The Forbes development plan remains in limbo.
Last week, the Zoning Board of Appeals denied a request from the owners and potential developers of the Forbes property to extend the previously granted special permit for the project for one year.
The ZBA initially denied the special permit extension request from YIHE Forbes, LLC last year.
Since that time, the case has been in state Superior Court, although no final judgment on the case has come down.
In 2019, the Zoning Board approved a 585 residential unit project for the Forbes site, a significantly scaled back version of a plan first introduced by developers, YIHE Forbes of China, in 2015. The proposal also included some commercial development on the 17-plus acre site.
“About a year ago, you denied the petition (for the extension of the permits,” said Strephon Treadway, the solicitor for the ZBA. “It was appealed to Superior Court. The petitioner made some good legal points that we wanted an opportunity to address.”
While no judge has yet weighed in on the ZBA decision to deny the permit extension, Treadway said the city requested last week’s remand hearing to give the city an opportunity to address some of the points made by the petitioner.
ZBA Chair Janice Tatarka asked city land use planner John DePriest if the ZBA could put additional conditions on the special permit in addition to those that were initially approved almost five years ago.
DePriest noted that the original special permits were granted prior to the city making changes to its waterfront plan. Under that plan, the number of units allowed on the site would be reduced by about 30 percent.
Several times during the remand hearing, Tatarka brought up the potential of a compromise with the developer that could see a reduction in the number of proposed units on the site, as well as the developer working with the city to pay liens that have been placed on the property for clean up and work to remediate the soil and dilapidated building issues.
“The bottom line is it is a benefit to the city to be able to develop this land, it doesn’t help to have a site that looks like crap, pardon my language,” said Tatarka.
However, several ZBA members and city officials raised concerns about the unresponsiveness of YIHE Forbes to address current issues at the site.
Karl Allen, the city’s economic development planner stated that the property owner has not responded to concerns about asbestos and lead on the property, as well the state of several of the buildings on the land.
“We desperately want this parcel to be developed, but we have no faith that the current property owner is capable of doing that,” said Allen. “We look forward to the property changing hands and starting the process over again.”
City Councilors Leo Robinson and Norieliz DeJesus also raised concerns about the current state of the Forbes site and the unresponsiveness from the owner to address the issues.
Shawn McCormack, the attorney representing YIHE Forbes noted that the ZBA did not have jurisdiction over the state of the property.
“Everybody is in agreement that something has to happen with this property, and I am coming here on behalf of the property owner,” said McCormack. “Nothing is going to happen if there are not answers on the permitting stature.”
McCormack later stated that he would bring back a potential proposal to his client recommended by Tatarka to reduce the size of the development to 500 units and have the developer address the issues with the liens and the mediation of the property.
However, a motion to extend the special permit for one year with those conditions failed when ZBA members Hugo Perdomo and Marilyn Vega-Torres both said there were unwilling to commit to the permit extension because of issues with the commitment of the property owner. For a special permit to gain approval, it would need the positive vote of four of five board members.