By Pete Stidman
News Editor

Plans to fill a hole in the ground with a two-story building on Savin Hill Avenue next to CF Donovan's Pub met with the ire of that establishment's owner at Monday night's Columbia Savin Hill Civic meeting.

Arthur Donovan vehemently opposed Columbia-Savin Hill Civic approval of the project, as did Robert Pacitti, who said relatives of his were also abutters.

"It's rat infested, trashed out, when they knocked it down there was damage to my building that was never acknowledged, we don't know who the owners are, it's been a shell game for years. I deal with that place every single day," said Arthur Donovan, at a meeting held Monday evening at the Little House's gymnasium on East Cottage Street. "All we're asking for is a meeting, eyeball to eyeball. If we get that I'd be glad to support it."

Pacitti said he met with representatives of the owner, James O'Donovan, two weeks earlier but hadn't heard of a recent change to the plan until that night. Donovan said he had never met with them.

Donal Keane, representing the owner at the meeting, said he had met with both Donovan and Pacitti in the past but chose not to comment further on the topic.

It was at least the second time Keane and architect Bill Paquette had presented plans to the association and its executive committee, and they reacted to initial concerns about density and parking by reducing the size of the project from six condos and one commercial unit on three floors to three condos and one commercial unit on two floors.

The site has a history of proposals that were ultimately shot down by the CSHCA, including a proposal from local David Higgins to build a three-story building and bring in Greenhills Bakery location, and one from Arthur Donovan himself, though neither party owned the property.

Patrick D. Keane and James O'Donovan bought the property in May 2004 for $790,000 from Robert Raimondi, according to the Suffolk Registry of Deeds. During that time it has been a vacant lot, but neighbors say it was a blighted building for years before that, spanning back well over a decade.

Parking, although an undercurrent at the meeting, may have been the elephant in the room. Sandwiched between the MBTA's Red Line tracks and Donovan's, the proposed building would rely on a right of way behind Donovan's to access a rear entrance for underground parking. Currently, as can be seen from Sydney Street, the pub uses the right of way for parking and a dumpster.

Columbia-Savin Hill member Don Walsh asked the developers at one point in the meeting if it was possible to not include parking in the project. Paquette responded that it wasn't possible to change the plan quick enough for a Zoning Board of Appeal hearing that was scheduled for the next day.

Ultimately, the civic association voted 15 to 11 to ask the developers to defer their request for zoning relief from the ZBA in order to discuss and come to an agreement with the abutters. The project, as it was proposed, would have needed relief on Floor Area Ratio (FAR), setbacks, open space requirements, and change of use to include residential.

On Tuesday the developers did ask the ZBA for deferral, and they were given a new date of May 6 to appear again before the board.