Why does this even matter? An affirmative vote could set a precedent for anyone who wishes to open a retail store in their home in single family residences, or in residential districts of city.
A lot of things go through the ZBA that aren’t controversial. However we believe that this application will really drive some conversation. The petitioner is seeking the zoning board’s approval to turn their home sunroom into a online/retail clothing store, in which to display their wares.
It is interesting though. It’s almost as if the homeowner built the sunroom for this purpose and then asked for permission, as a year ago when they purchased this home there was no sun room, and does this this look like any other sunroom you’ve seen?
The photo of this sunroom below is from August 2023, and it really stands out.
In fact, our review of permits shows that the building permit for a sunroom was applied for in February of 2023 as part of a larger project including a kitchen remodel, a half bath install, HVAC work and a sunroom addition.
The petitioner had bought the home just a couple months prior to the renovations in December 2022.
Per Fred Bray, building commissioner, the “exterior display of goods for home occupation” requires a use variance per section II,D,5
What the petitioner has going for her, is that while she is living in the house, it is located in an professional and general zone that does in fact allow for opportunities not available in residence districts. This was noted in the home listing, when the petitioner purchased the property. Mark Galante, the listing agent spelled it out, warning potential buyers of possible hurdles, “the properties are in the professional and general zone which may provide options not found in other areas. See the attached information about each parcel and perform your due diligence if considering options other than a single family residence.”
The sale included two parcels, the front is described by the assessor as a single family residence, and the rear consisting of undevelopable land.
So what’s our problem. Technically, a home occupation limits what can be done on the property, protecting the neighborhood, in this case from large businesses with employees operating from residential neighborhoods, but in this case, the home is already surrounded by professional buildings within former single family homes. The six limitations of home occupation are listed above.
Our problem is in the writings of the petitioner, that she runs an online business, but now wants to display her wares in the sunroom. We just don’t get it. Sunrooms are traditionally near the kitchen, towards the back of the home, facing something pleasant, scenic, and not usually facing a busy street. Why does she need to display her wares in the windows for an online business. Is the hope to offer a retail shop on the premises in the future.
Installing the sunroom per the February 2023 building permit seemed intentional for this business purpose. The zoning board receiving this request all these months later on December 14th, also seems suspect, after the fact, after the approval of a building permit. The look of the sunroom as constructed does not appear as to having much residential use to it. It mimics something to what might be seen at a retail store.
Best of all, the petitioner has hired slimeball attorney Peter Barbieri who is notorious for getting contentious projects crammed through, especially on the south side, especially when the net effect is detrimental to neighborhoods. He has notoriously and recently been hired by an applicant seeking to convert large swaths of land, 27 acres in Nobscot to allow for large apartments and mixed use construction. Hugely controversial, he tried to get ADESA another car vehicle lot on Hollis Street, when Framhingham denied him he took on Holliston. There was also the mega apartment proposed recently for Coburnville at 92 Winthrop Street after a suspicious fire at the current structure. The Cintolo’s Market apartment building, 59 & 61 Dow St… There are plenty of other memorable appearances by Barbieri in recent years.
So while this is an easy approval for the applicant, this does open a discussion on how much is too much, in our neighborhoods. In this case, this applicant built out their house to suit their need and applied for approval after the fact. Are our zoning rules for what can be done in a home already being abused?
Our applicant has been identified as a social media influencer with nearly 20,000 followers.
Her fashion store instagram page lists the address as the same address seeking approval for the sunroom use variance as seen below. The lines below the address indicate that they ship to all of the US and that they are open Monday through Saturday from 10am.
In March of 2023 per a Facebook post, this influencer above states that a physical store is coming soon. Is she alluding to this sunroom which had just been approved to be built per the building permit??? Translation app used in the photo below.
More recently in November, a further notice of a physical retail store was announced on the Sereia De Boston facebook page.
If this influence above is the same person who is applying for this zoning board variance, is she asking for display space for her online store, or is she really trying to build a retail store for both online and physical sales? Which contradicts the application.
Some of the application is below:
