Board rejects plan to replace old Hyde Park funeral home with apartments
A developer's proposal to replace the old Laughlin Nichols Pennacchio Funeral Home at 34 Oak St. in Hyde Park with a three-story, 20-unit apartment building was defeated today when only got four votes from the Zoning Board of Appeal - state law requires at least five votes.
The board's 4-3 vote means developer Diarmaid McGregor of Milton has to wait a year before proposing anything for the roughly 9,750-square-foot site, a block away from River Street.
The Hyde Park Neighborhood Association and nearby residents opposed the proposal, saying it was out of character with the rest of the neighborhood, that it would cause noise and trash issues and traffic problems on routes taken by buses and students to nearby schools.
The residents were joined by at-large City Councilor Michael Flaherty, who opposed the project. District Councilor Ricardo Arroyo (Hyde Park, Roslindale, Mattapan), supported the proposal.
The BPDA had approved the proposal in January.
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Ridiculous Law
Making a developer have to wait a full year before submitting a new proposal is the most idiotic thing I have ever heard. So the city needs housing but let's keep an abandoned funeral home as an eyesore for another year instead of needed housing. So Boston.
ZBA, not BPDA
The Zoning Board of Appeal, by not having enough votes to approve it, effectively denied it, which means they have to wait a year to refile, it has nothing to do with the BPDA, which actually supported approval.
Tragic
We're in a damn housing crisis, the vote was 4-3 in favor, and nothing's happening. Why did we exempt Boston from the Housing Choice law? This is just infuriatingly stupid.
Add a story
They should be allowed to add a story with every year they get delayed...you can take it as-is, or you can be forced to accept a bigger development later.
"The board's 4-3 vote means
"The board's 4-3 vote means developer Diarmaid McGregor of Milton has to wait a year before proposing anything for the roughly 9,750-square-foot site, a block away from River Street."
Actually, that's inaccurate. He may not come back with the SAME project for one year. He may, however, come back with a different revised project at any time.