good evening the city of Boston Zoning Board of appeal hearing for April 25th 2024 is now in session this hearing is being conducted in accordance with the applicable provisions of the open meeting law including the updated Provisions enacted by the legislature last year the new law allows the board to continue its practice of holding virtual hearings until March 2025 this hearing of the board is being held remotely via the zoom webinar event platform this hearing is also being recorded as with our in-person comment uh meetings comments and support will be followed by comments and opposition the order of comments is as follows elected officials representatives of elected officials and members of the public the chair May limit the number of people called upon to offer a comment and the time for commenting as time constraints require for that reason the board prefers to hear from members of the public who are most impacted by a project that is those individuals who live closest to the project if you wish to comment on an appeal please click the raise hand button along the bottom of your screen in the zoom webinar platform click it again and your hand should go down when the host sees your hand you will receive a request to unmute yourself select yes and you should be able to talk if you are connected to the hearing by telephone please press star N9 to raise and lower your hand you must press star six to unmute yourself after you receive the request from the host those called upon to comment will be asked to State their name and address first and then can provide their comment in the interest of time and to ensure that you have enough time to do so please raise your hand as soon as Mr stbridge reads the address into the record do not raise your hand before the relevant address is called or the meeting host will not know to call on you at the appropriate time okay Mr stbridge good evening Madam chair presid good evening Miss B brazo pres okay the floor is yours Mr CBD thank you madam chair um to begin with the hearings from 5:00 p.m. first case is BOA 156 6165 with the address of 16 Cook Street is the applicant and or the representative present to explain to the board yes uh my name is Derek rubenoff uh from Derek rubenoff architect at 82 Spring Street um in West rockbury I'm the architect for the project uh the owner just tried to call me but uh it's missing the link um uh give me one second I will just email him the link quickly um Second One Second good yes so um the Project's pretty simple um what we're trying trying to do is put a uh a roof deck onto existing two family house it's going to be on the back extension and um send anyway so um it's uh existing uh extension that's out there it's two-story extension so the roof deck actually will be on the lower part of the roof it won't be on the main um part of the house roof which is in the front where there's a third story um and uh uh we need Rel for a side setback and for uh and for a rear setback um there's a little bit of a can of lever over the uh stair below uh we'll work that out when we get to structural um but other than that um it's it's really pretty simple it's a private roof deck for the for the upper unit uh we'll replace one rear window um on that third story there with a door full full height door insulated do that would go out to U this private roof deck uh the roof deck is not something that would be seen by certainly not by anybody at the street because it's blocked by the third floor can I ask uh in the image on the left uh is that overhang existing or are you causing it with the roof deck uh we would proposed to have that over overhang that would be a new overhang so the existing roof does not overhang anywhere near to that extent or at all so what we would do is actually build the roof deck so that it it has that over Tang um and the reason for that is the the owner uh was requesting that particular size of the roof deck that just overhangs an eag it actually provides some protection from rain and snow to the existing second means of erress from that upper unit and how wide is that how wide does that extend beyond the building um that extends I'm just going to check the uh the drawing file right now on my computer that extends give me about five seconds here okay that extends it looks like it extends about little just slightly less than 3 feet okay and that is um that's not um projecting over on any property lines um that little Courtyard in the back is is part of 16 Cooks lot so that has nothing to do with the side set back U relief that we need that's actually on the uh the other side of the deck that's right against the property line any questions Miss bza I don't have any questions but the bpda did give a recommendation that um the project should eliminate the [Music] overhang yep okay uh anything else you want to add before we open up the public testimony nope okay let's uh let's have public testimony Madam chair members of the board Sean Breen with the mayor's office of Neighborhood Services uh and ab bu's meeting was held to 16 Cook Street on February 28th since that time this office has received zero letters in support and two in opposition um they do site uh that the the deck that was being built um the roof structure would be too close to their property uh with that we would defer a judgment to the board so sorry Mr Breen so both of the abuts these are abuts who are concerned that the yes one of the Alle letters was specifically that the size of the deck um I believe it was from 14 Cook Street the size of the deck it would be too they felt it was going to be too close to their property um yeah okay thank you any other raised hands y Madam CH I have no raised hands okay any other I see one raised hand John I'm s it's still up oh yep sorry about that yep John go ahead I apologize sent a request to unmute you John are you looking to give to testimony here I see your hand is raised oh he's on his two guests um John I sent a request to both oh there we go can you hear us yes okay my name is John Agri uh my wife and I own 15 and 17 sheath Street which is immediately behind 16 Cook Street and uh my sh my letter is one of the ones that Shan green was referring to uh in opposition um my my bedrooms and my bathrooms for both both of my units 15 and 17 sheep Street are um within 21 feet of this deck and I think I think that's pretty close so I just