's premature to make that determination right now thank you okay any other the questions from the board hearing none can I have public testimony yes Madam chair members of the board Conor Newman with the mayor's office of Neighborhood Services this time the mayor's office like to defer to the judge from this board I this went through a Le lengthy Community process overseen by the Boston Planning Development agency um as well as uh input from uh state agencies as well and uh a number of stakeholders were also consulted and connected um many voices uh were in support of The Proposal uh citing the um uh new housing units that will come online line specifically the affordable units to 68 as well as the uh extensive Community benefits package uh that will also be delivered to uh benefit the community um incl as you saw the slide uh benefits to existing uh structures that that the fway CDC owns as well as to uh DCR um and public spaces being made for the parks department um there was a number of uh groups in support including but not limited to uh the Fenway CDC uh the Kenmore Business Association um DCR um bcdc uh there were some voices in opposition um such as the Fenway civic association was opposed uh the muddy water initiative uh expressed opposition as well um these oppositions the opposition was mostly focused on I believe concerns over the height of the proposed building and potential impact on Shadows on the um on the uh Emerald necklace in the muddy river itself um I believe the board should have access to all those letters to support and letters in opposition that we've made notice of without defer to the board thank you thank you m chair looks like we okay there's a couple raised hands here chatan oh sorry I'm councelor Durkin oh yeah go ahead sorry about that go ahead sorry I've just been on for for a couple I know it took a while to get to here so um dear chair dong and member members of the board I would like to voice my support for 100 um to 120 episod Street otherwise known as two Charles gate West this project not only delivers affordable housing needs pressuring our city in the Fenway providing 400 units of housing with 177% on-site affordability but also brings other host of benefits to the community Through the collaboration of advocacy by my office and the public um importantly this Project's Community benefits and mitigation pack package has commitments to in support to support important goals of the city including resilient Parks Safe Transportation Equitable access to business opportunities and a robust supply of affordable housing through this process I advocated for the additional removal of two floors to provide protections to the parks uh what we found by removing the two floors is that most of the Shadow was moved from Park land to Parkway um we also um I know that bcdc there was an extensive process um and uh I think the design that the developer landed on is beautiful and um we have the opportunity here uh to support not only uh the growth of our city and the Fenway but we have an opportunity to support um uh to support the process that this went through and um last year I sponsored an amendment to the city of Boston code ordinances 7-4 do10 also known as the Parkways ordinance um prior uh to today's board meeting this was dually passed by the city council and signed by the mayor avoiding the original bpda proposal to subdivide the proponent parcel and permit a proposed height um of their parcel via the subdivision by amending this ordinance we prohibited the proponent from a creative strategy to subvert compliance with the parks and Parkways protections um and through that I think we um solved um a 20-year disagreement on whether this was a Gateway parcel um so I wanted to come to the zba today to give you that context T um the greatest Urban Landscapes have proven that density and green space can and must coexist throughout the public review process I witnessed the developer whose main guidance was coming from the public make design choices that created a livable experience around the building and create new connections to The Back Bay f i urge the board to support this project today thank you thank you coun Christian someone El you hear from it yes good morning Madam chair members of the board Christian Sali Boston ground trust and we have both gcard letters from the applicant okay minor uh good morning Madame chair members of the board of mina for representing hundreds of un Carpenters that live and work acoss the city of Boston uh I want I want to go on record on support of uh this project this was a long and uous uh uh process and thanks to escape for hanging in the and accommodating the community on their needs thank you Shan hello everyone my name is ChatON green um lifelong Boston resident also business agent with the Boston building Trade union we represent over 35,000 members and their families also many of members and families who live directly in the area um we strongly believe that great projects help build um strong communities especially when um you have an intentional focus on um hiring a diverse Workforce women um people of color uh residents um and also um paying attention to safety right unions invest Millions into safety um also registered apprenticeships um making sure that people um not only see the the buildings going up and being built but feeling like they also can be a part of it um and registered appr Partnerships for sure um help tackle that um as well as um health and health and benefits um so this keeps people you know having faith that we can live and thve in the communities uh we live in but also be a part of it so um build And Trades here we speak um in strong support of this project thank you Scott good morning Madam chair and members of the board again my name is Scott Ron I'm a project manager in the development review division at the planning