By Michael Coughlin Jr.
At last week’s Boston Planning & Development Agency (BPDA) Board meeting, the board voted to approve a project that will bring several units to 944 Saratoga Street. According to Ebony DaRosa, a project manager with the Planning Department, the project involves the construction of a four-story Coastal Flood Resilience Overlay District (CFROD)-compliant residential building with 21 rental units, nine parking spaces, and 28 bike spaces. It should also be noted that a press release announcing the projects approved at last week’s meeting indicates that the building will contain a mix of studio, one-bedroom, and two-bedroom units. DaRosa also noted that this project complies with the zoning regulations for the subdistrict in which it sits — Mixed-Use (MU)-4.
Regarding zoning compliance, a senior planner, Ella Wise, emphasized that the project complies with the dimensional regulations in Article 53 but went into more detail about two regulations. First, she discussed height. In the MU-4 subdistrict, the maximum height allowed is four stories and 50 feet. However, Wise noted that since the project is located in the CFROD, height is measured from two feet above the base flood elevation rather than grade. Essentially, this means that while the building might appear larger, it is classified as a four-story building at 49 feet 10 inches tall for zoning purposes.
Wise expanded on the other dimensional requirement: the rear yard. The minimum requirement for a rear yard is 10 feet, and the proposed rear setback for the project is between 9 feet 6 inches and 10 feet 7 inches, with an average of 10 feet 2 inches. “So, according to section 53-29.8 of the zoning code, given that the rear wall is not parallel to the rear lot line, the rear yard requirements in zoning are met,” said Wise. Following the comments from DaRosa and Wise, Attorney Richard Lynds made a brief statement, remarking that he thought this was the first Article 80 project that went before the board after the new zoning from PLAN: East Boston was adopted.
“That is significant for a number of reasons. I think, as Ella had indicated, this is a completely compliant project. We require no zoning relief for this project, and we believe this represents the future of what’s going to be happening in the East Boston community,” said Lynds. “Our project represents the present with respect to current zoning requirements and zoning compliance, and we’re excited to move forward with this project.”
After Lynds spoke, Bill Mensinger, a principal at Embarc, reviewed the project plans. He outlined floor plans, elevations, plans for street trees and other plantings, and much more. Eventually, Mensinger gave the floor back to the board for any questions and comments. One board member, Kate Bennett, asked about inclusionary development policy (IDP) units. In response, Lynds talked about the project being zoning compliant and noted that it was filed before the changes to IDP and, therefore, is exempt from providing those units.
The board’s Chair, Priscilla Rojas, had asked about managing construction since other projects in the area could be built and are already under construction in the area and noted that was a concern from residents. Lynds indicated that he represents some of the other proponents in the area and that there is communication between the various proponents. He also mentioned that other projects are further along in their processes compared to this one and that the timing could be spaced out due to the permitting still having to be completed. Ultimately, the board unanimously approved the project. To learn more about the now-approved development, visit https://www.bostonplans.org/projects/development-projects/944-saratoga-street.