wanted to get on the hor and and and uh have you guys hear me hear me uh hear me out s is the is it the overhang that causes the proximity because otherwise other than the overhang it it falls within their footprint not the overhang it's the whole deck no it's yeah it's it's the whole deck um um it's it is on their footprint that's right um but it's within 21 feet of my bedrooms and bathrooms okay thank you sir any other raised hands okay any other questions from the board Madam chair May iow be allowed to respond to any of the sure please yeah thank you so much um if we could just go to the the first page of the presentation and zoom on on the photograph that from the satellite you'll see that uh most of the neighboring houses including the direct butter have um have also existing roof decks so um are you talking about the first page can we scroll to the first page yeah that that sorry keep going yep that that image right there in the middle of the page uh to the bottom right you'll see that it's a satellite view and you'll see that neighboring properties also have roof decks so this is in context of existing situations uh similar similar situations with roof decks um so any I would argue that anybody concerned about a roof deck being near their property already has roof decks in other property okay thank you will that may I have a motion Madame chair I'd like to put forward a motion of approval with a provisor that the deck footprint um is is uh relocated in a way that eliminates the overhang but not for bpda design review just a Proviso to eliminate the overhang is there a second second Mr stbridge yes Miss B Braza yes chair also votes yes the motion carries thank you so much appreciate it next we have case boa4 2426 with the address of 82 Washington Street is the applicant and or their representative present Madame chair members of the board my name is Attorney Patrick Sweeney with an address of 261 Main Street Charlestown I'm here tonight representing Paul Ren own or 82 uh Washington Street uh we're seeking to enlarge dormas that are on the front in the rear of this property uh if we scan down to I think it's a sixth page um you will'll see a rendering uh keep going it's a21 there we are so on the left is the existing uh and on the right is the proposed uh if we SK scroll down yet again we can see the rear uh the existing on the left the proposed on the right uh the rear of this property overlooks rot the faav the front of the property o overlooks the Chown skating ring the two uh violations uh height and uh Lo structure restrictions with respect to the height I note that we are not increasing the actual height of the building the building is now 38 feet however the dorm is are at 354 in and 366 in so that generates the uh the height violation obviously we're changing the roof line so there is the uh roof structure restrictions um this is Mr Ren's home for the last 20 years and he expects for the next 20 years uh he's doing this to increase living space for his family if there's any questions I'm available thank you any questions from the board no Madam chair hearing none may I have public testimony Madam chair members of the board Sean Breen with the mayor's office of Neighborhood Services uh the but's meeting was held for 82 Washington Street on February 4 14th since that time this office has received one letter of support and not in opposition with that we would defer our judgment to the board thank you any other raised hands okay may I have a motion Madam chair I like to put forward a motion of of approval with a provis that the plans be submitted to the Department of Parks and Recreation for review is there a second second Mr stbridge yes Miss B Braza yes chair votes yes motion carries good luck thank you very much next we have case boa 145 2448 with the address of 332 to 340 sum summer Street if the applicant and or the representative is present would they explain the case to the board please good afternoon my name is Chris Kennedy Kennedy law office at 132 Lincoln Street Boston um here to uh represent Beck South and carriage LLC uh the applicant seeks seeks to continue to use the premises as public parking lot for fee pass 40 Vehicles till December 31st 2026 uh I think I've sent uh as much information as I could to uh the board supporting U this appeal and uh just want to say I've been employed by the applicant for various capacities since 1976 I'm familiar with this a lot um we're doing everything we can to maintain a safe and clean lot and it's a year round Endeavor um the applicant's been doing it for decades throughout the city uh We've expressed cooperation with the um fourth Point neighborhood Association and been ongoing and working with them to uh maintain a clean and um safe lot for example we've eliminated some of the graffiti that uh the fpna has pointed out there's more I think that needs to be removed which we will uh gladly attempt to do and there's also an issue with the uh plantings um and the Landscaping which we have tried to remedy and will continue to do whether um um when the weather cooperates um other than that we are U willing to uh maintain the continuity with the neighborhood and offer necessary parking for that neighborhood and whatever needs to be addressed we will continue to work with the neighborhood thank you any questions from the board no no questions but the ppda did comment that they would like to ensure that there's adequate screening from the public way and my question is um to the person who was just speaking so you made uh you made strides to take care of the things that the neighborhood association has pointed out uh yes uh and the screening uh with plants is one of the major issues and uh I think that was formally done in 2020 there was a new fence put in um a metal Edge Ridge the planting bed and uh it's it can be improved I uh I agree and we'll try to do that all right thank you uh is there a public testimony hello Madam chair and members of the board Lydia palaski with the mayor's office of neighbor Neighborhood Services and a Butters meeting was hosted on January 25th 2024 in regards to 332 to 340 Summer Street during that time a Butters and the Fort Point neighborhood association raised concerns about the planting and maintenance of a landscape buffer parking standards on the lot litter and mitigation of graffiti the general concern related to ongoing requests of