department the proponent filed its project notification form for the project on November 5th 2021 followed by a draft project impact report on December 7th 2023 between December 2021 and July 2024 seven public I and iig meetings were appropriately advertis Frozen I don't know are you able to hear yeah now we can okay the project was approved by the Boston Civic design Commission on June 25th 2024 and the bpda board approved the project on July 18th 2024 this project success sucessfully completed the article 80 review process thank you thank you more Rees here Ed Edward hi hi thank you my name is Ed Quinn a rail estate project manager at Fenway Community Development Corporation a neighborhood based organization working to preserve the Fenway as a vibrant diverse neighborhood we also have representation on the iig for this project family CC has had a positive experience with this developer on their previous Bond project both through the approval process perspective and how it's been operated post completion this ipswitch project site has been the long dilapitated site for some time we feel that this project will be a great Improvement to the existing conditions it'll also bring critical benefits in nearby park system and add much needed affordable housing to our neighborhood in their design of the building and adjacent Street and Park areas they have tried to strike the right balance while preserving the financial ability move forward we're very happy to support this project thank you thank you so Pam and then de um can you hear me good morning good morning Madam chair and members of the board my name is Pam Beal and I'm the president of the Kenmore Association and a member of the impact Advisory Group for this project for the record there's been extensive public process and the proponent has worked very hard with the community to create a project that provides much needed housing and invest in important public parks accordingly I'm here today to speak in support of this project and I hope that you vote in favor thank thank you very much thank you we can't hear you if you're talking de CL oh so no additional raise stand M CH okay any other questions from the board may I have a motion Madam chair I'd like to put forward a motion of approval with risal that the project follows the BPD um memorandum recommendations and this is a really nice addition to see for our city is there a second second Mr stbridge yeah M brazo yes Mr Collins sorry yes Mr Mr Aken yes this is a well fought out proposal uh especially for the uh the the unique circumstances of the lot chair votes yes the motion carries thank you thank you go back next next we have case boa uh can you ask for 11:30 defer and withdrawals uh that would be a good idea mad chair um thank you so yes we will ask if there are any requests for withdrawals from the 11:30 time frame yes uh my name is Andre Barosa I would like to defer for 91 hour Avenue requesting a later date uh 93 yes it might be under 93 sorry about that that's okay uh so that would be for case 161 5071 with the address of 93 Howard Avenue uh would you go ahead and explain for hello can you guys hear me yes yes we can yes uh so we uh recently received um the amended um architectural with drawings and um uploaded it to um the the housing department uh website we haven't um received um uh response yet so we're not ready to present at this time Caroline just have a quick question um are you aware if there are any additional zoning violations with the new drawings it actually should decrease okay uh we could do February 4th or February 20 uh I would say February 25th just to give us some time and also uh zoning to review okay uh may I have a motion February 25th February 25th 2025 second thank you just Bridge yes m b brazza yes Mr Collins yes Mr Aken yes chair votes yes motion Carri see you then thank thank you guys any other requests for withdrawals referrals from [Music] 11:3 eight hon Street Mr secretary I'm sorry a Hudson Street yes please uh okay so that will be for case boa 162 2743 with the address of 8 to 8A Hudson Street uh go ahead please thank you Mr stbridge Madame chair members of the board attorney Ryan Spitz with Adams and Mary business address of 1688 Street first floor South Boston uh we're here to request an administrative deferral to be heard in front of a full set member board uh we would like um an expedited uh hearing date if if it is possible considering this is the second deferral we're ready to proceed but again we would just like to be heard in front of a seven member board thank you we could do February 4 that works for me may I have a motion motion to defer until February 4 second thank you Mr stbridge yeah M better yes Mr Collins yes Mr Aken yes shair votes yes the motion carries see you then thank you 548 East Third Street please so that would be for case boa 154 2657 with the address of 548 East 3rd Street go ahead attorney Ross thank you Mr secretary good morning m'am chair members of the board this is Mike Ross from the law firm of prinel one international Place uh the zoning staff on this one required more time uh to process changes that were made to the plans uh based on comments made by board members and Boston planning at our last hearing uh the plans are submitted we're just waiting for the plan reviewers sign off and for that reason I'm seeking a deferral we would be ready to present it your next available meeting we could do February 4th that would be great for me so can uh Mr stge read into the record first did I miss that um so that would be for case boa 154 2657 with the address of 548 East 3rd Street okay may have a motion motion to defer until February 4th of this year thank you you Mr stbridge yes m b Braza yes Mr Collins yes Mr Akens yeah yes chair votes yes motion carries see you then thank you all 58 back the street Mr secretary um so that would be for