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IN THE NEWS
This Editorial appeared in the Needham Times on October 19, 2000.
Needham
resident Jeff Roche is nervous about tonight's meeting with the Board of
Appeals. Roche is seeking two zoning variances in order to proceed with
his plan to transform the old Hamilton House on Chestnut Street into a housing
complex with at least six affordable housing units. If you believe the bylaws
are to serve the people of Needham, then this is a case the board should
approve. Roche's plan will add 27 apartment units to Needham's paltry inventory,
including six affordable units. Although the law stipulates that Roche cannot
exclude people from other towns, his goal is to have the majority of the
units rented to Needham people.But first, Roche needs
the variances.Roche will be going in
front of the Board of Appeals for two variances: one on use and one on the
number of floors allowed in the district.In terms of use, the
Chestnut Street business district is zoned for commercial and retail use
on the first floor. Roche is seeking a variance to allow residential use
on the first floor as well.Normally this request
would be met with skepticism at best, but the old Hamilton House presents
a unique situation. When you walk into the complex, you can walk down about
five steps to basement/first floor. Four or five feet of the level is below ground, which gives it a basement feel, but
technically it is a first floor because a basement is defined as being at least half underground.
But the fact that it
is a bunker-style first floor does not lend itself well to commercial use.Yet another unique aspect
of the project is that the building was constructed in 1961 as a nursing
home, which, while technically coming under the umbrella of institutional
use, was residential in practice.Thus, the building is
designed for residential rather than commercial use.Similarly, the parking
problem would remain unaddressed in a commercial scenario as only 14 spaces
exist in the lot currently. It is unlikely a commercial or retail business
would thrive splitting the 14 parking spots with upstairs neighbors. Roche
is proposing to remove the front portion of the building and add 13 additional
spaces for a total of 27 spots on site.Also, the lot is only
75 feet wide, which is less than the 80 feet now required by the bylaw.
Thus, if a developer opted to purchase the plot and tear down the existing
building a variance would have to be granted to put As for the number of
floors, the Hamilton House is also unique in that respect, as it already
has three floors, which is over the two-and-a-half story limit in the district.Due to concerns the Planning
Board had about insufficient parking, Roche opted to get creative and relocate
the front portion of the building to the back, thereby opening 14 new parking
spots. According to Roche, the
decision was a no-brainer because he would have to seek a variance for the
three stories anyway; he figured, what's one more? He is keeping the square
footage of the building the same and is not going over the 35-foot height
limit. In a way, Roche is only increasing the number of floors from three
to either three-and-a-half or four, to satisfy concerns of the Planning
Board. But either way, he would need a variance.Considering the benefit
to the town and its citizens and the fact that the building presents such
unique problems, a variance granted by the Board of Appeals should not be
seen as a precedent-setting decision. And if the bylaws were designed with
the best interest of the public in mind, the board should grant both variances.