the applic um relating to ongoing requests of the applicant is to basically bring the parcel up to Neighborhood standard and expectations the Fort Point neighborhood association feels there is not enough evidence of progress to date the applicant has exchanged emails to respond to concerns this week in an effort to remedy points raised by The Neighborhood at this time our office would like to defer to the Judgment of the board thank you l can you clarify what they mean bringing by bringing it up to the standards of the neighborhood do are are you are they referring to the graffiti and the landscaping or additional items so the fort neighborhood association um and the folus on the call there was a specific punch list uh of items that um were outlined to to bring the lot up to um I think what's happening in the neighborhood especially point is you're seeing a lot of you know developments and in C for is kind of coming up to a certain standard and um I think that butter is just wanted to see more of the same um from this the slot uh graffiti was definitely of concern thank you Laura hi uh good afternoon Madam shers and members of the board this is Laura from conso fln's office at this moment conso FL would like to go and record in position through through lack of community input um thank you thank you and La I'm going to make you a panelist and I have no additional raise hands Madam chair uh would the applicant like to respond to those concerns sure uh and how how to remedy I guess is maybe the better comment question yeah well I pretty sure that um extra Mulch and maybe new plants can be put in I did exchange a um email um with Mr REI who is part of the boy Point neighborhood association and um he's mentioned that and I might have forwarded to you CC the uh email he was willing to wait until May to um eliminate some of the remaining uh hard to get to Graffiti which we're willing to do we did eliminate one spot that's prominently on the Boston Warf Road in Summer Street wall abutment um we also have again uh um plants that can certainly remedy the situation and that's and it should be an easy fix um and we'll do anything we can to to satisfy that and we've been willing to do that it shouldn't be an issue um great all right yeah thank you I think we've heard enough um may I have a motion mam chair I'd like to put forward a motion of approval with a provis that the project underg goes bpda design review for a site plan uh in which the applicant um can provide new screening and Landscaping to the property is there a second second Mr stbridge yes Miss B brazza yes chair votes yes motion carries terrific thank you so much next we have excuse me case boa 155 4386 with the address of 515 East 1 Street if the applicant when their representative is present they explain to the board please hi my name is Karen fam I recently um signed a lease for a space on 5:15 East 1 Street um I need the occupancy of this space changed from commercial to a nail studio I'll just be moving in Mobile furniture and there won't be any construction done uh any questions from the board none is prey sure4 hearing none may I have public testimony hello Madam chair members of the board ly with the MTH office of Neighborhood Services and a Butters meeting was hosted on February 7th 2024 during which time attendees were generally supportive of The Proposal our office has since received one letter of support from anutter at this time our office is unaware of any concerns with this application we would like to defer to the Judgment of the board thank you thank you good afternoon Madam shers and members of the board sorry did I interrupted anybody no no you're good thank you Laura del for ccil fln's office um at this time the ccel would like to go on record and support this proposal thank you thanks thank you have no raised hands Madam chair thank you okay with that may I have a motion Madam chair I like to put forward a motion of approval is there a second second Mr strige yes Miss B Braza yes shair votes yes the motion carries good luck thank you so much next we have case boa 1568 243 with the address of 36-42 West Broadway if the applicant and or their representative present they explain to the board please uh yes Mr secretary good evening Madam chair members of the board attorney Nick suula mcder quilty Miller and Hanley 28 State Street in Boston uh here on behalf of the appell and property owner uh with me tonight is Derek rubenoff who's our project architect and Jennifer Engelhart from the project property ownership who's on I see as an attendee very simple Madam chair this is just to confirm occupancy of a long existing martial arts studio which is in the existing basement of this existing mix use uh building on West Broadway in South Boston there's no new work to be done this martial arts studio has been there for over a decade I think what happened was was there was an original permit back in 2011 that somehow got abandoned and never followed through for this occupancy um and so we're here today asking for approval uh of this longstanding occupancy for this uh Fitness use in the building uh we did receive an ISD violation notifying the property owner of this issue and that's why we're here today to remedy that violation for a failure to close out that permit from again 10 plus years ago so we're just looking to confirm that occupancy uh with the board here tonight happy to questions so thank you thank you any questions from the board uh yes Madam chair so this will basically there'll be no construction no change to the footprint absolutely not yeah Mr stem that's correct this is there now it's been there for 10 years there's no changes there's no changes to anything at all it's literally just making sure that the records at ISD are up to what's actually happening in the building so thanks uh may have public testimony hello Madam chair members of the board Lydia Plus with the mayor's office of Neighborhood Services the applicant notified the neighborhood of The Proposal through Flyers Andor mailers to a Butters Noah Butter's meeting was hosted in regards to this matter the West Broadway neighborhood association supports this proposal at this time our office is unaware of any concern with us application we would like to defer to the Judgment of the board thank you thank you good afternoon chers and members of the board at this time counil would like to go