The Revere Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) held its regular monthly meeting last Wednesday, September 30, in the City Councillor Joseph A. DelGrossoCity Council Chamber.
On hand for the session were chair Michael Tucker and fellow members John Lopes, James O’Brien, Aklog Limeneh, and Arthur Pelton.
The big news of the meeting was the board’s approval of a 16-story, 170-foot tall building that will contain 334 apartment units on the present site of the Wonderland Ballroom. The new building also will contain a new function facility on a lower floor that will serve as a replacement for the iconic Wonderland Ballroom.
The matter initially came before the ZBA in July. The members voted at that time to reject the application, citing the excessive height (182 feet), the number of stories (17), and the large number of apartment units (358) without adequate off-street parking.
Prominent local attorney Nancy O’Neill represented the petitioner, Mario Zepaj of 1290 Northshore Road, LLC, of 365 Turnpike Street, South Easton. Even though the new petition represented a scaled-down version from the original application in July, the project still required three variances from the ZBA:
1. Revere Revised Ordinances (RRO) Section 17.21.040 (I) with respect to maximum Floor Area Ratio (FAR) requirement of 3.6 within the Wonderland Transit Oriented Development District (WTODD);
2. RRO Section 17.21.040 (F) with respect to maximum height requirement of 160 feet within the WTODD; and
3. RRO Section 17.21.050 (A) with respect to minimum off-street parking requirements for residential use within the WTODD.
“This proposal originally came before this board in July and since then has been refined to meet the concerns of the board and to more closely align with the requirements and design of the Wonderland Overlay District,” said O’Neill, who said that the new proposal meets the legal standard of “material and specific changes” (which therefore permits the applicant to resubmit the application within less than a year) from the original plan.
O’Neill emphasized that “a central aspect of the project is the creation of a new function space to replace the Wonderland Ballroom that will be an important amenity for Revere residents and families.” She said that the need for added ceiling height for a ballroom had pushed the building beyond the 160 feet that is allowed in the district.
O’Neill noted that the vast majority of the apartments will be small in size, which will attract tenants who will not own cars. O’Neill said that although the 90 parking spaces within the property will be sufficient for the building, she added that there are 1400 adjacent units in the nearby MBTA parking lot that will be available for ballroom events.
O’Neill also pointed out that 23 apartments, equaling seven percent of the units, will be offered as affordable housing. “This project is the perfect project for all of the state’s goals for transit-oriented housing,” O’Neill concluded.
Ward 2 City Councillor Ira Novoselsky spoke in favor of the application. “We had asked them to put it in this function hall,” Novoselsky said, who added that because the building is in a flood zone, it has to be constructed above-ground. “There already is an existing, 16-story property nearby, so it is not out of whack for the neighborhood.”
Ward 5 Councillor Angela Guarino-Sawaya also spoke in favor of the project, noting that the community needs a function hall facility of this type. “This is going to be a beautiful project,” she said.
Resident Travis Alpert from Coolidge St. spoke in favor of the application, noting the affordable housing component, which he said is much-needed in Revere.
A resident from Park Ave. also spoke in favor of the project, citing the modern design that will be a welcome addition to the city.
The board first voted unanimously in favor of a procedural finding that there were “specific and material changes” to the plan, which was a necessary antecedent to allow the board to take a vote on the merits of the revised project.
The board then voted 4-1 (with Tucker dissenting) in favor of granting the variances. In addition to the usual conditions, the board added the stipulation that the tenants will not be eligible for the city’s on-street parking program.
The board took up a number of other matters during the evening.
The first item on the agenda was an application from Brandon Melendez, 262 E. Eagle St., East Boston, requesting a variance of Revere Revised Ordinances (RRO) Section 17.16.260 (F)(1) with respect to “no accessory structure can be located within the required side yard and no more than 10% of the rear yard can be occupied by an accessory structure” to enable Melendez to raze his existing garage for the purpose of constructing a new 15.5’ x 36.2’ garage at 16 Rand Street.
Mr. Melendez appeared on his own behalf. He said the new garage will be slightly larger than the current structure. There were no opponents at the hearing, though a Howard St. resident sent in a letter of opposition.
