A new public hearing is underway for a two-family housing project on Chestnut Street across from Pequossette Park, where construction has deviated far enough from permitted plans that the Planning Board requested a second review of the project.
It’s a situation that has caused nearby residents to feel misled and frustrated by the project, which some argue should not have been approved as presented in September 2025. Town officials, meanwhile, are defending the town’s approval of the project, arguing plans complied with all zoning regulations in that particular district..
According to Planning Board Chair Thayer Donham, this is only the second time during her near-decade tenure on the Planning Board that an applicant has had to return to the board with a new application because of changes made during construction that were made with town permission.
“In this case, because the wall moved 11-inches due to the footing, and they had raised part of the roof, and they had the windows changed, it seemed pretty clear it was a big change,” she said.
Efforts to reach the applicant, Asan Hamad, were unsuccessful.
According to Building Inspector Ara Yogurtian, the increase to the building height was approved as part of the permit last year because of the high ground water table in the area. The other two issues, however, are currently under review by the Planning Board and are the subject of an ongoing public hearing to determine “the appropriateness of the changes” and whether those changes warrant approval through an amendment to the original permit.
According to a memo to the Planning Board from Building and Planning Director Chris Ryan, construction on the property began in November 2025. In February 2026, Yogurtian began receiving complaints about the work. Ryan said in an email to The Voice that those complaints included concerns for the scale of the project, as well as the building height, whether the upper story is a half-story, and the 11 inch extension of the east wall (increasing the square footage by 28 square feet). Additional concerns were named including pumping water from the site and the potential that changes to the landscape would increase the risk of flooding, the location of the windows on the facade, and the procedures not followed by the applicant.
“What also is quite surprising is … with all of these questions and concerns, they’re just allowed to continue to build, it’s not even like we … need to pause for a moment,’” said Kathy Posey, a Town Meeting member who represents Precinct 4, where the property is located.
Posey is among a group of residents who feel town officials have dismissed residents’ concerns throughout the process.
“I’m just kind of really frustrated with what is passing,” said Emily Pinney, a resident who lives in Cushing Square. “I feel like … Belmont has a history of just letting things through because we have this housing shortage, and it doesn’t really solve the problems to build these monstrosities.”
Acknowledging the applicant’s deviation from plans in terms of the windows and 11-inch footprint expansion, Yogurtian argued “everything is in compliance,” referring to zoning bylaws dealing with lot coverage and building height.
The property is located in the General Residence zoning district.
“No one came last year to the [Planning Board] … to say how about this, that or the other. No one,” he said, adding there were as many as five letters of support for the project.
According to meeting minutes from the public hearing during which the project was approved, two members of the public spoke, one of whom was project neighbor Rose O’Neil, who inquired about the project size compared to the former building on the lot.
“When we receive an application to demolish an existing building and replace it with a new one, we do not receive information about the existing building that is to be demolished,” Yogurtian said in an email to The Voice, the same answer he provided at the Sept. 9, 2025 public hearing. Meeting minutes described the building as being “similar” to others in the area.
O’Neil said in an interview this week that in a letter to the town, she “pointed out very meticulously” the changes she had seen since construction began.
“They were trying to ask for forgiveness later,” she said.
Donham said the board’s responsibility now is to ensure any changes remain compliant with the zoning bylaws. To that end, a licensed surveyor has been asked to ensure compliance.
“What the board has asked for is confirmation that what has been built comports with the zoning bylaw,” Donham said. “That’s the only thing we can weigh in on.”