on record and support of the proposal thank you and Madame chair I have no raised hands thank you with that may I have a motion Madam chair I like to put for a motion of approval I have a second second Mr stbridge yes Miss B brazza yes chair also votes yes motion carries thank you next we have case bo8 157 3788 with the address of 4117 to 423c West Broadway it's the applicant and or their representative is present would they explain to the board please yes uh again Madame chair members of the board attorney Nick coula mcder quilty Miller and Hanley 28 State Street in Boston uh here on behalf of bone Fitness with me tonight is uh MJ Margaret Jackson from btown they are a locally uh female-owned uh Boutique fitness center inat use they hold group classes primarily geared towards women uh they are looking to relocate and expand from their existing location literally directly across the street at 416 to 418 West Broadway uh which is at the corner of F Street they've been there for about five years at this at the location across the street they're looking to move to this location it's slightly bigger which is part of the reason for the move it's about 450 Square ft bigger um there's already a d studio in the building it's an existing uh this is an existing mixed use building it's this would be above the CVS for those of you who are familiar with the area um so and it's formly an office space so um you know require zoning relief at this location just like uh it did at the original location five years ago which uh obviously this board granted or previous membership of this board granted a few years ago but all the same hours all the same uh you know operations classes Etc uh as they have successfully operated for five years across the street so again similar to the other one uh just looking to ask for occupancy here uh this is a new use uh versus the the previous matter which was an existing use but uh similar scenario as well where there's no exterior work to be done nothing to the envelope of the building just uh interior fit out as you can see here on the screen uh for this Fitness use so happy to answer any questions and thank you thank you any questions from the board no it's pretty straightforward with that may I uh may have public testimony hello Madam chair members of the board Lydia plasy with the mayor's office of Neighborhood Services and ab Butter's meeting was hosted on February 7th 2024 during which time the proposal was generally well received at this time our office is unaware of any concerns with this application they would like to defer to the Judgment of the board thank you good afternoon Madam chair and members of the board this is Laura Tano from cons offense office at this moment he would like to go record in full support of this proposal thank you and Madam have raised hands with that may I have a motion Madame chair I like to put a motion for of approval the second so Mr stbridge yes Miss B Braza yes chair votes yes the motion carries thank you Madam chair I tried to give you two easy ones compared to thank we appreciate it try to do that try to do that on Tuesday too please I got one easy one too IO thank you madam chair have a good night thank you next we have case boa 157 3885 with the address of 18 Pawn Circle if the applicant and or the representatives present would they explain to the board please yes good evening Louis Santana Madame chair members of the board I am here on behalf of uh Richard ranella the owner of a single family home in Jamaica plan at 18 p c can you speak up I can't can you speak up Mr Santana is it better now yeah again I am here on behalf of Richard ranella the owner of this single family Residence at 18 pound Circle the uh proposed project is in violation of the floor area ratio uh we are slightly over uh the minimum uh the maximum I'm sorry and uh we are proposing to add a shed dmer on the rear of the property which is about 27 ft in length and two ders uh on the front of the building two Gables that are about 8 feet in width uh the project complies with all the other dimensional requirements side yard front yard rear yard and and Building height uh this is this area in the the Artic space will be used for an additional bedroom and a bathroom uh just uh uh the reason for that is half of the AR space uh uh under the second floor has an elevated ceiling height and that limits the access to it so the owner decided to finish just that half on the left side and that accounts for about 300 just a slightly on 39 square feet in area uh the area on the right as you can see from these plans on the proposed AR plan that's unusable uh since the ceiling height for the second floor has been elevated uh other than that the building elevations on the next uh plan we'll show you the uh uh two Gables which are about 8 ft in in width on the front of the building and in the rear again that is about 27 ft in length uh there will be a bathroom and the stairs that access the Artic space has been modified in order to comply with the core requirements for threat Rises uh minimum Dimensions uh other than that that summarizes the the project if you have any questions I would be happy happy to answer them thank you any questions from the board no questions at all may I have a public testimony yes madame chair members of the board Conor Newman with the mayor's office of neighborhood services at this time the mayor's office deferred to the Judgment of this board some background information the community process on hosted in a Butters meeting which was described as positive after that meeting we did receive one letter in support and one letter in opposition uh opposition letter was from director butter who expressed concerns regarding uh the balcony potential loss of privacy the applicant went on to meet with the Jamaica Hills Association uh which voted not to oppose uh the proposal and then on to the jpnc zoning committee uh which voted uh in favor of the proposal uh with that information will refer to the board at this time I should have copies of both of those letters thank you thank you Mr Newman any other stands nope I have no additional raised hands uh would the applicant like to respond before we take a vote I just want to uh thank everybody for for uh for participating in this process um um I'm doing this really for I've lived in the neighborhood my family has for 65 years my brothers is is my