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Planning Board approves Walleston Lutheran Church renovation and community center with conditions
Summary
The Quincy Planning Board approved a site plan and parking-waiver special permit for Walleston Lutheran Church at 552 Hancock Street and 8 Ellington Road, approving a reduced-size building and adding conditions on construction, stormwater and public-health protections.
The Quincy Planning Board on April 16 approved site plan review and a parking-waiver special permit for Walleston Lutheran Church’s redevelopment at 552 Hancock Street and 8 Ellington Road after a continued public hearing and revisions to the proposal.
Attorney Edward Fleming, representing the church and applicant, told the board the revised plan reduced an earlier larger building to an L-shaped design with lower massing and removed a previously proposed garage area. The project will retain church and community-space uses, add an accessible entrance and provide social-service programming, the applicant said.
The Planning Department recommended approval after peer-review and department comments, and the board adopted the recommendation. The decision includes a set of site and construction conditions addressing stormwater, sidewalk reconstruction, soil testing, sewer television inspection, asbestos surveys and a required construction-management plan. The board also required a written rodent-control plan, a dust-control plan and verification of stormwater construction and as-built certifications as conditions of occupancy.
Members of the public raised concerns about the size of the project, construction disruption and impacts on adjacent Fennel House senior housing. Maria Veneto, representing Fennel House residents, said the plan would place new building massing close to senior apartments and asked about dust and asbestos abatement and measures to reduce noise and light impacts. Other speakers asked about construction staging, impacts on Ellington Road congestion during deliveries and mitigation for increased activity during demolition and construction.
The applicant said the top floors that include three small apartments will be used by the church for housing pastors or visiting clergy, not as general rental units, and that most users of the church and social services are local and walk or take shuttle services. The applicant also agreed to a construction-management plan to be filed before building permits that will spell out staging areas, material storage, delivery sequences and a public contact for construction issues.
The Planning Department’s conditions require: a construction-management plan; sidewalk reconstruction along Hancock and Ellington; soil tests and any stormwater design changes submitted to Public Works; water-flow and sewer-television tests; inspection and oversight of stormwater construction; asbestos survey and abatement as needed; a rodent-control plan; dust-control measures; compliance with the city tree ordinance; and as-built certifications and AutoCAD files at project completion.
The board voted to approve the site plan review under Quincy Zoning Ordinance Title 17, Section 9.5.1 and the parking-waiver special permit under Section 5.1.17, subject to the listed special and general conditions.
