Cambridge Board of Zoning Appeals: special permits granted, one withdrawal accepted, one case continued to April 10

The Cambridge Board of Zoning Appeals on Jan. 9 accepted the withdrawal of a proposed hotel application, continued one condominium application to April 10 with conditions, and approved a slate of special permits and a variance for property renovations and a new rooftop telecommunications installation.

Why it matters: The decisions affect small-scale housing renovations across several Cambridge neighborhoods and allow one wireless carrier to install rooftop equipment in Harvard/Brattle Square. Several approvals included standard conditions about adherence to submitted plans and filing federal radio-emissions reports with the Inspectional Services Department.

Votes at a glance

- BZA 281576 — 723–731 Cambridge Street (hotel): Withdrawn. The board read and accepted a written letter from proponent Manny Barrow withdrawing the petition. Vote: Daniel Hidalgo, Virginia Keesler, Steven Ng and Chair Jim Monteverdi voted in favor of accepting the withdrawal; the case is recorded as withdrawn.

- BZA 285359 — 100 Oda Street, Unit 1 (condominium/alteration): Continued to April 10, 2025, 6:00 p.m., conditional on (1) petitioner obtaining and filing a letter of approval from the condominium association that revises the BZA ownership information form so it comes from the association, (2) changing the posted hearing sign to reflect the new date/time, (3) petitioner signing a waiver of statutory hearing-timing requirements and returning it to the Inspectional Services Department within seven days, and (4) any new submittals being filed by 5 p.m. the Monday before the continued date. Vote: 4–0 in favor (the members eligible to vote on the continued case cast votes).

- BZA 1144-543 — 1 Brattle Square (Dish Wireless LLC — rooftop telecommunications special permit): Special permit granted with conditions. The proposal authorizes two 10-foot-tall cylindrical concealments on the roof (each 36 inches diameter), associated cabling, and an equipment shelter on the first floor. The applicant said the installation is a new DISH facility (not a replacement) and that collocation with a nearby T‑Mobile installation is infeasible because the carriers use adjacent spectrum and require approximately 40 feet of horizontal separation to avoid interference; the applicant’s RF engineer also explained that the canisters must clear the penthouse roofline and so…