neighbor um my children grew up in the neighborhood and I'm really doing this because of uh the high cost of housing in the city of Boston and my My Hope and my dream would be someday one of my girls would want to live in in in in live in live in the in the house and in closing I want to thank my neighbors I I believe that every every neighbor uh supported me either verbally or WR or written every owner occupant I should say um except the one and I really didn't see much disagreement with that person and they were they actually were pretty neutral and thank you very much time thank you uh with that may I have a motion yes madame chair I find this project to be a very modest um addition and with that I'm going to put forward a motion of disapproval of approval correct correct thank you uh is is there a second second Mr stbridge yes Miss better brazza yes votes yes motion carries good luck thank you next we have case boa 151 8380 with the address of 104 Char Street if the applicant and all their representative is present the record Lawrence estara 175 Federal Street with me is Dr terresa Spain one of the owners of the property and Chris Hosford who is the architect uh this is a property which was converted to residential use about 40 years ago and Dr pain and Mr nza now want to uh change the property there have been numerous discussions uh with the neighbors significant changes have been made since the original plans were filed which Chris Hosford will review and we made it through the neighborhood process in Jamaica plane and got a unanimous vote from the uh zoning committee of the neighborhood Council Chris you want to review the changes to the plans sure am am I able to share my screen no what what you submitted is what we have so we had gone through a public process numerous um uh neighbor meetings and then jpndc um and there were sign significant changes from this plan to what was approved at Jamaica the jpnc so we don't have your most current plans then apparently not they were never transferred I don't know and would you be um so here's the site plan is the locations of what you're proposing the same or has it changed so basically if you look at the site plan the proposed single story Edition on the left has been removed okay perfect that no longer exists got it okay so I I would recommend Madam chair a motion of deferral so we can see those um these drawings because that might change a lot the bpda recommendation which literally focuses on that structure I I would agree um with that may I have a motion I'd like to put for a motion of deferral is is there a second so how do we get those plans to you because we were I think we need to vote first okay let us vote and then um the staff can help you with that so Mr stbridge uh yes Miss B brazza yes chair also votes yes the motion carries so please yeah work with the this the ISD staff to make sure that you're providing the most updated plans just a note Madam chair uh May 16th is available okay does that work for the applicant yeah okay thank thank you de with me next we have Kate boa 152 1624 with the address of 3 379 to 381 Blue Hill Avenue if the applicant and or their representative is present they explain to the board please yes uh Antonio Lepe the new owner of lauchar restaurant is here and Jack Bruno I work with him and we're here to uh remove a Proviso from La Cera restaurant and Grant the Proviso to the new owner Antonio who purchased the property in August of 2023 or purchased a restaurant I should say uh any changes to the the interior exterior or just the Proviso there were no changes whatsoever just the Proviso to the new thank you uh may I have public testimony yes Madam chair members of the board hon with the mayor's office Neighborhood Services we like to defer to the Judgment of this board at this time run aware of any concerns regarding this proposal I without defer to the board thank you may I have a motion Mo of approval have a second second Mr stbridge yes Miss B brazo yes sh also votes yes the motion carries good luck thank you very much thank you there we go next we have case boa 155 4816 with the address of 4 to 10 minor Street the applicant and or the representatives present they explain to the board please I can you raise your hand if you're on for this proposal oh yeah I see Amanda um gonna make you a panelist Amanda you can just um unmute yourself once you um change statuses can you hear us uh yes can you hear me yeah go ahead yes okay great um yeah so we just need to update the occupancy of this space um this building at uh 10min street is part of Harbor Health Services um our health center Daniel driscal Neons at health center is right across the street um and we had been operating our food pantry out of the 398 neponsit Avenue location up until um we actually moved locations in 2019 but something happened with our application um our original application and we never got through the final steps um to get the address updated to the 10 minutus Street um and we had for the last couple of years an inspector uh when they came to inspect our food pantry space inspected the 10min street space so it has already been inspected but I guess the occupancy just needs to be updated um there's we're not planning on changing anything about the building all right thank you uh questions from the board no hearing none may have public testimony Madam chair members of the board con Newman with the mayor's office of Neighborhood Services this time the mayor's office deferred to the Judgment this board are we the applicant circulate Flyers to a Butters within 300 feet we do not hear any concerns from those Butters with that will defer to the board at this time thank you thank you mad have raise hands with that may I have a motion Madam chair I like to put for a motion of approval is there a second second Mr stbridge yes Mr brazza yes sure also votes yes motion carries next we have case boa 15750 41 with the address of 4 46r chab Street if sorry it's yeah well if you're here that's me I jumped the gun I'm sorry no okay let's proceed um de Madam chair members of the board my name is James Christopher of 68 Architects with the business address of 10 Forbes Road and brain tree here tonight on behalf of Ellen McDon who is the homeowner of 46r chiov Street proposal is to construct a a front side entry uh if you look at the elevation here the little dogghouse to the right