Boston Zoning Board Approves North End Building Cleanup, Defers Contested Cases

BOSTON — January 14, 2025 — Boston's Zoning Board of Appeal approved a zoning records correction for a 14-unit mixed-use building at 431-439 Hanover Street in the North End and conditionally cleared two new Charlestown homes at its January 14 virtual hearing. Attorney Jeff Drago told the five-member board the Hanover Street building had operated continuously as 14 residential units with two retail storefronts since the 1970s but had been incorrectly recorded as an 11-unit building with a children's center; the BPDA recommended approval and neighborhood groups raised no opposition. At 26 and 28 Belmont Street, architect Tim Sheehan presented companion two-family and single-family proposals on a vacant parcel but acknowledged a design height of 38 feet 9 inches against a 35-foot zoning limit; the chair moved for approval "in alignment with the zoning of 35" feet and the board agreed unanimously. Four cases were administratively deferred to February — with multiple attorneys citing the five-member board as reason for caution — and a Mattapan basement ADU conversion at 1220 Blueville Avenue drew a formal vote of opposition from the Greater Mattapan Neighborhood Council over the building's non-owner-occupied status and driveway safety concerns, leaving that case unresolved.