After a year, the Harbor View Neighborhood Association (HVNA) was finally able to hold a formal vote on a proposed project that would bring a restaurant to 636-638 Bennington Street, and attendees overwhelmingly opposed it at the group’s latest meeting last week.
Last June, plans for the proposed restaurant, called El Parche, which would be owned by Elkin Vanegas and operated by Mery Quintana and Amparo Pereanez, were presented at an abutters meeting.
Back then, plans called for a 40-seat restaurant with operating hours from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m. Additionally, the applicants sought a beer, wine, and cordials license, a common victualler license, and live entertainment from the licensing board.
This plan immediately drew the ire of residents who were not fans of the late closure, took issue with an establishment serving alcohol in the vicinity of an area with many children, and had concerns about how the restaurant would dispose of and store trash, among other aspects.
Furthermore, residents were not only dismayed by the plans presented but also by the fact that a sign on the building stated the restaurant was opening soon, before the aforementioned abutters meeting.
At the HVNA’s meeting last month, one of the applicants’ attorneys, Francisco Gonzalez, referred to the sign being put up as an “exuberant mistake.”
Following the pushback, the applicants returned to the table with updated plans during another abutters meeting last September, which called for a 20-seat restaurant with operating hours of 10 a.m. to 12 a.m.
The applicants also maintained the aforementioned licensing requests, and it was explained at that meeting that they were also seeking approval from the Zoning Board of Appeal to change the building’s occupancy from a beauty salon to a restaurant, expand the bathroom to make it handicap accessible, and for additional work like painting and framing.
Even with new plans, disapproval from residents remained, due to the same concerns and issues mentioned above, along with fears that the establishment would be more of a bar or club than a restaurant.
Though Gonzalez emphasized in September that the restaurant is supposed to be a “family place where people can come and bring guests, bring friends, and spend an evening having a meal and sharing a drink or two.”
Following the September abutters meeting, residents still made their voices heard. Skip Marcella, an HVNA Board Member, revealed in October that at the time, they had 47 letters from abutters and 173 signatures from residents who opposed the project.
Eventually, the applicants were due to appear before the HVNA and present their proposal to the group to complete the community process required by the city. However, there were multiple delays throughout the winter, and the first presentation to the association finally took place last month.
At last month’s meeting, it was revealed that the closing time had been pushed up even further to 10 p.m. and that renovations to the space had already been conducted, with the exception of installing an accessibility ramp.
“All of the renovations, all of the improvements to the space have been done with the approval of licensed contractors who have done required permits, and I understand that inspections have already taken place,” said Gonzalez last month.
“The only thing that is pending now is the final certificate by the fire department, and that is because it is contingent upon the creation of a small ramp to have wheelchair access into the premises.”
He later clarified that they could not open the restaurant immediately if they wanted to, later adding that they “need the Inspectional Services Department to sign off that the work has been done according to the regulations and that the change of occupancy is permitted and allowed in order to be issued the licenses to operate the business.”
Eventually, some residents visited the building where the restaurant is proposed, following the meeting last month.
Finally, after all this time spent on the proposed project, last week’s meeting marked the second presentation before the HVNA, which allowed the group to vote on it and send those results to the city and elected officials.
Before the presentation, Marcella mentioned to those in attendance that the proponents had, in fact, secured the necessary permits to work on the building, which had been another concern of residents.
To begin the presentation, the other project attorney, Ken Levin, addressed a few of the long-standing concerns about the proposal.
First, Levin noted that the proponents had signed a contract with a company that would pick up trash at the property every day.
He also emphasized that the building is designed to be a “nice, small restaurant,” not a club, and that the entertainment request is for “ambient music” and a television.
“It is the dream of these owners to put a nice restaurant into the neighborhood,” he added, acknowledging that this has been a rocky process.
There was also time for residents to comment or ask questions during the meeting. One resident wondered whether the proponents would try to expand their hours and liquor operations a year or two down the road if the restaurant is approved. However, Pereanez emphatically shook her head and said no.
Another significant topic discussed during the meeting was waste management, specifically regarding how trash would be stored and when it would be collected. One resident pointed out that the aforementioned trash contract noted that pickup would occur between 2 a.m. and 7 a.m.
However, Gonzalez stated that the agreement would be amended, and the actual pickup time would be closer to 7 a.m.
As the meeting continued, others commented in opposition to the proposal, saying it was like trying to put a square peg in a round hole, or outright stating that they did not want the proposed restaurant in the area. It is worth noting that one person raised their hand and expressed excitement about the proposal.
Ultimately, following the discussion, those in attendance voted vehemently against the project, 38-2.
“This information that comes from the vote will be sent off as we do with all of our information, to the city and Eva Jones (a city community engagement specialist), and then the project here has completed the community process,” said Marcella.
For more information about the HVNA, visit its website at https://harborvieweastboston.com/ and its Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/groups/harborviewna/. The HVNA will take July off and reconvene again on August 4.