of the front porch to create direct access into the existing basement um it's not living space in the basement it's storage laundry room and that sort of stuff but this would allow the homeowner um some yard storage space and that sort of stuff the only violation is the extension of a non informing use uh we held it a Butters meeting the project was uh supported we went to the Pop's Hill civic association the project was well received there as well uh with that I'll happily answer any questions thank you uh any questions from the board no may I have a public testimony yes madame chair members of the board Conor Newman with the mayor's office of Neighborhood Services this time the mayor's office like defer to the Judgment of this board as you heard from the applicant representation a Butter's meeting was held no concerns were raised in that meeting they went on me the popville civic association no concerns as well many feeling this Project's proposal was very diminu uh with that will defer to the board at this time thank you thank you with that may I have a motion M chair I like to per for a motion of approval may I have a second second Mr stbridge yes Miss B brazza yes chair also votes yes motion carries thank you very much next we have boa 152 9077 with the address of 162 to 164 Fair Mar the applicants and though the representes present be explain please hello yes sir hi madam chair members of the board this is the homeowner William Evans um we are trying to uh create a living space SP up in our attic right now I think it exceeds the livable space um allowable space of living space so we're trying to get an uh a variance to approve this uh job we have talked to the neighbors talk to the commment square neighborhood association and got approval from all of them I'm looking for approval from the chair thank you any questions from the board okay hearing none may I have public testimony yes Madam chair members of the board Conor Newman with the mayor's office of Neighborhood Services this time the mayor's office deferred to the Judgment of this board our office previously hosted an a Butters meeting for this where the applicant worked with neighbors they went on to the Codman Square civic association can confirm uh that group voted to support this proposal and submitted a letter uh which we forwarded to the board uh without defer to the board at this time thank you thank you thank you with that have a motion mam chair like to prefer a motion of approval may have a second second Mr stbridge yes Miss B Braza yes chair also votes yes the motion carries good luck thank you next we have two companion cases the first is case boa 156 6270 with the address of 14 Woodfield Street along with that we have case boa 15649 51 with the address of 16 with Field Street if the applicant end their representatives present they explain please yes hi good evening everyone good evening board members I should say so I would we are we are hoping we're looking for permission to subdivide the slot into two separate parcels and to change the OCC occupancy occupancy excuse me um from one single family to two single family dwellings with permission from the board please great um are there questions from the board all right hearing none may have public testimony yes madame chair members of the board callor Newman with the mayor's office of Neighborhood Services this time the mayor off like to defer to the Judgment of this board some background information in the community process uh we had the applicant circulate a flyer to a Butters within 300 feet we did not hear any concerns from them and we're unaware of any concerns at this time they went on to meet with the talbet Norfolk triangle uh which voted to support this proposal from what I understand uh with that we defer to the board at this time thank you we have no raised hands thank you with that may I have a motion Madam chair I'd like to put forward a motion for the two projects and uh it would be for approval thank you may have a second second Mr amridge yes Miss B Braza yes chair also votes yes the motion carries good luck ma'am thank you next we have case boa 156 4366 the address of 32 lri Avenue if the applicant is and all the representatives present they explain please hi can you hear me uh yes we can yeah this is biplab uh I don't know why you cannot see the video but okay this is Bab Das I'm from 32 L Avenue West roxsbury uh and with me my wife Rita is there as well as my architect Mr Harry is here Harold mcle architect 103 Keystone Street West rockbury Mass and uh we have been a resident of Boston for the last three 30 years and at 32 La Avenue West Roxbury almost 17 years it is a Colonial House with living area 1428 square feet three bedroom on the second floor and kitchen dining living on the first floor as we are approaching retirement age and it is sometime difficult to climb the staircase we'd like to have one additional bed bedroom on the first floor beside that we now have extended family as my daughter got married then visit sometimes this makes us to think the for the extension of our house to the first floor we'd like to add one bedroom with an attached bath and remodel kitchen will be an addition of 448 Square fet as architect plan as you can see in the surveyor plot that will be extending in 16 ft but still we'll have a 19 to 20 back here and uh uh particularly I got a several uh support letter for my neighbors almost eight letters I submitted that and wrnc was Str in in neighborhood uh Community they approved my plan and uh again thank you for your know consideration thank you uh questions from the board um I don't have any um questions but um just reading the bpda comments um regarding kind of an alignment with um preceden in regards to reard death and um what what would be your what's your rear yard setback with your proposal it's just short of 20 feet 19 plus 19 okay and um what's required I think it's 30 I'm not okay okay so you would have um 19 feet uh until you reach your your neighboring property yes which is in a rear it seems like it's to uh kind of a driveway yeah yeah we're it is a corner lot yeah it's in a corner lot there's a driveway it's not it's not um it's not facing kind of open space no okay great thank you I don't have any further questions yeah I mean just to add to that the Miss bed braz I mean the the bpda notes do also indicate that other rear yard depths