By Michael Coughlin Jr.
During last week’s Orient Heights Neighborhood Council (OHNC) monthly meeting, attendees heard plans for the second time regarding a proposal at 869 Saratoga Street and voted to oppose it.
The proposal, presented by architect Eric Zachrison, calls for constructing a four-story building with three units and three parking spaces in a garage on the first floor.
Additionally, the design has changed since the proposal was first presented to the OHNC last month. The front wall of the fourth story would be pulled back six feet, and the rear back corner would be brought in five feet, reducing the size of the top-floor unit in response to concerns that the fourth level would cast shadows on neighbors.
It should also be noted that the proposed ceiling heights are planned to be reduced. With the changes, the building’s total height would be about 43 feet instead of the initially proposed 46.6 feet.
Later, Zachrison highlighted how this project aligns with zoning. It was mentioned at February’s meeting that the permit application for this proposal was submitted before the neighborhood’s zoning changes.
“Because this was filed under the previous zoning…it has variances, the variances are different from what it would be otherwise,” said Zachrison. “They’re a little different from what it would be now.”
Under the old zoning regulations, this project would need variances for height in feet and stories, number of units, floor area ratio, open space, front yard setback, and side yard setback.
Moreover, Zachrison indicated that if the project were filed under the new zoning, they would need variances for the rear yard setback, height in feet and stories, permeability, and side yard setback.
Following the overview of the variances needed for this project, some attendees took issue with it, citing the process the neighborhood went through with PLAN: East Boston to develop new zoning.
In response, Zachrison indicated that the owner bought the property before they knew the zoning would be changed.
He added, “Think about a year and a half ago; this would have been a very typical project that we would have been bringing to the room,” noting again that this was filed before the zoning change.
Another attendee wondered if there were any hardships that would necessitate the variances. However, Zachrison indicated he was unsure how to answer that question, and it would be one that the project attorney, Michael Welsh—who was not in attendance—or the owner would answer.
As the discussion continued, other residents commented on the variances and other topics, and an abutter reiterated their previous concerns with the proposal related to aspects such as shadows.
Ultimately, after the presentation and discussion, eligible voters opposed the project with a vote of 10-0.
For more information about the OHNC, visit its Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/OrientHeightsNC.