Special to the Gazette
The Zoning Committee of the Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Council (JPNC) held its second meeting of this month last Wednesday, April 16. Chair David Baron and fellow members Willie Mitchell, Peg Treble, Kevin Leary, Bernie Doherty, Kendra Halliwell, David Seldin, Andrea Howley, Kevin Moloney, Jerry O’Connor, Purple Reign, Michael Reiskind, and Renee Stacey Welch were on hand for the session, as were Caroline Peters, who is the representative to JP from Mayor Wu’e office and Bonnie Delaune, the chief of staff from District 6 City Councillor Ben Weber’s office. The first item on the agenda was 10 Westerly St., where the owner is seeking a variance for a renovation and vertical expansion of a third floor apartment. Nicholas Best, the owner and developer of the property, presented his application.
“We’re seeking to take what is now a 2-and-1/2 story, three-unit structure and make it a full three-story, three-unit building,” Best said, who bought the property last May. He presented an architectural drawing of the proposed renovated structure, which will have a flat roof instead of the present gabled roof. The units presently are rentals, but Best said the project will be a total “gut” job and that he’s hoping to make it into a condo conversion. Best, who notified 82 nearby property owners of his plans, said he had met with some of the neighbors and they generally were in favor of the project. There were no opponents at the meeting. Halliwell offered a suggestion for larger windows on the second floor, which she said would make it more architecturally-pleasing and Best said he would look into the possibility of doing so with his architect. Reiskind said that the neighborhood consists of 110 buildings that had been designed by the same architect, which is of some historical significance. However, he suggested that since the property is next door to the old high school, which has a flat front, the new front may not be completely out-of-place. However, the committee did not take a vote on the application because of technical difficulties experienced by Best on the Zoom call in presenting his paperwork to the committee and the matter was continued to the next meeting.
The next matter was an application for a conditional use permit at 18 and 18 Rear Roberson St. for a proposed single-family home at 18R. George Morancy, representing Jacob Simmons from City Realty, said there is an existing three-family at 18 Roberson St. and the proposal calls for the construction of a new, 1903 sq. ft. single-family home at 18R. Architect David Freed made a presentation and explained the proposal in detail to the committee. Simmons said that the present three-family is a rental and the proposed one-family would be sold as a detached condominium.
Molly Below, a neighbor on Rocky Nook Terrace, which is a dead end street, said she has concerns with the current plan about snow removal. She also said that the new home would be “very close” to adjacent properties and also expressed concerns about the effect of the new home on the ecosystem of the neighborhood. As to the former issue, Freed explained that the project meets or exceeds all of the city’s zoning requirements for setbacks. Casey Stewart, a tenant at 18 Roberson St., suggested that there could be a parking issue based on her understanding of the plans. However, Halliwell noted that the size of the spaces provided on the plans are sufficiently-large for parking. Claire Connelly from 17 Rocky Nook Terrace, an immediate abutter, reminded the committee that two previous proposals (for different development projects) going back to 2013 had been rejected. Connelly also asked questions about the elevations, which she said were not made clear in the plans. “This is not a lot that is well-suited to a building,” said Glenda Yoder, a co-owner of the triple-decker at 22 Roberson St. Yoder also noted that a tree that will be taken down is home to birds. Howley, noting the tight quarters of the area, asked about access by public safety vehicles.
Freed said that the city Fire Inspector said the building, which will have a sprinkler system, meets the requirements of the fire code. However, after the discussion, members of the committee remained skeptical of the proposal. “We don’t have sufficient information about the topography to approve this,” said Moloney. “They don’t have anyone from the community speaking in favor of them,” added Doherty, a view echoed by Mitchell.
