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Zoning board approves Blinds To Go at 1228 Boylston, modifies 1990 overnight‑parking requirement
Summary
The Brookline Zoning Board of Appeals granted a special permit to convert the former Santander Bank at 1228 Boylston into a Blinds To Go showroom and agreed to modify a 1990 condition that required 25 overnight neighborhood parking spaces, adding language requiring the applicant to investigate demand and cooperate with planning staff.
The Zoning Board of Appeals approved a special permit allowing the conversion of the former Santander Bank at 1228 Boylston Street into a Blinds To Go retail showroom and agreed to a revised approach to a decades‑old parking condition.
Attorney Robert Allen said the 1950s company sought to open a low‑impact showroom at the Chestnut Hill location, keep the existing roofline and much of the building footprint, and install two EV chargers. "We're eager to begin construction open as soon as possible," Allen said during the applicant presentation.
The planning department reported it had no objection and noted the planning board voted 3–1 to recommend approval of the facade changes but asked the applicant to return for final design review of signage and 3‑D modeling. Deputy building staff also said they had no objection and would work with the petitioner to ensure code compliance.
Board discussion centered on a 1990 ZBA decision that required the property owner to make 25 on‑grade parking spaces available overnight to neighborhood residents. Allen said recent site checks showed only about five or six cars typically parked there and argued that the retail use and infilled drive‑through reduce the original rationale for the condition. "We have no idea who's parking there," he said, describing the difficulty of enforcing an open, free overnight arrangement.
Members expressed concern about the lack of systematic counts or neighborhood evidence of current demand. Several members favored a middle approach: modify the 1990 condition to allow the owner to implement reasonable parking controls, require the applicant to notify existing parkers and explore demand with neighbors, and make any agreed plan subject to review by the director of regulatory planning. One board member suggested allowing the applicant to impose reasonable registration or insurance requirements for overnight parkers and to return if counts indicate sustained demand.
The board concluded it had sufficient information on design review and voted unanimously to grant the requested zoning relief with conditions, including returning to the planning board for final design review of signage and a modified parking condition requiring the applicant to study demand and work with planning staff to identify reasonable, enforceable terms.
The ZBA did not read an exact numeric roll call into the record for this case; the board recorded a unanimous decision in favor of the relief and moved to the next agenda item.
