Zoning board approves retaining-wall modification at 63 Harvard Street as a minor change

CHELSEA CITY — The Chelsea City Zoning Board of Appeals on Jan. 14 voted to classify and approve a proposed retaining-wall alteration at 63 Harvard Street as a minor modification.

Property owner Sergio Saint Laurent told the board he began construction of a retaining wall to stabilize a slope adjacent to a neighbor's failing wall but that work was stopped after the neighbor filed a complaint with the city. Saint Laurent said the current filing seeks permission to demolish the partial wall work, build a new retaining wall set slightly further out, level the area and extend an existing retaining wall two feet outward to make up for parking-space lost when the other wall is moved. "We started the retaining wall right over here, all the way through the act. And then he stopped it. Yeah, and then he even called the police on the contractors," Saint Laurent said during the public hearing.

City staff told the board the department was not opposed to the modification. "The department is not opposed," John de Priest said.

Board members discussed whether the proposal created any additional nonconformities; staff said it did not because the work is on the applicant's property and the retaining wall is not a building requiring standard building setbacks. Board members characterized the change as minor and moved to approve it as a minor modification. Arthur Arsenault seconded the motion; the board approved the classification and the modification by voice vote with no recorded opposition.

The board instructed staff to place a note in the case file and to notify billing so records reflect the decision. The applicant will receive a copy of the determination and may proceed consistent with the approval and any building-permit requirements.

Next steps: recorded administrative note in the case file and follow-up as required for permits and billing.