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Zoning board rejects request to make ground floor residential at 407 The Hill
Summary
The board denied a variance to convert the first floor of a Hill condominium unit to residential use, citing lack of clear special conditions distinguishing the property from other units in the Downtown Overlay and concerns about setting precedent for The Hill.
The Zoning Board of Adjustment on June 16 denied a variance that would have allowed the owner of 407 The Hill to convert a first‑floor office into residential space, a proposal the board said was not sufficiently distinct from other units in The Hill and risked eroding the Downtown Overlay District’s intent.
Attorney Philip Hastings (S20) represented the owner and argued that the building’s interior location, minimal street frontage and lack of parking made first‑floor commercial uses impractical. Hastings noted the board previously granted a similar variance for 411 The Hill and said the parcel’s layout and historic use supported residential conversion.
Several board members pressed the applicant on whether the condominium association had formally weighed in; owner Jeff DeWink (S25) said association members had been notified and there had not been formal objections but that no explicit vote was included in the packet. Some members urged a broader planning review of The Hill rather than piecemeal variance approvals.
Opponents and some board members argued that allowing repeated exceptions would undermine the overlay’s pedestrian‑oriented commercial purpose. After deliberations that referenced past decisions and the Downtown Overlay’s goals, the board voted to deny the variance (vote recorded as denial; final tally recorded in minutes).
