By Peter Shanley and Rebeca Oliveira/Gazette Staff
The Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Council’s Zoning Committee voted during its Jan. 8 meeting to deny support for a proposal for two buildings containing 20 residential units and more than 5,000 square feet of commercial space at 3371-3375 Washington St. and 197-201 Green St.
When the Gazette called developer Walter Craven for a response, he replied, “No comment.”
About 40 people showed up for the Nov. 8 meeting, the majority of whom were against the project.
The proposal calls for two buildings at 3371-3375 Washington St. and 197-201 Green St. Each building would have commercial space in the first floor with several floors of residential units above. Out of the 20 units, two would be affordable. The project would have 26 parking spaces.
Resident Fred Vetterlein said that the project was “too dense,” “too high” and should have less parking to increase the buffer between it and neighboring streets. Vetterlein is co-chair of the Stonybrook Neighborhood Association, but was speaking only for himself, as he plans to move to nearby Union Avenue.
“Five stories is a bad precedent [to set],” he said.
Local state Rep. Liz Malia also spoke out against the proposal, saying, “I cannot support this project right now.”
Other attendees expressed concerns about the low number of affordable units.
Bill Reyelt, a Brookline resident who owns property in the Stonybrook area, voiced support for the project.
“I want to see Washington Street revitalized,” he said. “I feel passionately about revitalizing Washington Street.”
Two years ago, Reyelt organized community meetings about planning “livable” development in the Washington Street corridor.
Corrected version: This version corrects the date of the meeting and clarifies Fred Vetterlein’s role at the meeting and his statements on parking.