155-189 WASHINGTON STREET - ZBA (2) 155-189 WASHINGTON STREET B-5
SIMSBURY ASSOCIATES
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Legal Notice
CITY OF SALEM
} BOARD.OFAPPEAL a:
I WI11 hold a public;hearing for'ah,
persons Interested In the petition sub:,'y
.. ' 'milted by SBYISBURY ASSOCIATES ,r.*,
'INC. requesting Variances for use ofj' l
u -premises as an Assisted Living l t 'r p
idence, and Variances..fromaalli lk t''
"mum lot area per dwell ,un1 11
minimum lot coverage;tnldfitC ; q;
Weide yard setback and:perklrig11tl1 foal
,the 'property located Oat 150=189,°r
'_WASH;INGTON'STRE9r(l").1 a'idrq�p
shearing to,be held WEDNESDi�Y�r,(4
.'"OCTOBER 21, 1998 at 0:30 P.M.,One '
Salem Oreeri;2nd Roor::`Is5
Nina Cohen,Chairritan
'(10/7,14)
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DECISION ON THE PETITION OF SIMSBURY ASSOCIATES REQUESTING A VARTA -CF'
SPECIAL PERMIT FOR THE PROPERTY LOCATED AT 155-189 WASHINGTON STREET AFS
A hearing on this petition was held October 21 , 1998 with the following
Board Members present: Nina Cohen; Chairman, Ronald Harrison, Stephen
Ward, Richard Dionne and Paul Valaskagis. Notice of the hearing was sent
to abutters and others and notices of the hearing were properly published
in the Salem Evening News in accordance with Massachusetts General Laws
Chapter 40A.
Petitioner, is requesting a Special Permit to allow a Change of Use for
Assisted Living in a B-5 zone and a Variance to allow for 100; lot coverage
and side yard setback for the property located at 155-189 Washington
Street.
The provision of the Salem Zoning Ordinance, which is applicable to this
request for a Special Permit is section 5-3(j ) , which provides as follows:
Notwithstanding anything to the contrary appearing in this Ordinance, the
Board of Appeal may, in accordance with the procedure and conditions set
forth in Section 8-6 and 9-4, grant Special Permits for alterations and
reconstruction of nonconforming structures, and for changes, enlargement,
extension or expansion of nonconforming lots, land, structures, and uses,
provided, however, that such change, extension, enlargement or expansion
shall not be substantially more detrimental than the existing nonconforming
use to the neighborhood.
In more general terms, this Board is , when reviewing Special Permit
requests, guided by the rule that a Special Permit request may be granted
upon a finding by the Board that the grant of the Special Permit will
promote the public health, safety, convenience and welfare of the City's
inhabitants .
The Variances which have been requested may be granted upon a finding of
the Board that:
A. Special conditions and circumstances exist which especially affect the
land, building or structure involved and which are not generally
affecting other lands, buildings or structures in the same district.
B. Literal enforcement of the provisions of the Zoning Ordinance would
involve substantial hardship, financial or otherwise, to the
petitioner.
C. Desirable relief may be granted without substantial detriment to the
public good and without nullifying or substantially derogating from the
intent of the district or the purpose of the Ordinance.
The Board of Appeal, after careful consideration of the evidence presented,
and after viewing the plans, makes the following findings of fact:
PETITION OF SIMSBURY ASSOCIATES FOR A SPECIAL PERMIT AND VARIANCE FOR
THE PROPERTY LOCATED AT 155-189 WASHINGTON STREET
page two
1. Petitioner proposes to acquire and demolish the building at 155-189
Washington Street in order to erect a new 6 story edifice to house
assisted living for elderly residents .
2. Petitioner's proposed building will contain 80 units on upper floors, an
underground parking garage with spaces for 39 vehicles, and
approximately 15,000 square feet of retail space on the ground level.
A circular drive will provide access to the complex from Front Street.
3. Variances are required due to the lack of mandated lot area per
dwelling unit, lot coverage in excess of 50% absence of side yard
requirements and lack of adequate off street parking. Use variances
would allow combined housing and retail use of site that had previously
been dedicated to commercial use as an editorial and distribution office
for a daily newspaper. A parking variance is needed because the number
of residential units greatly exceeds the available parking on the site.
4 . In support of the proposed variances , petitioner states that its plan
offers to create housing for elderly residents in a central location
that includes services and amenities appropriate to their needs .
Existing buildings which were built before the Zoning Ordinance was
enacted, also exceed lot coverage and side yard requirements .