case boa 164 9 3 61 with the address of 58 bachor Street would you go ahead and explain please thank you Mr secretary uh James Christopher of 686 Architects with the business address of 10 fors Road and braan Tre Mass uh requesting a very brief administrative deferral so that we may seek a full board uh thank you car we we could do February 4th thank you I have a motion motion to prefer until February 4th 2025 have a second sorry did I miss the second second oh thank you Mr stbridge yeah m b brazzo yes Mr Collins yes M Mr aen yes chair votes yes the motion carries it's there are no further requests for withdrawals or deferrals then what we have we'll move on to case boa 155 2298 oh I'm sorry uh I I apologize about sh we haven't finished with the 11 a.m. yes please so turn to case boa 167 7859 with the address of 403 to 405 Shaman it's the applicant and representative of pres they please the case good morning Madam chair members of the board I'm Jacob Taylor with Klein horn LLP on our address is 101r Street in Boston I'm counil to inos Aion or IBA nonprofit Community Development Corporation with a long history of developing and preserving affordable housing in the South ED we're bringing this matter back to the board after removing a planned ground floor residential unit at 403 to 405 shamad AV based on feedback from the city the 403 to 405 shamit project is being undertaken as a component of the larger kasas B inin Project kasas B inin is a 36 unit scattered site affordable housing development located at various addresses on shamad AV Tremont Street agadia Street West Brookline Street and Upton Street in the South End eban tends to rehabilitate these projects properties and preserve them as affordable housing in connection with this EA also intends to convert another project in his Pro portfolio located at 403 to 405 shamad AV from underutilized office and Community Center use to five new units of affordable housing we're now planning to continue the existing Community Center use on the ground floor of this building the board granted relief with respect to the rehabilitation of the existing 36 unit residential project in November of last year at that time representatives of the planning department expressed concerns related to the planned ground floor residential use at 403 to 405 shamet and the potential for flooding and consequently our our request for relief for this site was not approved this element of the project has since been redesigned to remove this ground floor residential unit the the 403 to 405 shamet site is within the MFR subd district and groundwater conservation overlay District the development of the 403 to 405 shamad AB site into five units of affordable housing with continued ground floor Community Center use requires relief as follows a conditional use permit under article 32 section 4 due to gcod applicability variance under article 64 section 36 with respect to off street parking variance under article 64 section 9 with respect to usable open space and a variance under article 64 section 9 with respect to floor area ratio since there'll be a small increase in countable internal floor area due to building reconfiguration and a decrease in mechanical space there's no change in building envelope plan for the 403 to 405 sha shamet AV site an applicant has obtained Boston Water Sewer Commission approval of a groundwater recharge system and an approval letter is on file with the board as well as a no harm letter from our civil engineer to theis serin we note that our understanding is that the board approved the conditional use permit with respect to gcod at the prior hearing but we asked this approval be incorporated into the relief requested today so the record is clear Eva has held a number of community meetings with neighbors and abutters and has received positive feedback regarding this proposed project uh and with that if there's no questions at this time I'll turn it over to Jason dong of EBA to provide a little more background on eBay and on this project thank you thank you Jacob good morning and thank you all for your time today uh my name is Jason dong and I am the director of facilities for Eva Eva has been an integral part of the South End since 1968 and is a nationally recognized Community Development Corporation dedicated to empowering individuals and families to improve their lives and Achieve socioeconomic Mobility through high quality affordable housing education financial and Resident empowerment and arts programs Eva currently has 667 units of affordable housing in its portfolio along with five Community programs including Early Education youth development financial empowerment resident services and the Arts we appreciate the board's previous approval of the 36 other units that are involved in this project during our last meeting in November this project will create five more units of affordable housing and retain the community space on the first floor we are very very excited to contribute to the housing needs of our city and state during this time when it is so very needed with that I'll turn it over to Leah Shey of Davis Square Architects to provide more background on the site and the projects Leah thank you uh good morning everyone um my name is Leah Shey I'm an associate at Davis Square Architects as Jacob mentioned earlier um cost barquin is a project that's comprised of 36 existing units and five proposed new units scattered between 10 buildings um in the South neighborhood of Boston can you go to the next slide please um you can see all of them on the map here that 403 shamet is located in the very bottom of the screen um next slide please uh the building where that we are specific discussing today um with these slides is for 3 to four5 Shan F where we propos to convert the upper floors to affordable rental apartments and retain the first floor as Community use the