Commission approves site plan for multifamily renovation at 315 Washington Ave with pervious driveway and additional landscaping

The commission approved a site plan for a multifamily renovation at 315 Washington Ave, where an existing structure will continue residential use and the applicant will make modest site improvements.

Staff recommended the commission grant a waiver from the dumpster enclosure requirement due to site constraints, require pervious pavers in lieu of a gravel driveway, and ask the applicant to plant additional shrubs or trees and install an additional bike hoop. Staff also noted two hornbeam street trees in the right-of-way require Department of Public Works review; if utilities preclude planting in the right-of-way the applicant may plant elsewhere on-site or pay a fee-in-lieu.

Commissioners discussed whether adding an extra residential unit would materially increase a nonconformity tied to the driveway; staff said the parcel is already approved for three dwelling units so the driveway is an existing nonconformity and the commission’s interpretation favored maintaining, rather than enlarging, the existing nonconformity. The site is in a historic district; the applicant must also obtain Historic District Commission approval for exterior work.

The site-plan motion passed unanimously. Conditions include pervious pavers for the driveway, an added bike hoop, repair of sidewalks subject to Public Works approval, and building department and historic-district approvals for exterior work.