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.