Council to Hold Hearings on Possible Zoning Change

The following was submitte by the Charlestown Neighborhood Council. It has been lightly edited.

The CNC Development Committee will host a series of meetings potentially leading to a joint meeting with the Boston Redevelopment Authority and potential recommendation to the City of Boston Zoning Commission, for modification to specific sections of the Charlestown Zoning By-laws.

The current Charlestown Zoning Section 62-29 Off-Street Parking regulation, along with Table E, requires one (1) off-street parking space per unit for each new single family dwelling unit in a project, for projects of one to three units.

The requirement for parking obligates the City of Boston to allow developers to install curb cuts and remove on-street parking spaces without community input or review.

The purpose of the meeting will be to review this condition and determine if the Zoning by-law should 1) remain as currently written, 2) be modified to a conditional use requiring community input on a case by case basis, while not changing the parking ratio requirement, or 3) remove the requirement for the parking space and require a variance for the installation of first floor garages and parking space.

There will also be a discussion to determine if there are other zoning issues which should be considered for revision by the community during future meetings. The meeting will occur at 7 pm at the Knights of Columbus hall, on Wednesday, March 21, 2012.