current slide shows the survey of the existing building and its relationship to the existing sidewalk and adjacent properties as you can see the building is on the property line on all sides and located on a street corner with two sidewalks the chart shows the highlighted zoning items which were already noted earlier in the presentation next slide please uh the photos of the exist exterior show the existing masonry Building located on the sidewalk on two sides with two adjacent properties abing it on the side and rear of the building there's a small section of the rear of the building that is visible from the rear common Alleyway next slide please the F diagram shows the existing storage room that is being removed on Floors 2 4 and 5 which will be added to the floor area of the converted Upper Floor un uh into five residential units the slightly increasing the F of the building next slide uh the first floor plan shows the revisions that were discussed from the previous CBA meeting where we are retaining the community use at the first floor with the new residential Lobby off of shamat Av um and not proposing to convert the first floor to residential use any longer uh next slide and this last slide shows the typical conversion of the Upper Floor into five uh two five new two-bedroom units utilizing the existing stairs and refurbished elevator um thank you and let me know if you have any questions on this presentation thank you any questions from the board I I have a question you um for the applicant has the Boston landmarks already done a review for The Ex it seems like you haven't you're not really making any modifications I just wanted to make sure and you talking South landmarks we have yes South South landmarks yep we have we have gone through reviews with it and um received all approvals for the exterior we're just doing the only thing on this building is new windows but mostly it's masonry restoration correct okay great I was just um trying to wrap my head around the BPD y of recommendations but thanks for clearing that up thank you any other questions from the board hearing none can I have public testimony uh good uh still morning good still morning Madam chair and members of the board my name is Eva Jones representing the mayor's office and Neighborhood Services regarding 403 to 405 sham atav our office will defer to the board's judgement on this matter a community process was conducted including an abutters meeting held on 10:15 which was attended by 10 constituents the primary feedback of this meeting was support for the proposal and also for what IBA Works towards um Additionally the proposal was reviewed with the Blackstone Franklin Square neighborhood association which convened prior to the abutters meeting with uh other Civic associations that are also associated with ib's other projects uh all Civic associations Express support regarding the proposal as well at this time the mayor's office and Neighborhood Services defers to the board's decision thank you everyone for your time and consideration thank you good morning Madame chair the members of the board Laura Tano here from counil F's office cons fle provided a letter of support um to the board this morning and would like to go record support based on a good Community process and feedback for Neighbors he would like to respectfully request that the proponent continue to work with the community on any equality of Life issues that arise during the construction phase thank you good morning Madam chair members of the board Christian sell Bost and ground want trust and we have both card letters from great thank you thank you and U sure it looks like okay we have no additional race hands at the moment thank you well that may I have a motion M chair i' like to put for a motion of approval is there a second second Mr stbridge yeah Miss better brazza yes Mr Collins yes Mr Aken yes chair votes yes the motion carries uh and I'm told we need to go to the 12:00 p.m interpretation in less than a minute are we pausing for a minute Madam chair or I yes now so let's I say let's let's do the interpretation sounds good Matt shair if I may it's Attorney Richard Lind I'm just speaking with my client because it is a five member board I just want to um clarify whether he's uh going to proceed or not can can I I get a brief second call on this perhaps maybe in 10 minutes so why don't we take a 15minute break now then perfect thank you very much recording stopped e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e do matter M better brazza present Mr Collins present Mr Aken present all right the floor is yours Mr stbridge thank you madam chair um and we have someone who was discussing with their client about the interpretation case for yes Mr strid it's Attorney Richard Lind thank you okay um so for the inter Cas interpretation case he tried to say get it from 12:00 p.m. that is case boa 167 5736 with the address of 123 to 125 Broad Street go ahead and turn with thank you Mr stem good afternoon Madam chair members of the board for the record my name is Richard Lind I'm an attorney with a business address of 245 suar Street in East Boston with me is also Arthur Chu who is now our architect of record I represent the petitioner with respect to the matters before the board uh if you can bear with me just briefly uh Madam chair of the board I just want to make sure I uh set the context here um this has been back and forth before the board uh several times on a number of of potential interpretation issues uh that we were successful uh in resolving with ISD uh regarding gcod um this project involves a small office to residential conversion uh at Broad Street uh which includes the addition of uh six residential units uh in the building uh one on each level um when we uh have proceeded with this uh we were cited for gcod originally uh based upon isd's interpretation of