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Historic Preservation Board splits on school variances; approves rear utility setbacks after alley proffer
Summary
After a lengthy and divided hearing, the Historic Preservation Board approved limited variances to permit life‑safety and electrical equipment for a planned private school at 251 Washington Avenue to be placed toward the rear of the lot, provided the applicant repaves and improves the alley (proffer up to $50,000) and withdraws a large monument sign request.
A contentious, extended hearing on March 14 over a proposed school at 251 Washington Avenue (Basecamp 305) ended with the Historic Preservation Board approving limited variances for rear‑lot life‑safety and utility equipment but rejecting or withdrawing requests tied to the proposed prominent monument sign and flagpole.
Applicant John Marshall (Basecamp 305) and counsel Michael Larkin, together with Architectonica (Carrie Press) and the design team, presented a four‑story school program with maker spaces, classrooms, a teaching kitchen and a rooftop breezeway. The board had previously approved a building design; this hearing focused on several variances the team later requested during document development to accommodate an emergency generator, fire pump, an FPL transformer and two items styled as “identity”…
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