By Journal Staff
The Revere Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) held its regular monthly meeting on Wednesday, July 23, in the City Councillor Joseph A. DelGrosso City Council Chamber.
On hand for the session were chair Michael Tucker and fellow members Aklog Limeneh, John Lopes, Arthur Pelton, and alternate member Peggy Pratt.
The meeting proved to be a short one (about 25 minutes) in which members took up three matters. The main business of the evening pertained to a request for a number of variances from Ghana Realty, LLC, 343 Washington St., Suite 201, Newton, seeking relief from Revere Revised Ordinances (RRO) Section 17.24.010 (minimum front, side, and rear yard setbacks, minimum lot frontage and area, maximum Floor Area Ratio [FAR]) and RRO Section 17.28.020 (minimum parking requirements) in order to enable the construction of a two-story addition that will add 13 new units to the existing six-unit, three-story residential structure at 641-643 Beach Street, including a basement apartment.
The property is located between No. Shore Rd. and Walden St.
Prominent local attorney Nancy O’Neil represented the applicant and laid out the basis for the application in her typical straightforward manner.
“The owner is presenting a Transit Oriented District (TOD) addition to this property that will include two affordable housing units,” said O’Neil. “The building will be revitalized, but the existing footprint will not change. Two new stories will be added to the top of the existing building for a total height of 50 feet. The height and density of the new structure will fit in with the neighborhood where there are similarly-sized buildings.
“The building will receive an updated architectural facade that will greatly improve the appearance of the building,” continued O’Neil, who presented an architectural rendering of the proposed new structure, “which will bring it in line with recent modernizations in the Shirley Ave. neighborhood.
“The proposed addition will have several benefits for the neighborhood and will provide transit-oriented housing within 500 feet of the Revere Beach Blue Line station,” O’Neil added. “The residents will not have cars and will be able to walk to the Blue Line and Shirley Ave. businesses.
“The facade dates from 1900 and has fallen into some disrepair and this project will rehab the building and improve its appearance in keeping with the modern, attractive buildings in Flaherty Square and the Shirley Ave. neighborhood as a whole,” O’Neil further noted. “The property owner has consulted with Ward 2 Councillor Ira Novoselsky as regards the design of the building and to ensure that there will be two affordable housing units.”
O’Neil told the members that the city is supporting the project, and that after a community meeting, there was no opposition to the project
“In sum, this project will transform a declining, 125 year-old building into a structure with a modern facade that will provide transit-oriented affordable housing in this walkable and vibrant neighborhood,” O’Neil concluded.
Novoselsky voiced his support for the project. “I have worked with the developer from ‘day one’ and we’re looking forward to a better-looking neighborhood,” said the veteran Ward 2 councilor, who is the dean of the City Council.
There were no opponents and the board unanimously approved the application, though with the proviso that the tenants will not be eligible to participate in the city’s residential and visitor on-street parking permit program.
The first matter on the agenda was the continuation of a hearing from last month’s meeting on the application of Hicham Allam, 70 Warren Street, who is requesting a number of variances to enable him to construct a 13’ x 14’ driveway at 70 Warren Street, whioch are as follows:
1) RRO Section 17.24.070 (A) (1) which prohibits parking in the front yard unless a garage under exists within the RB District.
2) RRO Section 17.24.070 (A) (4) which requires at least 40% of the front yard to be landscaped.
3) RRO Section 17.28.030 which requires all parking space dimensions to be no less than 9’ in width and 18’ in length.
At last month’s meeting, the members were skeptical of Mr. Allam’s proposal, noting that it did not provide enough space for him to park his own vehicle, a Jeep Compass.
“The problem I see is that his car may encroach on the sidewalk,” said Lopes last month.
Chairperson Tucker said he had a few concerns, noting that the city requires front-yard green space, which will be taken away by the driveway, and that by adding the necessary curb cuts for the driveway, there will be a net reduction in the amount of on-street parking available to the neighborhood.
“I myself have front-yard parking and the 18-foot minimum is really necessary,” said Tucker, who pointed out that a Jeep Compass measures 14.5 feet, which is less than the proposed space. “We’ve approved front-yard parking, but I’ve never seen a 14-foot driveway approved. Is there any way to work with an engineer to make this space deeper than 14 feet?” Tucker inquired.
Winthrop attorney James Cipoletta took up Tucker on his suggestion and asked for a continuance to the July 23 meeting, a request that the members approved unanimously.
However, Cipoletta told the members that Mr. Allam has hired an engineer to design a new plan, but that the engineer has been unable to do so in time for the meeting. Cipoletta asked for a further continuance to enable the engineer to produce a plan.
The members unanimously approved Cipoletta’s request and thereby continued the matter for another month.
The third matter involved an application by Kenneth LaFauci, 16 Naples Road, who was appealing, “The decision of the Building Inspector to issue Building Permit B25-000401 on June 12, to allow the construction of a canopy within the fire lane between 16 Naples Road and 22 Naples Road, an alleged violation of condition #4. (There shall be an unobstructed 20-ft. fire lane provided along both sides and rear of the building) of the City Council special permit for the operation of a commercial garage granted to 22 Naples Road on April 8, 2021.)”
Atty. Jay Satin of Marblehead represented Mr. LaFauci, who noted that inasmuch as the application for the building permit had been withdrawn, he was withdrawing his appeal of the Building Inspector’s issuance of the building permit.
Ward 3 Councilor Anthony Cogliandro also spoke briefly and questioned why the building department had issued a permit in the face of the City Council’s well-defined restrictions.
Atty. Cipoletta, representing the property owner of 22 Naples Rd., said that the matter is moot because the building permit has been surrendered. He noted that the potential cost of litigation led his client to take that course of action. “This is now a non-issue,” said Cipoletta.
The members voted to allow LaFauci to withdraw his petition without prejudice.
The next meeting of the ZBA is set for August 27.