while not as uh significant uh are not off by much so like 24 feet as an example so I don't know if uh the applicant or their architect has any insight into that as well as far as a a budding you know nearby properties no I didn't do any Research into that okay all right thank you uh with that may have public testimony yes madame chair members of the board Connor Newman with the mayor office of Neighborhood Services this time the mayor's offic refer to the Judgment of this board with the applicant circulate a fly to a Butters within 300 feet no concerns were raised as he mentioned uh many neighbors were supportive and wrote letters uh he went on to meet with the West rockbury neighborhood Council on uh March 19th uh two of Butters were in attendance and spoke in support of the project uh Council ultimately voted uh eight to zero in support of this project as I mentioned we're unaware of any concerns at this time like to defer to the board thank you we have no thanks uh with that may I have a motion Madam chair um you know I think if if it's going to keep this family here um you know to stay for the long run I would like to support the project and put for a motion of approval is there a second second Mr srid yes Miss better Braza yes chair also votes yes the motion carries good luck thank you thank you okay done and and next we have case boa 156 3736 with the address of 210 North Harvard Street if the applicant and or the representative is present will they explain for the board please uh good evening [Music] um right you've got the drawings my name is Campbell Ellsworth I am the architect for uh yeah that that's the one thank you so much um I'm the architect for the owners of the sofra bakery which is currently in Cambridge Massachusetts um the building that you see here on the site plan is a Harvard owned building it's a single story uh masonry building um it's about 5,000 square feet interior space it is at the corner of North Harvard and Bertram Street the entrance to this building is right at that corner um my clients have entered into a lease with Harvard um Harvard did a significant amount of work in this building already in terms of primarily um upgrading HVAC site drainage electrical service uh Etc and they then handed over the building to my clients uh and their Builder um the layout uh well we we are here before you to request a variance so on this drawing you will see in that uh blue bubble is the request to install uh a walk-in cooler as is needed for the proper operation of this Bakery and Cafe um I just point out there is a there is a there is an odd provision in the zoning ordinance that says that a on a corner lot the owner in this case Harvard uh may choose which which street Frontage they choose to use as quote the front and in fact in the in the construction work and the modifications that Harvard performed they in fact did that they chose that Bertram Street on the top of the drawing would in fact be the front well in fact they did not expand the footprint so that issue of front Sid side rear never came up with the Harvard renovation when my client took over the building and we applied for building permits we followed suit and requested that Bertram Street be considered the front um in this case in this Zone the side setback requirements are in fact zero so that our walk-in cooler which you can see in that bubbled area would have comped well in fact when we got to the building department um and we worked with a wonderful plans examiner Jordy seales Perez um he informed me and our Cent my client that in fact no the North Harvard Street side would in fact need to be considered the front therefore where we proposed the cooler was the rear and therefore we would be in violation and that's why we're here before you today um so can I ask a quick question so yes absolutely so has there been any dimensional change to this project or are these conforming or sorry uh are these pre-existing uh conditions absolutely pre-existing you can see on the yeah absolutely pre-existing thank you adding the cooler is not adding space it's it's interior that was you know the space was already there that's correct yes I mean it's it's a it's a technically I I but I think in terms of GFA I think we were still compliant we are not expanding the footprint of the building itself to House people but this is a effectively a mechanical space that we're looking looking to um looking to add excuse me sorry for that okay so are there are there other questions from the but it is a new it is a new addition it's just considered mechanical it is that's correct it is considered mechanical yeah so um just just for clarification so the North Harbor Street because of the front entry it it um it that's your address correct and that's why it was considered a front I believe so yes Jord they ISD has made these clerical errors so I completely understand um your request I don't have any questions thank you any qu other questions from the board hearing none may have public testimony yes Madam chair members of the board clor Newman with the mayor's office of Neighborhood Services this time the mayor's office is deferred to the Judgment of this board uh the applicant circulated a flyer to a Butters within 300 feet as a part of their um application through licensing as well well uh they went on to meet with the Altin civic association where many of Butters are also members of that Civic the Civic voted to approve um some of Butters did have questions regarding um how loud um the uh outdoor the walk-in refrigerator would be um and with that we'll defer to the board at this time thank you okay you have a raised hand yeah Paula go ahead yeah yes excuse me thank you um good evening everyone I'm Paula Alexander and my home I'm a I'm a homeowner occupied homeowner at 210 North Harvard Street in Alon and so I'm on the corner of North Harvard and Kingsley Street which is one Shar block away from from Bertram Street um excuse me so the ab Butters um that are very very close to this um free freezer uh do have some major concerns about the noise level um because we assume that the um the uh cooling equipment will be running 247 now their backyards are are really close to this um this unit it's um I mean the closest unit is probably about uh less than 20 feet up to um uh 50 feet from the nearest uh butter excuse me um we so this this freezer is a separate unit