Board rejects apartment building near Ashmont T station for lack of parking, being too big for its lot, too tall for the neighborhood

A five-story, 26-unit apartment building proposed for 1809-1813B Dorchester Ave. in Dorchester was rejected today because it failed to get enough votes from the Zoning Board of Appeal.

The board voted 3-2 to support Mark Kennedy's plans to replace his current commercial painting building with an apartment building with no parking spaces, but state law requires at least 5 votes for a proposal to pass. Board members Mark Erlich and Sherry Dong voted against.

Board Chairwoman Christine Araujo, who has voted against three recent proposals in Roslindale with no parking, did not cast a vote after Erlich's and Dong's no votes doomed the project.

City Councilor Brian Worrell, several nearby residents and the St. Marks Civic Association opposed the proposal because the building would have no parking and because they said it was too tall and had too many apartments.

"This is a crazy proposal," Sydney Miller of Edwin Street said. She said the building would tower over the two- and three-story buildings near it and questioned where all its residents would park.

Kennedy's attorney, George Morancy, however, called the proposal "a true TOD [transit-oriented-devleopment] project," because it is just a five-minute walk from the Ashmont T station. He added that because of the "shallowness" of the lot, the most parking spaces that could be fit in the building anyway would be four - and Kennedy decided that because of its proximity to Ashmont, it made more sense to use that space for 2,200 square feet of retail space.

He added that four of the units would have been rented as affordable, rather than the three required by the city.

Greater Ashmont Main Street supported the project because of the "commercial revitalization" of the site it would mean.

The BPDA board had approved the proposal in November.

1809-1813 Dorchester Ave. filings.