Planning board backs allowing seafood processing in industrial district, recommends special-permit approach

The Chelsea Planning Board voted to recommend a zoning amendment that would allow enclosed seafood processing, packing and distribution in the industrial district by special permit, following a presentation from planning staff and a company that said the project would create local jobs and rehabilitate a vacant building.

Planning staff described the draft amendment as a narrowly targeted change to permit seafood processing only by special permit in industrial zones, not as a by-right use. William of the planning department said the approach preserves board and commission oversight and allows conditions to mitigate impacts while offering potential job and tax-base benefits for Chelsea.

Representatives of Boston Provisions told the board they plan to consolidate operations from South Boston and Cambridge into the proposed Chelsea site. David Mindlin, representing the applicant, said the tenant seeks to modernize a long-empty building on Eastern Avenue. Co-owner Mike Garrity said the firm typically processes and repackages proteins for about 1,500 New England customers and that the relocation would bring roughly 150 jobs to Chelsea initially, with possible growth to about 300 jobs within 12 to 24 months. Garrity said the operation would not do cooking or curing on site and expected minimal odor, while acknowledging daily truck movements and saying the majority of deliveries would be small box trucks rather than 18-wheelers.

Board members and residents pressed the applicants on truck routing, hours of operation, wastewater handling and potential odor. Garrity said current activity at their facilities runs roughly from about 4 a.m. to about 5 p.m., seven days a week, that the company tries to minimize byproduct, and that wastewater from drains would be addressed with ordinary drainage and trapping systems similar to their existing sites. Leo Robinson, a city councilor, said a site visit addressed his concerns about smell and trash and urged the board to support the project as an economic opportunity. Other residents asked for careful study of traffic patterns and community engagement around waterfront access.

After discussion the board member who moved the recommendation said the amendment would allow the city council to consider the special-permit framework and conditions; the board voted to carry the motion and agreed to recommend the petition to the city council.

The planning board’s recommendation does not itself change zoning; it sends the draft amendment forward to the city council for public hearing and final action. The applicant and staff said the special-permit process would create opportunities for route planning, permit conditions and design or operating requirements intended to limit impacts on nearby residents.