The Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) on April 8 approved a requested variance on the minimum first-floor height in a section of The Great Road business zone for the developer of a proposed three-story building on the former Papa Gino’s site at 310 The Great Road. The vote in favor of the petition by Lexington Realty Holdings (LRH) was 4-1.
The proposal shows each of the three floors of the building at 12 feet in total height, with nine feet in the floor-to-ceiling and mechanicals making up much of the difference. As attorney Pamela Brown, representing LRH noted, this is done in order to comply with the maximum building height limit of 37 feet in the district.
Brown also pointed out that the relief could be given as a special permit instead of a variance as the lot is nonconforming with the zoning district, being 3,500 square feet below the 40,000-square-foot standard. The board ultimately decided on a variance, since it would set a better precedent for the rest of the zoning district.
The mixed-use development includes commercial space on the ground floor. Brown added that the first floor will also include a recycle room and indoor bike storage for the residents upstairs.
Brown and other LRH representatives have met with the Planning Board a number of times previously, most recently for a site-plan review on Feb. 23. The second half of the site-plan review, originally planned for March 23, was continued to this Tuesday in order to receive the outcome of this decision with the ZBA.
Brown later added that part of the Planning Board’s thinking behind the 14-foot minimum was to allow sufficient space for signage on the upper band of the first floor’s exterior. However, she noted that there would be more than sufficient space for signage on the current plan.
Additionally, under the zoning for that part of The Great Road, office space is not permitted on the first floor. Instead, they are meant to be community spaces in some way, one of the reasons for the proposal.
Brown said that she expects two or three tenants would occupy the 1,730 square foot space. She said she is talking with a local music teacher about possibly using the space.
Angelo Colasante of the ZBA noted that it also would be possible for the board to give a variance to allow the total height of the building to go over the maximum by two feet rather than the first floor being under the minimum by two feet. However, other members of the board pointed out that the public would rather see the building be within the limit, especially with the lower height of other buildings in the area.
ZBA Chair Todd Crowley raised the point that, while it may be easy to make the first floor lower in order to blend in with other buildings in the area, it may also be going in the face of the zoning project done by the Planning Board. Amy Lloyd of the Planning Board responded, saying that the minute difference in height would not affect their goals.
The board settled on financial hardship as the reason for the variance as the size and shape of the lot restricted the developer from fitting the building within the requirements while staying fiscally responsible. ZBA board member Kay Hamilton later pointed out that the retail area affected is only a small portion of the first floor since the parking lot at the rear takes up much of the area.
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Why bother putting restrictions in place if they just get waived without asking for anything in return?