By Michael Coughlin Jr.
During its monthly meeting last week, the Jeffries Point Neighborhood Association (JPNA) heard proposals for a roof deck on Haynes Street and outdoor seating at Santa Fe Burrito Grill on Sumner Street. Both proposals are scheduled to be voted on.
The first proposal up for discussion was the roof deck at 30 Haynes Street. Specifically, the owner, Alykhan Mohamed, wants to build a deck exclusively for the third unit on the building’s flat rubber roof.
“There is existing access to the rooftop; it’s just for my unit. There’s a small head house, and the only change would be to put the decking and the railing; nothing else would change structurally,” said Mohamed.
As the presentation progressed, Mohamed showed images of structures from around the immediate area, plans for the project, and other photos from below the building to show the potential visibility of the deck.
Mohamed also took questions. One attendee had asked about the deck dimensions. It was explained that the roof deck was about 19.5 feet and would have about a four-foot setback from the front of the building.
He was also asked about a timeline for construction. In response, Mohamed noted he would have to go through the city process but said, “I would like to have it done by May at the latest, and I’m hoping that it could be done in two weekends’ worth of work.”
The next proposal discussed was for outdoor seating at Santa Fe Burrito Grill at 303 Sumner Street. Specifically, the proponents want to have seating for 20 people on an already-built patio at the rear of the building.
Derric Small, the attorney who presented the proposal to the JPNA, said that the patio would be open from 11:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., and he expected that there would be piped-in music but that it would not be loud.
“It’s not meant to be a party atmosphere; it’s just during dining, and when the restaurant closes, the dining will end,” said Small.
He also mentioned that the patio would probably not be used when it began to get cold. However, he acknowledged there had been discussions about using things like heat lamps to extend the life of the patio.
Margaret Farmer, a JPNA Board Member, had asked about the potential for using heat lamps or even enclosing the patio to extend its life in colder months, to which Small said if it were to happen, they would return to the JPNA to propose that.
As the discussion continued, an abutter raised concerns about noise regarding the volume of potential music and patrons.
In response, Small noted that they have discussed noise mitigation and soundproofing with the folks who live above the restaurant.
“Those talks will continue, and we are committed to making it as less noisy as possible if and when the music is piped in,” he said.
“We have a very good reputation in the community with regard to the site, and I think the continued dialogue between the restaurant owners and management staff and with the community will continue to happen. We’ll continue to come to this meeting; they’ll continue to do things to mitigate sound if that’s an issue.”
It should also be noted that Santa Fe Burrito Grill requests to change its occupancy to include a take-out use. Small emphasized that the take-out use already exists and the request is simply due to a technical issue when the restaurant’s permits were first applied for.
These votes were initially supposed to take place last week. However, a member of the JPNA Board told the East Boston Times on Monday that a technology error has necessitated a re-do vote.
Visit https://jeffriespoint.org/ for more information about the JPNA and to view the voting results when posted.