West Roxbury Neighborhood Council

Meeting Minutes – March 28, 2006

 

Matt O'Malley, Director of Legislative Affairs for the Suffolk County Sheriff's Department

Mr. O’Malley gave an overview of the department's functions, outreach, and programming.  The Sheriff’s Department runs the Nashua Street Jail and South Bay House of Corrections.  The Department also runs programs to lower the number of re-offenders.  The reason being that it is much cheaper, monetarily and socially, to help a person stay out of jail.  The average cost of housing an inmate is forty thousand dollars a year.

The Jail Break program is geared toward juveniles.  It is a “scared straight” experience that emphasizes the realities of incarceration.  The Elderly Identification Program provides seniors with an identification card that can be used as a second form of identification and also has contact and medical information if an emergency situation arises.

Area E Police Captain Kervin asked if there were plans for the Sheriff’s Department to maintain a central lock-up facility.  He explained that police often have to hold offenders at the station house which ties up personnel.  A central lock-up would be responsible for holding offenders, freeing up the police to do police work.  Mr. O’Malley said the Sheriff’s Department is in favor of the idea, but the Legislature will have to allocate funding for the Sheriff’s Department to open a central lock-up facility.

T-Mobile, 5050 Washington Street

This is a proposal to install antenna arrays and associated equipment on the roof of the Hill View Condominiums.  The proposal was presented before the Zoning Sub-Committee where the vote to support or deny the proposal was a tie, so the proposal was presented to the full Neighborhood Council. 

The antenna array would be placed atop the building’s elevator pent house.  The antenna would be surrounded by a thirteen foot high faux chimney.  The Hill View Condominium Association favors the installation.  It is opposed by the local neighborhood association.  There was discussion of the potential health hazard, which seems to be minimal, and the Neighborhood Council’s frustration that cell phone antenna installations are proposed individually by each provider, with no coordination between providers or the City.

            A motion to recommend approval of the conditional use variance was voted down.

Committee Reports

Zoning

At the March 15th meeting of the Zoning Advisory Committee the Committee reviewed the following proposals and made the following recommendations.

4988 Washington Street: Proposal to change use from two family and store, to two family and barber shop. Change in non-conforming use. Applicant did not attend.

A motion to recommend disapproval for failure to attend passed unanimously.

80 Woodard Street:  Proposal to create a 12’ x18’ addition in side yard. Minimal FAR and side yard violations. RECOMMEND APPROVAL.

A motion to recommend approval passed unanimously.

5050 Washington Street:  Proposal to install antenna arrays and associated equipment on roof-top. Conditional Use permit required. Motion to approve did not carry (tie).

See decision above.

5330-5340 Washington Street:  Proposal to permit the outdoor display and storage of ten second hand motor vehicles. Conditional use permit required. RECOMMEND APPROVAL.

A motion to recommend approval with the conditions that there is no car repair on the premises and that a parking space, in the rear, be removed to ease traffic congestion resulted in a tie vote.  Council President Larry Costello broke the tie voting in favor of the motion.

New Business

VFW Parkway, former Site of the Star of David Nursing Home

A condominium complex is proposed for the site and is proceeding under BRA Article 80 Large Project review.

Car Wash at 1680 VFW Parkway

A neighborhood meeting with the owners addressed many of the neighbors concerns and is making for better relations with the neighbors.

Wayne Beitler, President Longfellow Area Neighborhood Association

Harvard University owns a thirteen acre parcel on Weld Hill.  Harvard University and the Arnold Arboretum have submitted plans to the City seeking approval to change the zoning on the parcel in order to build a 40,000 square foot institutional complex on the site.  The Neighborhood Association is opposing the change because Harvard has rejected permanent open space protection for the rest of the property not being built on.

A motion that the West Roxbury Neighborhood Association oppose additional institutional expansion along the VFW Parkway, especially the planned expansion by Harvard University on Weld Hill passed unanimously.

 

Attendance:

Jerry Carlson, Kathleen Colby, Joseph Conran, Larry Costello, Bill McDonough, Steve Smith, Don Torok

Excused: Tony Saroufim

 

 (Minutes prepared by Don Torok)

The West Roxbury Neighborhood Council meets the 4^th Tuesday of the month at 7:30 p.m. at the Area E Police Station.  The public is encouraged to attend.  These and prior West Roxbury Neighborhood Council minutes are available on the Internet at  http://members.aol.com/lcostello/wrnc/