the total cost of the project uh and we have successfully resolved that issue with ISD so that um determination was ultimately removed um as we were preparing to finalize the uh project uh we were then cited for gcod again uh and the basis of that was that we were exceeding the 50q foot threshold uh that article 32 sets forth for purposes of requiring gcod um I will say that I do recognize that that we are a five member board uh my client has made a substantial investment in this project um and we certainly uh want to proceed as it is costly to continue uh without uh finalizing this and getting to a co uh so my client is prepared to proceed however uh if the board is not inclined to understand uh our position we're going respectfully request a deferral at that time but I think it's important the board here what we're what we're showing so we can jump to slide four please uh that would be helpful um so what we're showing here is the rear of the building and there's there's actually two components to our appeal here uh first involves the gcod interpretation um if you look at the uh back of the building uh there are existing conditions including a platform that handled uh a lot of condensers in mechanical equipment and this is located to the rear of 125 BR Street in connection with the um uh conversion to residential uh the requirement for additional egress was something that uh we uh had worked through with ISD and ultimately with the board of building regulations and standards if we can jump to the next slide please so uh as part of our process with the vbrs uh the uh inclusion of uh this erress on the back of the building by way of fire escape was authorized uh and as you can see it is within the um limits uh generally of the uh the platform where the prior location of the uh Mechanicals was located the only area that extends Beyond where we're at with the uh platform is the stairwell that you can see in the lower right uh uh portion of the screen and that stairwell is the only protrusion into the lot area uh and therefore that would be the only area where the 50 ft would commit the question um we determined that that is well below 50 sare ft uh based upon the extent of how those stairs exceed the platform and therefore this would be below the threshold for triggering gcod in this particular case so what we're asking with respect to the gcod component of our appeal is that the board determined that gcod in this instance only is not applicable and no conditional use permit is required for purposes of uh determining uh whether this this is subject to those Provisions um the second part of our appeal involves a little bit of a different um uh issue uh if we want to jump down to slide uh 12 uh that's our section plan um so in connection with the authorization by the bbrrs maybe slide 13 I apologize next slide in connection with our uh determination by BBS to allow for the addition of the fire escape uh one of the items that the BBS had uh indicated that would make this permissible is to have an awning over the upper level which makes sense for purposes of ensuring safety and to reduce the accumulation of snow Etc um that awning um a as shown here in the uh the elevation plan would be at or just below the highest point of the existing roof uh in this subdistrict the maximum height limit is 65 ft the building itself is already I believe a little bit over 85 ft we're not prop proposing anything if you go jump back to slide 12 you can see on the section plan uh we're not proposing anything that would be higher than the highest point of the roof in fact uh it would simply be limited to just off of the rear portion of the building uh in the roof that's um uh that's already existing um so in order for that awning which the BBS required be included to be added to covering the STW uh we would require relief from the code uh for that one area for height uh and the reason is is that uh 65 ft again is the maximum height and this awning would uh be at around 85 ft into the height of the building um that is the extent of the request that we're asking we believe it's very straight forward and as I said um in discussing with my client um we understand the risks of a five member board but based upon uh the importance of getting this project completed we do have tenants uh who are prepared to uh uh uh take up leases with this building and I do believe that the Bost and plenty department has made a recommendation uh that to the extent relief is required that they've recommended approval I'm happy to pause there Madam chair and answer any questions the board thank you are there questions from the board yes when you mentioned um BBS are you stating that you met with board members there and they advis you can um but we actually had a hearing before the BBS on the use and I do have um Miss vza I believe the uh the approval of vbrs is in the packet that I provided okay great I think you just clarifi that you did have an indeed a hearing nowy meeting okay that's correct yep and uh the awning um would be structurally sound you would extend posts from the fire fire agress there it's not something that is going to be CED that is correct we we uh yeah build it in accordance with the building Cod requirement and vbrs um indications y okay great um I don't have any further questions Madame chair yep yeah thank you I did review the BBS decision it seemed pretty straightforward to me from a building height standpoint piece I'm certainly not involved in other building code related items um but I think I'm still not 100% clear on where G cot is at this point it was resolved and now it is back and trying to understand where the compliance then lies with that in terms of moving the project forward sure thank you and through the chair Mr aen um when we originally we're working through our plans uh with ISD on this project um uh it was submitted