“They need to get their act together and come back,” Mitchell said, noting the questions about the slope and retaining walls that had been raised by the abutters. Baron suggested that with all of the questions relative to the topography and the retaining walls, the matter should be put off for another meeting and Simmons agreed to do so. The next item was an application for a conditional use permit for the property at 81 South Huntington Ave., the site of the former Pond View Nursing Home. Boston attorney Joe Hanley made the opening presentation on behalf of Victory Programs Inc., a non-profit social services provider with over 50 years of experience in operating permanent supportive housing which is based at 404 S. Huntington Ave. Hanley pointed out that the property is within an Institutional Zoning District and that there are many buildings with similar uses in the immediate area. Sarah Porter, the president and CEO of Victory, and Gabriela Shelburne, the principal of Studio G Architects, also made presentations. Hanley noted that Victory already has been operating the property as a homeless shelter since 2021 pursuant to the state’s Right-to-Shelter Law in partnership with the Mass. Public Health Commission. Victory now is seeking to change that use to that of permanent supportive housing.
Hanley said there will be the same 41 rooms within the building under the new use. He noted that Victory has had extensive input from the city and abutters and further added that Victory will have all of the appropriate security and other measures in place for this type of facility. Porter told the members that Victory operates 29 programs that seek to assist persons with their addiction treatment and chronic health conditions who are homeless. She said there are 55 persons presently living in the building and 24-hour staff who perform safety checks at all times. Access to the building is by means of a buzzer system and there is a state-of-the-art security system.
She noted that the facility will be operated as a homeless shelter for the next two years (per an existing contract with the city), but Victory wishes to convert it into permanent supportive housing. Porter said Victory operates other programs in JP, including 10-units of supportive housing in Forest Hills, as well as other facilities for homeless persons. However, Baron noted that a number of letters had been received from residents “and that the overall message is that the existing shelter is not well-run, with neighbors concerned about noise and crime.”
Porter responded that she feels that Victory has been responsive to those issues, including the problem of litter. Hanley added that Boston Police reports indicate that the facility is not responsible for any increase in criminal activity since it began operating in 2021 and that some of the incidents in the immediate area cited by residents at some of the community meetings had nothing to do with those who reside at 81 South Huntington Ave. “We need places like this in our neighborhood,” said O’Connor. “I don’t see how you can tell people they can’t have a place to live. I am strongly in favor of this project. These are people who need these services and we need them in our neighborhood.” However, Seldin said, “I cannot support this with so many in the neighborhood opposed to it. I do not have a problem with local services of this kind, but they have to be very well-managed, especially when it comes to active drug users.”
“What I’m concerned about is funding for these operations that will be coming up in the very near future,” said Doherty. “How long will the funding last from the city given what is happening in Washington?” Doherty also said that prospective residents should affirm that they will not use drugs. Resident Jerome Parker-O’Grady spoke about the huge increase in needles on the streets since the shelter opened a few years ago. “In the quarter mile around the shelter,” he said, “the number of reports of needles on the streets has increased from 42 to 130. Within 250 yards, it goes from 15 reports to 101 reports for the three years prior to the past three years.” Emily Long, a resident physician at Beth Israel who lives at 101 S. Huntington, said, “Since the shelter opened, I have been chased by men in the middle of the night who are high on drugs, shirtless, and barefoot down the Jamaicaway.
When I go to work in the morning, there are men actively doing drugs and shooting up. I support the need for recovery, but I do not think this facility is being run appropriately.” However, two residents who live at 70 Jamaicaway said they “completely support the proposal. We engage with the residents and enjoy their company.” Artem Roy, who works as a maintenance person at nearby residential properties, said there have been numerous complaints about drug use, urinating, and defecating in the mailbox area at his properties. Cynthia Lewis, a resident of the Jamaicaway, said she felt safe when she moved into the neighborhood 11 years ago, “but I do not feel safe at night in the area of the shelter.”
Another resident who said he has lived in the area for 30 years said he has noticed “an absolute change in the neighborhood since the shelter came here.” Reiskind, who said that he works closely with the police in his many capacities as a community organizer with a focus on “problem properties,” said, “There has not been a significant rise in reported crimes since the shelter opened. The level of reported crime is not the same as what people in the neighborhood are perceiving.” O’Connor made a motion to approve that was seconded by Leary. The committee approved the granting of the conditional use permit by a vote of 7-5, with Mitchell, Leary, Halliwell, Seldin, Howley, O’Connor, and Reiskind voting in favor, and Doherty, Welch, Preble, Moloney, and Purple Reign voting against.