After multiple public hearing sessions, the controversial project on Chestnut Street received an amended special permit to address construction deviations from the original plans.
“Everything is all set,” said Assad Hamad, the applicant for the two-family project at 45 Chestnut St., located just across from Pequossette Park. “We are going forward with the project.”
The request for a revised permit followed resident complaints about a structure they felt didn’t fit the neighborhood. According to town officials, compared to the original plans, the window configuration was different, the west wall building depth increased by about 11 inches, and the building height increased by 8 inches. A peer review found the lot coverage exceeded the maximum allowed, and the upper story did not meet the half-story definition.
According to Building and Planning Director Chris Ryan, the revised analysis shows lot coverage no longer exceeds the maximum, as window wells are treated as an exempt feature. The second-story overhang was set back 6 inches from existing construction and no longer enters the side-yard setback. Finally, the half-story measurements are now deemed compliant in the new plans presented to the Planning Board.
Before a Planning Board vote, Ryan told members his staff found that all revisions resolved the zoning non-conformities.
“We accommodated everybody’s process,” said Hamad, noting he lives within walking distance from the project and considers himself a member of the neighborhood. “The most important — everything goes with the law.”
The decision, however, disappointed other neighborhood residents.
“The question is the precedent,” said Precinct 5 Town Meeting member Azra Nelson in an interview with The Voice. “Will these repeated opportunities to seek approval after the changes set a very serious precedent that compliance can always be sought after the fact?”
Nelson acknowledged the developer’s attempt to “allow for corrections” as commendable, but expressed frustration that residents appeared to bear the burden of challenging deviations from construction plans. The developer, meanwhile, “always seemed to be receiving the benefit of the doubt,” she said.
“Future enforcement is really hard and really undermines the confidence that the same standards apply for everyone,” Nelson said.
At the Oct. 6 Planning Board meeting, where the amended permit was approved, Ryan responded to a question from resident Lisa Pargoli about consequences by acknowledging that the applicant had made several missteps in the process.
“Obviously, the reason they’re back here is because of that,” Ryan said. “But I think over time, over this process, the applicant has appeared to want to correct these missteps and to deliver a plan that does ultimately meet the zoning.”
The approval included two conditions: The builder must submit a final, as-built plan and survey verifying building measurements and setbacks before a certificate of occupancy is granted; and the applicant must identify, using paint or tape, any building elements intended to be removed to comply with this decision.
“While we have admonished the applicant for those missteps, it really does have material influence on the building, but certainly we’ve tried to work very hard with the applicant to put something together that was appropriate and acceptable to the board,” Ryan said.
At the same meeting, however, members of the public expressed dissatisfaction with the revised plans.
“Right now it still looks way out of character, and way out of scale,” Pargoli said.
Joanna Dunn took issue, in particular, with the increase in the building depth. She argued the measurement was closer to 13.2 inches, not 11 inches, and disputed the lot coverage calculations.
“It is normal to include window wells in the lot coverage,” she said, noting several other nearby towns include window wells in their lot coverage calculations.
In response, Ryan and Building Inspector Ara Yogurtian said the Belmont bylaws exempt window wells, similar to the way steps and ramps are exempted.
“Whether it’s 13 inches or 11 inches, it still falls well within the setbacks,” Ryan said.
