A decision on Bay Watch Realty’s 40B affordable housing project did not happen as expected during the Marion Zoning Board of Appeal’s May 31 meeting.
A meeting between the board and Bay Watch is scheduled for Thursday, June 14, but it is unclear if a vote on the proposed 60 rental units and 36 single family home project off Route 105 will take place at that time.
At the May 17 meeting, questions remained whether MassHousing would accept the bifurcated project, which designates the rental units as affordable and all but six of the residences as market rate. Also, Bay Watch still needed an engineer to certify the plans for the proposed wooden bridge into the project to show it meets Mass DOT standards.
At that time, the board had planned to vote on the project and file a decision by June 8 – but four months into the ZBA review of the latest modification of the 40B – the end has yet to come.
In other matters that night, the new property owner of the former The Frigate Steakhouse site (806 Mill Street), Arnie Johnson, approached the board with architect Anthi Frangiadi to ask for a Special Permit to change the nonconforming use of the site from restaurant to retail. He is seeking to establish a new produce business, which also would sell baked goods and ice cream.
Frangiadi explained that the plans call to raze the old Frigate Steakhouse building and construct a new, 4,200 square-foot building with a wraparound porch built within a new footprint on the site.
One neighbor – who lives across the street from the site – expressed concern about heavy traffic, and said past patrons of The Frigate Steakhouse parked on his lawn. ZBA Chairman Robert Wedge suggested that he call the police if that ever happens again, and Frangiadi assured him that “overflow parking” is part of the plan.
The ZBA took the case under advisement, but did not vote.
The next meeting of the ZBA is scheduled for Thursday, June 14 at 7:30 pm.
By Laura Fedak Pedulli