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Commission accepts discretionary review and approves revised 695 Rhode Island design with conditions after heavy neighborhood opposition
Summary
After extensive public comment opposing a four‑story single‑family proposal that would obscure a historic carriage house at the rear, the Commission took discretionary review and approved a revised design with numerous modifications (including lowering overall height by roughly three feet, eliminating rear decks, reducing rear depth and limiting fenestration on the level facing the carriage house) to improve light, privacy and the relationship to the historic resource.
The Commission considered a public‑initiated discretionary review and a rear‑yard/exposure variance for a proposed three‑story (over garage) addition at 695 Rhode Island Street that neighbors argued would be out of scale, would conceal an historic carriage house at the rear and would create significant shadow and privacy impacts.
Project architect Mark DeMellanta and sponsor owners described multiple revisions made in response to staff and neighborhood input. Neighbors — including owners of adjacent properties and local preservation advocates — spoke at length describing the site's category‑A historic association, the loss of mature trees after purchase, and detailed concerns about shadowing, privacy into bedrooms and the scale of the proposed house. Multiple neighbors urged denial and requested an Environmental Impact Report or stronger preservation conditions; the record included numerous letters and dozens of callers in opposition.
Planning and preservation staff outlined recommended modifications to reduce visual massing and preserve a visual corridor to the carriage house: reduce exterior entry gate height, set the first‑floor rear deck back 3 feet, reduce or remove east‑facing first‑floor windows, set a 3‑foot setback at the east property line for the second floor and reduce the rear depth by four feet, reduce third‑floor extent to avoid encroachment into the required rear yard and remove upper roof decks.
After deliberations and additional suggested refinements from the zoning administrator (reduce ceiling heights/floor‑to‑floor by about one foot on each level, consider pulling in lower floor depth by four feet so the rear yard increases, reduce fenestration and eliminate rear decks), the Commission voted unanimously to take DR and approve the project with the staff modifications and supplemental conditions: overall height reduction (3 feet), elimination of all rear decks, reduced rear depth on the lowest level by four feet, and reduced fenestration on the floor facing the carriage house (raise sills / limit glazing), plus retention of staff’s preservation‑oriented side setbacks. The Zoning Administrator indicated he will grant the rear‑yard and exposure variances consistent with the Commission’s adopted modifications.
