Zoners To Atticus: Just Hold It

The Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) unanimously rejected Atticus Market’s bid to build a second bathroom at its East Rock grocery and convenience store — citing concerns that the proposed 600-square-foot addition would be ​“incongruous with the neighborhood.”

Local zoning commissioners took that vote Tuesday night during the BZA’s latest monthly meeting, which was held in person at City Hall and online via Zoom.

The commissioners voted 4 – 0 to reject a pair of zoning-relief applications designed to allow for a second, handicap-accessible bathroom and more interior retail space at Atticus’s East Rock outpost at 771 Orange St.

The proposal would have seen Atticus Market enclose a portion of their property right by the sidewalk on Linden Street, near –but not replacing — the store’s existing outdoor seating and canopies. (The front seating area by Orange Street would have remained as is.)

During a February public hearing before the BZA, Atticus expansion supporters defended the proposal as bringing the growing store into line with OSHA regulations by creating a second, ADA-accessible bathroom and plenty of space to line up to use that bathroom without disrupting customers’ enjoyment of the store. Critics lambasted it as encroaching too close to the public right of way, being out of line with the look and feel of other buildings on the neighborhood, and exacerbating the block’s parking crunch.

On Tuesday, the BZA sided with the critics — and shot down both requested pieces of zoning relief.

In particular, they rejected Atticus Market’s request for a variance to permit building coverage of 58 percent where 30 percent is permitted (and 46 percent already exists); a southerly front yard of 0 feet where 17 feet is required; a rear yard of 0 feet where 25 feet is required; and a neighborhood convenience use in excess of 1,500 square feet. They also rejected Atticus Market’s request for a special exception to permit the expansion of a neighborhood convenience use (grocery and related goods) in a RM‑1 zone.

“We received really helpful feedback from the zoning board on ways to proceed,” Atticus owner Charlie Negaro, Jr. told the Independent when asked for a comment on the BZA’s decision and on whether or not he’ll still try to add a second bathroom. Now, he said, his business needs to spend some time looking into ​“what makes the most sense for us. Ultimately our goal is to do something that is harmonious with the community and needs of our growing business.”

Zoning commissioners offered few explanations for why they rejected the proposal Tuesday night.

“They wanted to add a bathroom and requested a lot of area to add that bathroom for their employees,” BZA Chair Mildred Melendez said.

Before the zoners voted, City Plan Director Laura Brown read from the staff report detailing the City Plan Commission’s Feb. 19 discussion of the Atticus Market proposal. The City Plan Commission discussed that ​“this expansion is incongruous with the neighborhood,” Brown read from the staff report. They also spoke about ​“the need for additional retail space beyond just the bathroom” and ​“the need for ongoing historic consultation on design.”

During that Feb. 19 City Plan Commission meeting itself, commissioners did indeed focus their discussion of this application on just how big the proposed expansion is — and how it would run up right against the property line and sidewalk on Linden Street.

If you’re building out a 13-square-foot bathroom, Commission Vice Chair Ernest Pagan said, ​“you don’t really need a 600-square-foot addition.”

Commissioner and Westville Alder Adam Marchand praised the business’s bid to improve access to an ADA-compliant bathroom, and to add additional space for Atticus to sell their goods.

But he said, ​“it feels from this rendering like the sidewalk’s being crowded a little bit.”

Chair Leslie Radcliffe agreed. ​“This jutting out of that portion [of the expansion] just doesn’t fit in my opinion with the look of the rest of the neighborhood.”

Commissioner Joshua Van Hoesen suggested that, if Atticus Market needs to build this big of an addition, then maybe it’s outgrown its Orange Street location.

Ultimately, the commissioners voted in support of the following finding, as articulated by Marchand: ​“The City Plan Commission finds that the proposed addition has merit and advances good goals, but is too large and too close to the public right of way.”