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Zoning board approves Treetop Investments plan for 12-unit building at 816–818 Broadway with conditions
Summary
The Chelsea Zoning Board approved a revised Treetop Investments proposal to replace several small structures with a 12-unit, sprinklered residential building at 816–818 Broadway, granting special permits and multiple variances with design, drainage and landscaping conditions.
The Chelsea Zoning Board of Appeals voted to grant special permits and variances to Treetop Investments for redevelopment at 816–818 Broadway, approving a revised plan that reduces an earlier proposal to 12 residential units with 12 covered parking spaces and two units designated as affordable.
Attorney David Mindlin, representing Treetop, told the board the latest revision responds to concerns raised in earlier hearings: the project reduces unit count from a previously proposed 15 to 12, provides one parking space per unit, relocates the building footprint to add setbacks and steps back upper floors "to give a little more distance" from neighboring properties, and adds building sprinklers and common laundry rooms. "The project will now provide 12 new residential units, which are very much needed in the community," Mindlin said.
John from the planning department said the planning board recommended approval with standard conditions and provided a memo listing required submittals including landscape, lighting and drainage plans and a requirement for design review. Planning also recommended permeable paving for driveways, a white roof and screening of parking with vegetation.
Board members discussed the special-permit criteria — social and community needs, traffic flow, utilities, neighborhood character, environmental impacts and fiscal effects — and unanimously concluded the redevelopment met the standards for the special permit and the variances. The board added conditions that mirror planning’s recommendations and asked that a "do not enter" sign (one-way/exit sign) be installed on Eleanor Street to manage driveway flow.
The decision includes: requirement to submit landscape, lighting and drainage plans to the Department of Permitting and Land Use Planning before building permits are issued; participation in design review; and measures to screen and manage on-site parking. The board recorded the approval on a voice vote.
