Planning board approves special permit for 403–405 Broadway with mural and safety conditions

The Chelsea Planning Board recommended approval of a special permit for 403–405 Broadway on a motion that includes several conditions drawn from planning staff and the Chelsea Historical Commission.

James Cipoletta, representing the applicant New Properties LLC, introduced the petition and asked the board to hear architect David Choi’s revisions. David Choi, the project architect, said the plans revise unit layouts to enlarge a previously small bedroom, add a roughly 100‑square‑foot storage room on the second floor for function‑space furnishings, and generally increase one unit to about 600 square feet. Choi said the changes were made “so that it’s a much more reasonable layout.”

Choi told the board the owner met with the Chelsea Historical Commission and has committed to preserving and continuing a mural program on Division Street and to installing decorative guardrails that match the adjacent building’s motif. Board members pressed the design team on roof access and safety; Choi said there is no plan for a roof deck and that the guardrail would be decorative, and he agreed a condition could be added to secure the roof and block tenant access.

The approval carries the board’s standard conditions: the petitioner must submit a lighting plan (lights compliant with IDSA standards), a rodent control plan, a waste management plan, a construction management plan, and must participate in design review with the Department of Permitting and Land Use Planning with consideration of Chelsea Historical Commission comments because the site lies in the Bellingham Square Historic District. The board also noted one occupancy restriction: occupants of the two‑bedroom unit will be ineligible for the city’s on‑street parking program as a condition of the permit.

The board voted aye on the motion and the recommendation to approve passed. The zoning board hearing was announced for Tuesday, Dec. 9.