Department of Planning and Development, 1st Floor Conference Room 444 Westminster Street, Providence, RI 02903[/alert]
Opening Session
- Call to Order
- Roll Call
- Approval of Meeting Minutes of June 10, 2013
New Business
DRC Application No. 13.13: 44 Hospital Street – Public Hearing Proposal by 44 Hospital Street, LLC to demolish the existing structure located at 44 Hospital Street, and to construct a new six-story mixed-use building on the site. The applicant is requesting a waiver from D-1 Regulations for demolition of the existing building.
Adjournment
This project was denied a variance to minimum parking regulations by the Zoning Board of Review in part on account of neighborhood objection. The project is seeking a variance from the Zoning Board of Review to have fewer than the required minimum parking spaces; the variance is facing neighborhood opposition. The project is seeking fewer parking spaces than a development of its size is mandated to have.
How frustrating. A developer actually trying to design a building that puts cars at a lower priority and all of a suddent the NIMBYs are up in arms. Meanwhile, the Jewelry District is overcapacity with surface lots. Providence needs to have a frank conversation about parking because it cannot be the deciding factor in how our built environment gets designed. It just can’t.
FYI, the variance request for Hospital Street was not denied. It was continued to the next meeting. It’s on the docket for the next zoning board meeting.
How can people help this variance, assuming that it’s not possible to attend the meeting? A Cluck-style outreach needed?