Tuesday night, the Zoning Board of Appeals voted to deny a special permit for the construction of a four-story, two-family building at 122 Warren Ave.
The proposal would have subdivided the current parcel, allowing an existing three-story residential building to remain on the property.
The project was met with opposition from abutters, including City Council President Leo Robinson, about the size of the project and the steep grade of the property, among other issues.
Robinson has stated that the proposal was too large and would not fit the residential character of the neighborhood.
Last month, the Planning Board voted against recommending approval of the project.
“There are four conditions to the Variance and in making their findings relative to those conditions, the (Zoning) Board did not agree that the permit could be issued without a significant detriment to the public good,” stated John DePriest, the city’s Director of Permitting and Land Use Planning.
Richard Lynds, the attorney for the project, had argued that a revised plan for the two-family building addressed previously raised issues with a parking plan and a stormwater management plan. The proposal included a new asphalt driveway between the existing building and the proposed building, with seven new parking spaces behind the two buildings, four for the two-family condo units and three for the existing three-family – which currently has no on-site parking.
Lynds had also stated that the opposition to the project, including Robinson, was going to stand in the way of the project no matter what adjustments were made to the plan.
In other business, the ZBA unanimously approved a special permit for Rivian electric vehicle company to store new vehicles at 305 Eastern Ave.
The approved project includes parking 142 electric vehicles on the site, maintaining 45 parking spots for the existing building on the property, and limiting approval for the project to five years.
The building is currently occupied by Glyptal Paint. Anthony Rossi, the attorney for the applicant, said it is expected that Glyptal will vacate the building next year, and Rivian will likely use a small portion of it. He said it is likely that Rivian will renovate the building once it is vacated.
The remainder of the building could be opened for future development, Rossi said. In addition, there will also be a new green space on the property which could add to the ability to develop the site in the future.
City officials had been concerned about the initial proposal for the project that did not include the five-year limit on the approval, citing it would limit development that would be more amenable to the city on a valuable piece of property.
The Eastern Avenue parcel is an airport-related overlay district, and the zoning does allow for the storage and repair of vehicles in that district.