The members unanimously approved the application with the usual conditions, as well as the condition that there be no plumbing other than for a water spigot.
Next up was an application from Washington Sherman, LLC, 9 South Street, Chestnut Hill, requesting a variance of RRO Section 17.28.020(D) with respect to minimum parking requirements for apartment use within the General Business (GB) District to enable the appellant to remove the mechanical parking stacker devices and provide a total of twenty-six (26) surface level parking spaces for the existing apartment building at 810 Washington Avenue.
The board received letters from a neighbor and from the city Building Commissioner, Louis Cavagnaro, in support of the application. There were no opponents and the board unanimously approved the application.
The next item pertained to a request from Eraano Investment, LLC, 42 Genesee Street, “requesting a variance of the following ordinance to enable the appellant to construct a two-family dwelling on the undeveloped lot adjacent to 42 Genesee Street, Revere: 1. RRO Section 17.24.030 (d) with respect to the requirement that a buildable lot within the LD Zone must have an area of at least 4,000 s.f. Therefore, this is not a buildable lot for a single- or two-family dwelling and a single family dwelling could only be built by special permit of the ZBA if it meets the requirements of Sections 17.24.031 and 17.24.032 regarding special permit conditions for undersized lots.”
Although the petitioner asked for a continuance of his application in order to hold a community meeting, a number iof neighbors spoke in opposition to the application. Tucker said he would like to have the ward councilor weigh in on the application, as well as for it to go before a community meeting. In addition, Tucker said that there is a legal question that needs to be reviewed by the City Solicitor.
The board then voted to continue the matter.
The next item was a request from 7 Sheryl Realty Trust, Rashid Shaikh, Trustee, 24 Sheryl Dr., Shrewsbury, requesting a variance “to enable the appellant to request a special permit for a townhouse use within the RB district for the purpose of constructing a 4-unit townhouse structure at 2 Porter Avenue:
1. RRO Section 17.16.060(A) with respect to the requirement the minimum lot size
shall be ten thousand square feet with a minimum of three thousand square feet
of lot area required for each unit.”
Mr. Shaikh presented the application. He explained that the property originally consisted of three lots in 1920, but it has been converted over the years into the current two lots, on one of which presently sits a home.
He said that by constructing a four-unit rowhouse, the new structure will be more compliant with the setback requirements of the zoning ordinances than the present structure. He also noted that the lot consists of 9280 sq. ft., which is just shy of the 10,000 sq ft. minimum.
He further pointed out that unlike most of the other homes in the area, which is in the Beachmont section of the city, the new townhomes will sit above the 100 year floodplain.
Porter Ave. Richard Adreani resident expressed concerns about parking and flooding. “We have a terrible parking problem down there,” Adreani said. “Emergency vehicles cannot make that turn because of the cars parked there on the one-way street. We also have a flooding problem there that seems to be getting worse the more it is developed.”
After Tucker pointed out that there will be two off-street parking spaces per unit, the board unanimously approved the application.
The final matter came from Parkway Homes Owner, LLC, 235 Bear Hill Road, Suite 300, Waltham, “requesting the following variance to enable the appellant to subdivide 2 Pratt Street, 12 Pratt Street, 16 Pratt Street, and 418 Revere Beach Parkway, into proposed Lot 1 (102,267 sq. ft.) and proposed Lot 2 (104,176 sq. ft.):
1. RRO Section 17.24.010 with respect to the minimum frontage requirement of 150 feet within the TED District for the creation of proposed Lot 2.”
The property is the site of the former Lee’s Trailer Park. Atty. O’Neill presented this application and was joined by Project Engineer Rick Salvo of Engineering Alliance, LLC. O’Neill noted that the City Council in 2024 approved the site for a mixed-development project with 10 percent affordable housing.
She said that there are no present plans for the development of Lot 2, but that the developer is simply asking for the division of the lots.
Travis Alpert spoke in favor of the application, as did Ward 2 Councilor Novoselsky, whose district lies across the street.
The members unanimously approved the application.
The next meeting of the ZBA is set for Wednesday, October 28.