Civic group says no to Pleasant St. condos; Zoning Board next

Members of the Columbia-Savin Hill Civic Association voted 30 to 20 on Monday against a controversial plan to convert a former funeral home on Pleasant Street into a 17-unit condominium complex. The meeting ended in a dramatic voice vote pitting neighbors in favor of the dense but attractive plan against those frustrated by its scale and what they say is the development team’s unwillingness to compromise.

The civic group’s objection comes two weeks after the Boston Planning and Development Agency (BPDA) board voted to approve the development. The project will still need approvals from the city’s Zoning Board of Appeal.

Giuseppe Arcari purchased the Scally & Trayers funeral home site in Savin Hill in July 2016 and proposed a residential project with homeownership units and underground parking.

Arcari hopes to construct a three-story building on the 14,688-square-foot parcel at the junction of Pleasant and Pearl streets. Twenty parking spaces would be located underground with an exit onto Pleasant Street.

From the start, tensions swelled between some nearby neighbors and the developers. The property is zoned for six units by city code, though city planners and Arcari’s team say this zoning is out of date with the current needs of the city.

Neighbors in favor say it is a “beautiful building design,” would help to create “opportunities for more first time home buyers to break into the market,” and “would help increase density and draw new businesses to serve them and those who already live here,” according to public comment letters.

Those opposed cite excessive density and traffic concerns, saying “the footprint of the building does not fit into the neighborhood,” “the area is already so congested,” and “there will definitely be a worse parking, traffic and safety issue.”

Monday’s final vote closely reflected the community comments in aggregate. At a board meeting approving the project in September, the BPDA noted a petition signed by 85 people asking that the unit count be brought to nine, but did not include that in their tally of public comments, which were 58 in favor to 15 opposed and included signatures on form letters.

Immediate abutters are split on the project.

The project still needs Zoning Board of Appeal approval for excessive Floor Area Ratio, which is 1.53 in an area zoned for 0.5; building height, conditional use, insufficient front, rear, and side yards; and parking.


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