Zoning Board of Appeals Approves Two New Projects for Shirley Ave.

The transformation of the Shirley Ave. area from one- and two-story commercial buildings into modern, multi-story apartment buildings, many with commercial rentals on the ground floors, continued, as the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) approved two new projects at its meeting on April 28. 

However, the vote did not happen before Lor Holmes and other members of the Revere Housing Coalition made their case again for affordable housing to be included in the two projects. 

The first proposal was to raze the existing structure at 13 Nahant Ave. and replace it with a five-story building with 38 units, consisting of predominantly studio and one-bedroom apartments and a small number of two-bedroom units.  It was noted that the present building was very run-down and had several safety concerns, including fire issues.

Ward 2 Councilor Ira Novoselsky stated that during the community hearing, both the fire and police chiefs supported the project, as did an almost-unanimous number of the 45 area residents who were in attendance.  

The developer, Jamie Russo, received high praise from all the attendees for “doing good work.”

As with other developments in the Shirley Ave. area, the tenants of this building will not be able to obtain street parking stickers. The board was told that as part of the lease, the tenants have to agree not to have automobiles, inasmuch as the area has been designated as a transit oriented development (TOD).

Robert O’Brien, the city’s Director of Economic Development, voiced his support for the project.

“Between the two projects, there will be 83 units of housing with no displacement. These projects will be a positive contribution and the developer deserves the variances, since this will not happen without them (the variances),” said O’Brien.

However, Holmes opposed the project, noting, “The developer is a good guy, but Revere has a dearth of affordable housing.”

During the meeting, ZBA Chairperson Michael G. Tucker noted that the ZBA cannot base its decision on whether a project contains affordable housing because there exists no ordinance in the City of Revere for linkage between the granting of variances for a project and a provision for affordable housing.

The ZBA then granted the following requests for variances for relief from the zoning ordinances to allow the project to move forward:

Nahant, LLC, 1040-1048 North Shore Rd., Unit 2B, Revere, MA 02151, requesting the following variances of the Revised Ordinances of the City of Revere to enable the appellant to raze the existing structure and construct a new building comprising thirty-eight residential units at 13 Nahant Avenue, Revere, MA 02151:

Section 17.24.010, minimum lot area of 10,000 s.f. in the General Business (GB) District;

Section 17.24.010, minimum frontage of 100 feet within the GB District;

Section 17.24.010, maximum FAR of 1.5 within the GB District;

Section 17.24.010(q), minimum front yard setback of 20 feet for residential use within the GB District.;

Section 17.24.010(q), minimum side yard setback requirement of 15 feet for residential use within the GB District;

Section 17.24.010(q), minimum rear yard setback of 20 feet for residential use within the GB District;

Section 17.28.020, minimum parking requirements for apartment use;

Section 17.28.050(B), minimum two way driveway width of 22 feet within the GB District;

Section 17.32.050 minimum screening width of 6 feet between multi- family parking and residential uses.

The other proposal to come before the board was for the property at 60-66 Shirley Ave. which was similar in many respects to the previous proposal.

The commissioners approved the razing of the current structure, which will be replaced with a building containing 45 residential units. Novoselsky pointed out that at the community meeting, there was only one person who voted to oppose the project. 

As with the project at 13 Nahant Ave., residents of 60-66 Shirley Ave. will not be able to obtain street parking stickers, as this too, is deemed a TOD project.

The ZBA granted the following variances for relief from the zoning ordinances:

Eastern Equity Partners, LLC, 1040-1048 North Shore Rd., Unit 2B, Revere, MA 02151 requesting the following variances of the Revised Ordinances of the City of Revere to enable the appellant to raze the existing structures and construct a new building comprising of forty-five residential units at 60-66 Shirley A, Revere, MA 02151:

Section 17.24.010, minimum lot area requirement of 10,000 s.f. within the GB District;

Section 17.24.010, minimum frontage requirement of 100 feet within the GB District;

Section 17.24.010, maximum Far of 1.5 within the GB District;

Section 17.24.010(q), minimum side yard requirement of 15 feet for residential uses within the GB District;

Section 17.24.010(q), minimum front yard setback requirement of 20 feet for residential use within the GB District;

Section 17.28.020, minimum parking requirement for apartment use;

Section 17.28.050, minimum two way driveway width of 22 feet within the GB District;

Section 17.32.050 with respect to minimum screening area of 6 feet between multi-family parking and residential uses.

In other matters before the ZBA, the following variances were granted:

Steven M. Ferrante, Sr., 22 Pemberton St., Revere, MA 02151, who was seeking a variance of Section 17.16.260(F)(2) of the Revised Ordinances of the City of Revere, minimum side yard setback for a pool, to enable the appellant to install an above-ground pool at 22 Pemberton St., Revere, MA 02151; and

Frank A. and Lisa M. Barry, 40 Stone Street, Revere, MA, who were requesting variances of Section 17.24.010 minimum side yard setback, Section 17.16.260(D) maximum height for an accessory structure, and Section 17.16.260(F)(1) maximum coverage of an accessory structure of the rear yard of the Revised Ordinances of the City of Revere, to enable the appellant to construct a 24’ x 28’ garage at 40 Stone Street, Revere, MA 02151.

At the end of the meeting, O’Brien circled back to the issue of affordable housing, mentioning the efforts of the Revere Housing Coalition to create more affordable housing.

“Affordable housing does not have to do with matters that come before the ZBA, as there is no inclusionary zoning requirement in Revere that requires a certain portion of residential development being proposed to be restricted as affordable and inclusionary zoning,” said O’Brien. “An amendment to the existing zoning ordinances is being considered as one of several strategies to create new affordable housing in the community. It has not yet been implemented or heard or passed by the City Council. So it is not at this stage relevant to ZBA hearings.  That does not mean however, that we are not dedicated to creating new affordable housing, working with our not-for-profit developers.”