JPNA Members Vote down Two Projects from January Meeting

The Jeffries Point Neighborhood Association (JPNA) board released voting results for two development projects that were presented to the group earlier this month.

First, JPNA members voted 23 to 18 in opposition to a project at 156 Webster St. There, developer Aaron Daigneault proposed to change occupancy of the home from a three-family to a four-family dwelling. 

“It is a property that I would like to legalize the occupancy from three to four units,” said Daigneault at the meeting earlier this month. “When I bought it there were a lot of problems with the property and I have, over the years, taken care of most of the issues.”

Daigneault said he recently upgraded the building with all new electrical service and all new tankless hot water heaters.

Daigneault admitted to JPNA that heI had begun this work without a building permit.

“I only had the electricians and plumbers pull permits and I was cited for that (by the city),” he said. “Now I have three of the four that passed on the city’s rental registration program. The fourth unit cannot be passed until I certify its occupancy (to a four family).”

While JPNA rejected the proposal by a slim margin, there seems to be evidence that the building once had a legal occupancy of four units based on a permit request application submitted by a contractor in 1974.

The second project at 42 Everett St. was voted down 28 to 11 by JPNA members. There, developer Sunrise Bay, LLC proposed a gut rehab of the existing structure, extending living space into the basement, and changing the occupancy to six units.

Attorney for Sunrise Bay, Richard Lynds, said his client had made changes to the original proposal after hearing from abutters and the JPNA Planning and Zoning Subcommittee.

“We did make two presentations to the Planning and Zoning Subcommittee,” said Lynds. “We’ve also presented this at an abutters meeting. During the last subcommittee meeting we provided an updated plan showing the project has been reduced from a proposed seven unit building to a six unit building. Those changes were reflected in the most updated set of plans. We are performing complete gut rehab for the entire building. As a result, it would require upgrades to the life safety in the entire building. We are proposing a rear addition and the extension of living space into the basement. This would change the occupancy from its current use, which is a three family dwelling, to the proposed use of a six unit dwelling.”

Lynds said the units would be a mix of studios, one, two and three bedroom units and is intended for homeownership upon completion.

“So these would be individual condominium units,” he said.

There were some concerns at the meeting over shadows the building’s rear addition would cause to neighboring yards. However, Lynds said the project’s shadow study shows that shadows being cast in the winter would be the same as they are now and would be minor in the summer. 

Those in support of the project liked the fact it stayed within the city’s height zoning rules.

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