5 . Parking requirements were based on a projected number of workers and
visitors on site during peak time periods of the day. These estimated
numbers were derived from conditions at other assisted living centers
managed by the Simsbury group in Beverly and in hest Springfield, Via.
It is projected that the residents of the assisted living home will
not own or operate vehicles themselves.
6. In opposition to the proposal , Marlow Tuttle, of Larchmont Street argued
that the proposed building was far too massive for the site in downtown
Salem. The increased density would be detrimental to the existing
residential neighborhood. The increased demand created by an 80 unit
mixed use building would exacerbate the need for offstreet parking in an
area where parking needs exceed availability.
7. Also speaking in opposition to the proposal were Meg Twohey of the
Federal Street Neighborhood Association and Carlos Buretta of the
Heritage Plaza Condominium Association, who observed that the parking
provisions seemed inadequate for the need created by the complex, and
that the height and scale of the proposed building were excessive for
this site.
On the basis of the above findings of fact, and on the evidence presented
at the hearing, the Board of Appeal concludes as follows:
1. Special conditions do exist which especially affect the subject
property and not the district in general.
t+
DECISION OF THE PETITION OF SIMSBURY ASSOCIATED REQUESTING A VARIANCE AND
SPECIAL PERMIT FOR THE PROPERTY LOCATED AT
155-189 WASHINGTON STREET
page three
2. Literal enforcement of the provisions of the Ordinance would
involve substantial hardship on the petitioner.
3. The relief requested can be granted without substantial detriment to
the public good and without nullifying or substantially derogating from
the intent of the district or the purpose of the ordinance.
4. The Special Permit granted can be granted in harmony with the
neighborhood and will promote the public health, safety, convenience
and welfare of the city's inhabitants.
Therefore, the Zoning Board of Appeal voted, 4-1 to grant the relief
requested, subject to the following conditions:
1. Petitioner shall comply with all city and state statutes, codes
ordinances and regulations.
2 . All construction shall be done as per the plans and dimensions
submitted and approved by the Zoning Officer.
3. All requirements of the Salem Fire Department relative to smoke and
fire safety shall be strictly adhered to.
4 . Petitioner shall obtain building permit prior to beginning any
construction.
5. A Certificate of Occupancy shall be obtained.
6. A Certificate of Inspection shall be obtained.
7 . Petitioner shall obtain proper street numbering from the City of Salem
Assessors office and shall display said number so as to be visible from
the street.
8. Petitioner shall obtain approval from any City Board of Commission
having jurisdiction including, but not limited to the Planning Board.
9. Exterior finishes of the new construction shall be in harmony with
the existing structure.
Variance Granted /r
October 21 , 1998 /U t6 rC," �C
Nina Cohen, Chairman
Board of Appeal n
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DECISION OF THE PETITION OF SIMSBURY ASSOCIATES REQUESTING A
VARIANCE AND SPECIAL PERMIT FOR THE PROPERTY LOCATED AT 155-189 WASHINGTON
STREET
page four
A COPY OF THIS DECISION HAS BEEN FILED WITH THE PLANNING BOARD AND THE CITY
CLERK
Appeal from this decision, if any, shall be made pursuant to Section li of
MGL Chapter 40A, and shall be filed within 20 days after the date of filing
of this decision in the office of the City Clerk. Pursuant to MGL Chapter
40A, Section 11, the Variance or Special Permit granted herein shall not
take effect until a copy of the decision, bearing the certification of the
City Clerk that 20 days have elapsed and no appeal has been filed, or that,
if such appeal has been filed, that it has been dismissed or denied is
recorded in the South Essex Registry of Deeds and indexed under the name of
the owner of record or is recorded and noted on the owner's Certificate of
Title.
Board of Appeal
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TOTAL AREA J
31,747 S.F.
62 00'
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I TWO STORY MASONAky BUILD/NG
THE PROPERTY SHOWN CONSISTS OF LOTS 423,
424 & 425 ON ASSESSOR'S MAP 34.
p ' \ DEED REFERENCE - BOOK 12948, PG 585-589
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101.73' No. 155-189 127.46' 62
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WASHINGTON (Public — VGriable Width) STREET"
PLOT PLAN
IN
SALEM, MA
PREPARED FOR
155 WASHINGTON STREET
l CERTIFY THAT THE BUILDINGS ARE LOCATED LlM/TED PARTNERSHIP
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ENGINEERING & SURVEYING INC.
583 CHESTNUT STREET
LYNN, MA 01904
(617)592-7016
0' 20' 40' 60'
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