104 Eastern Avenue (ZB-2026-067)
At a glance
Based on auto-generated captions plus the posted agenda; names, figures and vote tallies may be misheard.
- What: Zoning Board of Appeals petition ZB-2026-067 for 104 Eastern Avenue, a parking special permit to build a 3-family dwelling.
- Where it stands: approved by the Zoning Board of Appeals 5-0 on 2026-07-20 (parking and landscaping special permit with amended conditions and waivers; per auto-captions). The Planning Board approved the Definitive Site Plan (PB-2026-071) 3-0 on 2026-09-16.
- Next: construction under the site plan conditions (construction management plan, tree protection, stormwater test pits).
The proposal
- Petitioner: Excellent Investments Corp.
- Present use: partially paved vacant lot. Zone: RG-5 (Residence, General).
- Purpose: construct a 3-family dwelling, about 6 parking spaces, and associated site improvements.
Relief sought
- Special Permit: to modify the parking dimensional, layout, and/or landscaping requirements, loading requirements, and/or the number of required parking spaces (Art. IV, Sec. 7.A.2).
Hearing on 2026-07-20
- Attorney Mark Borenstein for Excellent Investments Corp.: three-family with six parking spaces on a partly paved vacant lot.
- Relief: two parking spaces in the first 25 ft of the front yard, impervious cover of about 62.2% against a 50% maximum, and (added verbally) relief from the landscaping rule along the south lot line.
- Staff (Michelle M. Smith): site plan review needed for slopes. Condition A changed to shrubs along the north and south sides of the parking area, because trees near the neighbor's building and a retaining wall are impractical; condition B changed to one added shade tree on the south boundary in place of one in the snow-storage area. Two waivers.
- A neighbor's comment letter raised narrow Bell Hill streets; Erik Bartenhagen said parking is provided on site and the lot is otherwise unused. Vote: 5-0.
Status and next steps
- Approved 5-0 on 2026-07-20 (per auto-captions).
- Planning Board approved the Definitive Site Plan (PB-2026-071) 3-0 on 2026-09-16.
Discussion time
About 14 minutes across 2 meetings (from transcript timestamps; approximate).
| Meeting | Minutes |
|---|---|
| 2026-09-16 - Planning Board | 5 |
| 2026-07-20 - Zoning Board of Appeals | 9 |
Log
- 2026-09-16 - Planning Board - Item 5 (PB-2026-071): Definitive Site Plan approved 3-0 for the three-family (six parking spaces, slopes over 15%). Attorney Mark Borenstein (applicant Excellent Investments Corp.) appeared remotely and accepted all conditions; Stephen Cary noted a construction management plan condition because Eastern Avenue is heavily street-parked, plus a tree protection detail and stormwater test-pit/mounding analysis before a building permit. No public comment.
- 2026-07-20 - Zoning Board of Appeals - Public hearing. Parking special permit approved 5-0 with conditions 1A (shrubs north and south) and 1B (one shade tree on the south boundary) modified and with waivers. Public hearing deadline was 9/3/2026.