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Commission approves 59 Mirabel renovation with reduced parking and asbestos removal condition after heated neighborhood hearing
Summary
After a lengthy, emotional public hearing over a rear addition, parking variance and tenant concerns at 59 Mirabel Avenue, the Planning Commission voted to approve the renovation with a reduced off-street parking requirement and a condition requiring licensed asbestos-siding removal.
The Planning Commission on Sept. 4 approved a discretionary-review application for 59 Mirabel Avenue that had drawn strong neighborhood opposition over parking and tenant-displacement concerns. The project sponsor proposed rear additions and two off-street parking spaces in a configuration staff and the sponsor said complied with current policy; opponents argued tandem parking is impractical and said the proposal would worsen on-street parking and could displace rent-controlled tenants.
Peter Rengstorf, the DR requester, told the Commission neighbors had not been consulted adequately and raised health and safety concerns about existing asbestos siding. Tenants at the property, represented by Jill London, said interior changes would reduce a three-bedroom unit to two bedrooms and could displace long-term residents. "We are very concerned how this will affect our household and our finances," London said.
Architect Andrew Mann and owner Bob Vranizen described efforts to meet code and neighborhood requests, and neighborhood supporters said the long-vacant building is an eyesore that needs renovation. Mann said the renovation would "create two family-friendly sized units in keeping with the existing housing stock of the neighborhood," and that the plan included two off-street spaces in the constrained lot.
After extended testimony from more than a dozen speakers on both sides, the Commission voted to approve the project and not take the discretionary-review request. Chair Badner said the site had no usable parking prior to the project and that the renovation would provide at least one usable off-street space and a second tandem space; he added a condition of approval requiring the owner to remove and replace asbestos siding in compliance with health and building codes.
What happens next: The owner may proceed with building permits subject to the usual inspections and the asbestos-removal condition. The Commission action is final for Planning purposes; tenant-rights and rent-control matters remain enforceable under separate laws and were identified by commissioners as issues for the Rent Board or related agencies, not for the Planning Commission to adjudicate.
Vote and motion: Commission motion to not take discretionary review and approve the project carried by roll call (multiple commissioners recorded as "Aye"); the chair included an asbestos-removal condition.