as an as of right project right um the conversation um that initially triggered interpretation was based upon isd's determination that the cost exceeded 50% of the value building uh yes I remember all that material yes yeah so what ultimately happened is the BBS uh uh enter the equation the um design of the fire escape was completed and um again there's no setback requirement so that is that is an as of right design the stairwell that is the bottom portion as shown in the slide is the only portion that protrudes beyond what the I would say the existing envelope of the building is uh and clear near L less than 50 square ft however uh inspectional Services cited that as being uh you know a reason for gcod uh jurisdiction and we disagree because you would have to have more than 50 square F feet in order for that to be triggered okay I understand the explanation now thank you thank you thank you other questions from the board I understand someone from ISD is here here to speak Mr Williams uh yeah um I'm here to speak so I I think everything has been just identify yourself with I'm sorry uh Paul Williams uh assistant Commissioner of plans and Zoning here at ice yeah uh uh everything seems to have been described uh fairly accurately uh with respect to the the height of the building um it was cited simply because uh the the current zoning height for the area is 65 ft so it was an existing non-conformity um so that's why it was cited uh but as stated uh the building the existing building is 85 ft um but we recited it because there an existing unconformity with respect to the uh gcod um the the issue is partly the footings of the um of the stairs uh my conversation with the plan examiner uh he didn't have sufficient um detail of the footings um and and so he continued to site the the the G card um but uh as stated correctly the original reason it it was cited was because uh the interpretation that the that the the construction of the building um exceeded 50% uh that was resolved uh but I think that it was recited because it wasn't clear uh from the drawings uh what the the footings how the footings were going to uh be set and that was primarily the reason why it was it was recited Madam chair if I may we do have a photo of the footings which clearly show they're less than 50 squ F feet as well um if we wanted to jump back I think it's either slide five or six um maybe slides here we go yeah so it's a very small area for those footings uh that we're at Mr uh my understanding that this that detail wasn't available to the the plans examiner and um that's why the side of the Gard yep understood thank you okay thank you any other question question from the board no thank you commissioner Williams that really clarified your uh your position within your department and I think we have enough information to put forward the motion may I have a motion I would like to put forward a motion of approval for the applicant request for the two issues that are presented in front of us in regards to gcod that it does not apply given the information that's been presented and the other um height of violation that uh you're you're requesting um a relief of the code correct that's is correct that's right of the building code so we would like to also provide a Rel for that is second second Mr stbridge yes Miss B brazo yes Mr Collins yes Mr Akin uh yes chair votes yes the motion carries good luck thank you very much have a great day and with that we will return to the cases for 11:30 and be a with me please um which takes us to case boa 155 22 98 Mr stbridge we still have a r street from 11:00 a.m. uh thank you m sure okay okay thank you folks um your patience uh which takes us to case boa 1661 1825 with the address of 18 Ren Street if the applicant and of their representative of present would they please explain yes um good morning um Madam chair and uh members of the uh Bo um my name isri vaju and I'm here with my wife buana and we really appreciate the opportunity to uh speak with you all today um and uh I may allow to uh share my screen so that I can put up a short presentation or what uh we no we have whatever you submitted so you can speak to uh the slides in front of you okay thank you thank you very much so um we understand the importance of the zoning code in preserving the character and functionality of our community and uh we also recognize that our proposal for the accessible bathroom project was uh initially declined due to a perceived conflict uh with the local zoning regulation and uh today I'm here to respectfully request a reconsideration of our project and my goal is to explain why this accessible bathroom is absolutely essential for my needs so I'm a person with a rare genetic disorder called limb girdle muscular distrophy and this disorder has resulted in me losing my muscle strength all over my body gradually uh I was an active Sportsman but uh from my early 20s I've started losing my muscle power uh so my legs and hands have become progressively weaker uh we got into this property we purchased this property in 2021 and then I suffered a fracture in 2022 which further accelerated the weakness and our property here doesn't have a full bathroom at the first level uh we have a full bathroom only at the second level and I use a chairlift to go uh upstairs and I to to use the chairlift I still need some help from a person it is either my wife or a personal care assistant but due to my Progressive weakness even using the chairlift has become more and more different so we now converted a family room into our bedroom at the first level but still we don't have a full bath at the first level which means uh my PCA is available only 3 days in a week so those are the only three days where my PCA can actually lift me and transfer onto the chairlift my wife is a very peed lady she doesn't have the strength to lift me so this has left