JPNC Zoning Committee denies residential project

On Wed., Jan. 22, the Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Council (JPNC) Zoning Committee voted to deny support to a nine-unit residential project at 81 Amory St.

The Zoning Committee also voted to approve the building of a two-family dwelling at 251 Lamartine St./30-32 Chestnut Square, pending a memorandum of understanding between the neighbors and the developers.

It also voted to approve the conversion of an attic into a master bedroom suite at 45 Cranston St., according to Committee Chair David Baron.

The Amory Street project, proposed by Pam & Stone LLC, would demolish the existing building and erect a new four-story, nine-unit residential building with 9 on-site parking spaces.

“Many members of the Zoning Committee were concerned that this large rental development had not undergone a sufficient public process,” Baron said.

The developer deferred an appearance before the City’s Zoning Board of Appeals this week, Baron told the Gazette this week.

A Gazette phone call to Joseph Hanley, the developer’s attorney at the firm of McDermott, Quilty & Miller, was not returned by press time.

At the committee meeting, there was also concern that the project had not been sufficiently vetted by Urban Edge, which owns and operates nearby property.

According to Baron, many committee members also expressed concerns about the lack of affordable units in the project. Because the project would create only nine units, it would not be required by the City to designate any as “affordable,” but many members of the committee felt that, under the JPNC’s guidelines, the project should have one or more affordable units.

The project is planned to create three three-bedroom and six two-bedroom units.

The Lamartine Street project’s developer has agreed to reduce the size and change the location of the new building. The project had previously been presented to the Zoning Committee. It has also been included in a number of smaller meetings between the developer and the abutters, Baron said.

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