from the building um I want to be sure you understand that it's not in the building actually um so at one point um the um Bakery said that they would try and fit the the freezer in the loading dock uh side which is which it which is entered from Bertram Street rather than the parking lot and North Harvard Street um we also asked what the noise level will be and which side of the freezer will be access will the employees be have access so would the employees be outside taking a smoking break are they going to be around the freezer um we also ask for additional insulation or something to quiet the freezer down um there is a a huge Pine Tree on the business school have a business school parking lot that's also an AB butter to this property and we'd like to ask Harvard to um prune uh the tree and make sure it's it's uh protected and kept healthy for for a long time to help buffer the noise and we'd like to see some other plantings also um around the um parking lot area um on the diagram they showed um you know parking for 10 cars but they want to put outside seating out there so I don't think there's going to be any space in the nice weather for for parking um so so those are those are our concerns and um all of my butter Butters the ls the Guzman the Norton the Albertos and the um brins um they we all have those concerns so I hope you that you can you and I have no additional raised hands I I have a question you're not proposing two parking spaces right parking nine and parking 10 best to the applicant are you yeah for the applicant yes so the requirement of this commercial and Retail use uh required 10 spaces and if you look again are you able to bring that but so um this application is not only for the exterior cooler you're also requesting um how many additional parking spaces to already what you have been given as an allowed our requirement uh I have a feeling our requirement is 10 spaces and you can see the way that those are laid out so if you see the box of the building on the bottom left that is a which is right North Harvard that's a proposed outside seating area that did not trigger any zoning requirements and then moving to the right we have six spots uh another one that's tucked in right sort of angled almost 90 degrees um behind that cooler and there is an exterior um storage area and then there would be two additional spaces off of Bertram Street um which would sort of hug the uh delivery access to right you have you you have existing six parking spaces and you're in this in this uh proposal you're asking for three additional parking spaces yes I mean that's what I'm looking at at the Google image you have um six which I think one seems like it's a handicap accessible um is not noted in the site plan yeah let me take so I have a question for um Madam chair did we get any bpda feedback because I didn't I didn't receive one uh I don't have any from them either okay um can I ask just the so I just want to add because I I can't remember if Mr Newman also identified uh or or state talked about Austin Civic associations uh position so I just want to have make sure we are aware of that as well because they they do also mention uh they they are in support of the project but also uh uh ask that the steps be taken to ensure noise abatement uh occurs so of all mechanical parts and you know Public Safety Etc so I just want in case the applicant is also unaware of that that this uh the issue that the uh a butter just mentioned was also echoed in this letter from Austin C Association and I and I don't know what you're so how how are you planning to address those uh noise issues from the coolers or they you know are there any like what you know Etc yes thank you um the uh we've been informed by the provider of that walk-in cooler that the compressor that will be cooling that walk-in cooler and freezer can be located anywhere um relative to that cooler we were proposing that we push that cooling equipment the compressor equipment as far away from that southern uh those Southern properties as possible meaning uh so the the cooler itself is approximately 29 or 30 29 or 30 feet 29 or 28 feet from those back property lines so it's not 20 feet that's to that's to the closest edge of the cooler itself moving North the cooler will be approximately 20 excuse me 22 feet so we will the back end of the cooler or the North End will be approximately 50 feet from the closest residential property and we are able to put the compressor equipment at the very north end of that cooler so approximately 48 to 50 feet away from the closest residential property so to answer your question about how do we address uh noise issues the no it is by putting the compressor as far away from those residential areas as possible we've also been told that this compressor is is very very quiet I don't have decibel ratings on that but it is you know they make them extremely efficient these days and it should not uh provide any nuisance to those Southern residential neighbors and if we find out that it is um of any concern yes we can erect some sort of screening some sort of acoustical screening between that equipment and those residential Neighbors okay thank you any other questions from the board one one more question regarding clarification on your drawings it literally says that the project was submitted and approved with the exception of the walk-in cooler is it also fair to say that um you're also requesting those additional parking spaces no so those spaces has been pre-approved yes okay so we're only looking at the extra cooler we're looking at the cooler and the uh request for um that 6.1 feet from that right hand property line that is perpendicular to Bertram street right that your sidey um violation that's correct right okay so I just wanted clarification that we're not approving the parking spaces but only the sidey set back back that is correct that is my understanding nor is that is that what you have as well on record that that's what is being requested just because I don't have the bpd's recommendation in front of me as far as I can see I don't see any mention of parking SP okay so with that may I have a motion Madam chair I'd like to put forward a motion of approval may have a second Mr stbridge yes Miss better brazza yes uh the chair votes yes the motion carries thank you very much okay have a good night yes have a good evening thank you so much