30 Lagrange Street (ZB-2026-076)

At a glance

What: Zoning Board of Appeals petition ZB-2026-076 for 30 Lagrange Street & a portion of 42 Lagrange Street, an about 41-space non-accessory parking lot.
Where it stands: special permit approved by the ZBA on 2026-08-10 (per the transcript) to extend a privileged pre-existing non-conforming parking use as a 41-space lot.
Next: Planning Board site plan and parking plan review; the applicant may return for setback relief once the plan is refined. A separate zone change was not favorably recommended by the Planning Board and went back to the City Council's Economic Development Committee.

Petitioner: Worcester OZ Fund 2 LLC.
Present use: vacant former parking lot with gravel and retaining walls.
Zone: BG-6.0 (Business, General); Commercial Corridors Overlay District - Downtown Subarea (CCOD-D).
Purpose: construct an about 41-space non-accessory parking lot.

Special Permit: extend, alter or change a privileged pre-existing, nonconforming structure and/or use (Art. XVI, Sec. 4).

Attorney Donald O'Neil argued a 30-plus-year history of parking on the lot (sworn statement from a prior owner; most recently for an auto body shop across the street).
Purpose: parking for the former 98 (now 100) Beacon Street mill, approved for about 58 apartments. Zoning requires no parking there; non-accessory parking is not allowed in the downtown overlay.
Conditions include dedicating the lot to the Beacon Street apartments so it cannot become event parking. Staff could not verify setbacks without a survey (3 ft setback, 5 ft against a lot line).
Approved with staff conditions and a waiver.

About 14 minutes across 1 meeting (from transcript timestamps; approximate).

Meeting	Minutes
2026-08-10 - Zoning Board of Appeals	14

2026-08-10 - Zoning Board of Appeals - Hearing; no public speakers. Special permit approved with staff conditions and a waiver; planning staff said the plan will likely change and the applicant could be back.