Board approves variance to convert 2119 Burdett Avenue into three-unit rental
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Summary
At a recent board meeting, members approved variance PLZBA2025004848 to convert 2119 Burdett Avenue from a former dental office into a three-unit residential building after finding hardship and issuing a negative declaration for the listed environmental action.
At a meeting, the board voted to approve variance PLZBA2025004848 allowing the property at 2119 Burdett Avenue to be converted into a three-unit rental. Speaker 1 moved the approval, and members recorded affirmative votes from the voting members present.
The applicant, Speaker 2, told the board it had submitted a business plan and designs for the remodeled property and said, "It would now be a triplex, which I think fits in the neighborhood." Speaker 2 also said the family had faced a difficult few years and that the approval "brings it to closure."
Before the variance vote, Speaker 3 asked the board to find PLCBA2025-0048 an "unlisted seeker action with sufficient information available for a negative declaration." Speaker 1 seconded that motion and the board voted in favor. The board then considered the variance application itself; Speaker 1 summarized the hardship findings the board said it relied on, including that the property could not provide a reasonable return without the variance and that the hardship was presented as unique to the parcel. Speaker 1 stated the requested variance "will not alter the essential character of the neighborhood," noting the presence of other apartments and student housing nearby.
Speaker 4 asked legal counsel whether an affirmative vote would create a binding precedent. Speaker 5 (legal counsel) replied that "each application for use variance has to meet the test on its own merits" and that an approval "would not be a binding precedent," though future applicants could argue that a past approval was persuasive. Speaker 3 asked that the board put on the record that it did not intend this decision to set precedent; legal counsel said such a statement clarifies intent but does not bind future boards.
The motion to approve the variance passed with all voting members present recorded in favor. After the vote Speaker 2 thanked the board for its consideration. The meeting adjourned following a standard motion to close the session.