me uh taking shower only 3 days in a week and that's how we have been you know doing in the past two years and therefore you know uh having this bathroom will be absolutely essential to maintain hygiene and also to give the space that I'm going to need because of my Progressive disability I'm in the process of transitioning to a bigger power chair right now I use a small scooter but this is becoming more and more unsafe for me which also resulted in a fall injury and a fracture so the power chair is going to be much wider and the bathroom upstairs doesn't even have that much of a space um and at some point in time I'll also be uh using a hoer lift which is kind of a patient lift because of my decreasing core body strength and strength in the arms and legs and also I will be using a reclining shower chair which means I will have to take shower in a in a in a flat position lying down position all these things require a 6sp clearance like I'm 511 in height so if I have to lie down to take a shower that's going to be a 6 ft clearance and that is the reason uh for our proposal uh for an accessible bathroom um which will be parallel to our dining room and for the dimensions of like 14 .2 and 7 ft in dimension so this will be a completely U Ada friendly um the dimensions are according to the area requirements and this would also allow me to use a bigger power chair and also the uh the patient uh the the patient lift because of my Progressive disability and uh we understand this um violates the setback requirements um and I uh respectfully request the committee to consider my Progressive nature of my disability and also the U the daily needs of me and we also have a 10-month old baby now and my wife is um uh and as she CL up I really wanted to you know make sure that she doesn't see me struggling in using the bathroom and right now we have a half bath at the first level we can't even close the door at the half bath so we kind of use a shower curtain kind of a curtain to hide it and very soon our doctor is going to keep in and I don't want to have any such situations happen and that is you know a very important reason why I kindly request the boat to reconsider our request and uh um please uh approve our uh varant thank you yeah thank thank thank you for that explanation we appreciate it um any questions from the board hearing none may we have public testimony Madam chair and members of the board Siggy Johnson with the office of Neighborhood Services this petitioner has completed the on community process we have asked the petitioner to distribute an informational flyer to the 300t ab Butter's radius which solicited one letter of support from a direct abutter no other comments were received uh proponent additionally presented to the West Roxbury neighborhood Council which is in support and our office the office of the neighborhood services would also like to express our support for the relief thank you thank you okay and Madam shair we have no raised hands at the moment with that may I have a motion I'll make a motion for approval may I have a second second Mr stbridge yes Miss B brazo yes Mr Collins yes Mr aen yes chair votes yes the motion carries good luck thank you very much Madam chairman V thank you this point we will move on to the red disccussion schedule for 11:30 and there we have case bo8 155 2298 with the address of 27 douy Street if the applicant and the representative of present will they please explain the case to the board thank you very much uh Madam chair members of the board my name is Cameron Merill professional office at 100 State Street uh Boston Massachusetts with me is Peter vano architect on this project uh you may recall this had had originally been submitted several months ago and there was some confusion regarding the plans which uh the inspection of services department had sought uh clarification it was then reviewed as of the last date but unfortunately not included in the board's packet uh which is why we are here now uh effectively this was a previously permitted and approved by this board six unit project which had an unusual duplex at the rear uh which it has now been determined will that are suit the community and this applicant to divide that duplex into two separate units with adequate facilities for each uh this is a project which is fairly simple requires uh no uh modification or added square footage uh there's appropriate parking provided for these units and we believe that this is a project that should be approved by the board um if you have any questions in particular we're happy to go over them and discuss them and Peter B can answer those questions otherwise we appreciate your consider ation thank you are there questions from the board hearing then man public testimony Madam chair and members of the board for the record my name is Jeremy bmy I'm the Roxbury Community engagement specialist for the office of Neighborhood Services the applicant has completed the community process which consisted of an abuts meeting held on May 21st where two abuts did voice support uh with very few inquiries that were addressed uh during the meeting the project then went before hpnc uh H Park neighborhood Coalition excuse me uh Highland Park neighborhood Coalition who voted to support the project under the condition of establishing rent for the newly created studio apartment as an 80% Ami rental property uh thank you for your time and the mayor's office of Neighborhood Services would like to defer to the board for the adjud at this time mam CH we have no raised hands at the moment you will that may I have a motion M chair put for a motion of approval there second Mr stbridge yes Mr B rzza yes Mr Collins yes Mr Ain yes share votes yes the motion carries good La thank you very much thank you and then with that I will see you all next hearing thank you have a thank you have a good day thank you e