Zoning board grants comprehensive permit for 11-unit building at 17 Walker Street with four affordable units

The Zoning Board of Appeals on a roll-call vote granted a comprehensive permit under Massachusetts General Law Chapter 40B for redevelopment at 17 Walker Street, assessor map 40 7A, section 08, parcel 013. The permit authorizes demolition of the existing commercial building and construction of a three‑story, 37‑foot apartment building containing 11 rental units, four of which will be restricted as affordable in perpetuity and count on the state subsidized housing inventory.

The board said the project meets state comprehensive permit eligibility: the applicant holds a recorded deed (8/30/2022), received a Local Initiative Program (LIP) project eligibility letter from the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities (EOHLC) dated 5/14/2024, and proposes a limited‐dividend regulatory agreement with EOHLC. The board’s written findings cite the town’s Housing Production Plan goal to add SHI‑eligible rental units and the town’s SHI percentage (8.13% per the most recent published inventory) as context for the decision.

Board members approved a set of findings, general conditions (G‑1 through G‑23), pre‑construction conditions (S‑1 etc.), building‑permit conditions (B‑1 through B‑7), and occupancy conditions (O‑1 through O‑10). The conditions limit the development to 11 units and 15 bedrooms, require three units be restricted to households at…