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275 Lafayette St application (STAMPED) (1) 11/17122, 1:20 PM about:blank CONDI CITY OF SALEM, MASSACHUSETTS "? BOARD OF APPEALS 98 WASHINGTON STREET,2ND FLOOR SALEM, MASSACHUSETTS 01970 Thomas St.Pierre,Director of Inspectional Services /lyjNg pQ Phone:978-619-5641 Daniel Laroe,Staff Planner Kimberly Driscoll Phone:978-619-5685 Mayor Zoning Board of Appeals Application Application ID: ZBA-22-52 Date submitted: November 17, 2022 TO THE BOARD OF APPEALS: The Undersigned represent(s)that they are the owner(s)of a certain parcel of land located at: Address:275 LAFAYETTE STREET Zoning District: R3 and R1 An application is being submitted to the Board of Appeals for the following reason(s): see statement of grounds attached hereto For this reason,I am requesting: [true]Variance(s)from provisions of Section Sections 4.1,3.3.3,and 5.1.5 of the Zoning Ordinance,specifically from see statement of grounds attached hereto. LILuLej A Special Permit under Section 3.3.2 of the Zoning Ordinance in order to to change from one nonconforming use to another nonconforming use L]Appealing a Decision of the Building Inspector: [ ]Comprehensive Permit: Current Property Use: educational Are Lot Dimensions Included:Yes The Undersigned hereby petitions the Board of Appeals to vary the terms of the Salem Zoning Ordinance and allow the project to be constructed as per the plans submitted,as the enforcement of said Zoning By-Laws would involve practical difficulty or unnecessary hardship to the Undersigned and relief may be granted without substantially derogating from the intent and purpose of the Zoning Ordinance. Statement of Hardship(for Variances): see statement of grounds attached hereto Statement of Grounds(for Special Permits): see statement of grounds attached hereto Petitioner: MD PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT,CORP If different from petitioner Address:42 Lincoln Ave.,Lynnfield, MA 01940 Property Owner: Telephone:978-745-8065 Address: , Email:jack@m r)ropertydi .com Telephone: Email: Signatur . , Same -11bh�Y Signature: Date Date: about:blank 1/2 11/17/22, 1:20 PM about:blank !f different from petitioner Representative:Scott Grover,Esq. Address:27 Congress Street,Suite 414,Salem, MA 01970 Telephone:978-745-8 65 Email:smgrover@t1 navins. m Signature: J� Date: __ 0 �'�' 7 e,/ z, about:blank 2/2 STATEMENT OF GROUNDSMARDSHIP The applicant, MD Property Development Corp. is the owner of the property at 275 Lafayette Street(the "Property"). The Property consists of one lot of land having frontage on both Lafayette Street and Summit Avenue with an existing building that was constructed for religious use and later converted to residential use. The area of the lot is 22,500 square feet and it is located in both the R-1 and R-3 zoning districts. The Property is also located in the Entrance Corridor Overlay District and the Lafayette Street Historic District. The applicant is proposing to convert the existing building on Summit Ave. to residential use comprising ten (10) units and to construct a new building on Lafayette Street with five (5) units. A total of twenty-three (23)parking spaces will be provided in compliance with the requirements of the Salem Zoning Ordinance. The relief from the requirement of the Zoning Ordinance that is necessary in order to make this project feasible is first a Special Permit to allow the non-conforming educational use to be converted to the multi-family residential use which does not conform to the uses allowed in R-1. Such a Special Permit may be granted under Section 3.3.2 of the Ordinance upon a finding that the change in use will not be "substantially more detrimental than the existing non-conforming use to the neighborhood." In addition, a Special Permit is also required under Section 3.3.3 to allow the alteration of the existing non-conforming structure on the property. It is appropriate for the Board to grant these Special Permits based on the following criteria in Section 9.4: 1. A community need will be served by eliminating an existing commercial use in a predominantly residential neighborhood and by providing new much needed housing units. 2. The traffic and parking impacts associated with the educational use will be replaced by less intense residential use. Also, parking will be provided in compliance with zoning requirements. 1 There are existing utilities in both Summit and Lafayette St. to serve the new units which will be investigated and upgraded where necessary as required by the City Engineering Department. 4. The proposed residential use is more consistent with neighborhood character than the educational use. 5. Any impact on the natural environment such as drainage will be addressed through the site plan review process before the Planning Board. In addition, there will be a significant increase in the landscaping on the site based on the proposed development. 6. There will be a substantial increase in the tax revenue from the new residential units compared to the exempt educational use which presently generates no revenue. In addition to the Special Permit, some variance from the dimensional requirements of the Ordinance will be necessary. Specifically, a variance from the lot area per dwelling unit of 15,000 s.f. per dwelling unit required in R-1 and 3,500 s.f. in R-3 is necessary to allow the 1,500 s.f. per dwelling unit which is proposed. In addition, the lot coverage proposed here is 32.3% which complies with the 35% allowed in R-3 but not the 30% coverage permitted in R-1. Further, the new building on Lafayette St. is set back 10 feet from the left sideline when 20 feet is,required in the R-3 district where that building is located. Finally, to the extent required, the applicant is also requesting relief under Section 5.1.5 needed to construct two curb cuts, each of 15 feet in length, to serve the existing parking spaces on Summit Ave. and to relocate the one existing curb cut on Lafayette Street which will be 24 feet in length to access the main parking area. The Board may grant the above variances where special conditions affecting the land or buildings would cause a hardship if the dimensional requirements were strictly enforced. In this particular instance, there are clearly special conditions affecting both the lot and buildings. First, the property is located in split zoning districts. Also,the lot is considerably larger than most in the neighborhood with the major part of the land being underutilized. In addition, the building was designed and built first as a religious facility and then converted to an educational use. To adapt the building to any reasonable use requires a significant investment which is only feasible if a certain level of density is allowed. Further, in order to complete the streetscape along Lafayette, it is entirely appropriate to construct a new building of sufficient mass to be consistent with the other buildings along the street. For these reasons, a literal application of the Ordinance would cause a hardship by preventing reasonable redevelopment of this unique property and for these same reasons the relief requested may be granted without derogating from the intent of the Ordinance.