Thomas MacMillan Photo
Attorney Shansky.
The lawyer for a market seeking to nearly double its size told zoners the project is not an enlargement — just a way to make the store even better for East Rock.
Attorney Marjorie Shansky made that argument before the Board of Zoning Appeals at its regular monthly meeting at the Hall of Records on Orange Street Tuesday night.
Uma Ramiah File Photo
Nica’s.
On the agenda was the proposed development of Nica’s market, the popular East Rock gourmet deli and grocery store, further up Orange Street. It’s the third time Nica’s owners have sought to modify the store. One of two previous plans made it to a vote by the zoning board, where it was shot down amid criticism from neighbors.
Nica’s owners Joe and Rosanna Sabino seek permission to have greater lot coverage and a larger footprint than otherwise allowed, to have 24 outdoor seats where 15 are permitted, and to add to an existing use that was granted as a special exception. See a version of the plan here.
Rosanna Sabino.
The board did not vote on the plan Tuesday, referring it instead to the City Plan Commission, which meets Wednesday evening.
The latest plan is not really an “expansion,” Shansky told the board. The proposal offers only “operational enhancements that will be beneficial to the neighborhood,” she said.
Architect Gerald Kagan (pictured) detailed those enhancements for the board. The parking lot will be shifted 20 feet north to allow delivery trucks room to enter and turn around, so that they don’t clog up Orange Street, he said. This would be accomplished by moving the line between two properties belonging to Nica’s owners, creating a larger lot for Nica’s to occupy.
The building itself would have a new waiting-line area added to the north side, he said. That would ease congestion in the store, as people line up at the deli counter during the lunchtime rush. Inside the store, the aisles will be modified to accommodate wheelchairs, Kagan said.
Hazardous conditions in the kitchen, where there are four different levels of floor, would be mitigated by bringing the floor to a single level, Kagan said. The kitchen would be 20 square feet larger, he said.
Upstairs, there would be new office spaces and a break room for employees, he said.
After all these modifications, the building will conform to the local zoning requirements, Kagan said.
After Shansky and Kagan’s testimony, Tom Talbot, deputy director of zoning, objected to Shansky’s characterization of the plan as not an expansion.
“This is clearly an expansion by any definition of ‘expansion,’” he said.
In his advisory report to the board, Talbot recommended denial of the proposal, attacking numerous aspects of the proposal: Moving the property line would be “largely a technical exercise that has little impact on the actual nature of the overall project.” The expansion would increase the existing 2,446 square feet of sales/service area to 5,294 square feet, where local zoning regulations normally allow no more than 1,500 square feet. Nica’s already has 50 seats outside, where it has permission for a total of only 15 indoors and outdoors. Moving the parking lot curb cut further north would only make sight lines worse for people turning out of Bishop Street. Allowing Nica’s to expand would give it a clear advantage over the other similar businesses on Orange Street, possibly putting them out of business. That would create an inconvenience for neighbors living near those stores and and inconvenience for people living near Nica’s which would see even more congestion.
Talbot also argued in his report that Nica’s has not demonstrated a hardship, as it is required to do when seeking zoning relief.
That was a line of argument taken up by the lone voice of public opposition at the meeting. His testimony came after a half-dozen people spoke in favor of the Nica’s expansion.
Greg Gallo (pictured), an attorney for the Pellegrino law firm, said he was there to represent Joseph Regan. Regan owns the property at 347 Humphrey St., which backs up to Nica’s lot.
The store’s application does not claim hardship, Gallo said. There is thus no basis for a variance, he argued.
The store seeks to increase a non-conforming use by 179 percent, Gallo said. “This is certainly an expansion.”
Nica’s is looking to reach a size that’s more appropriate for a business zone, like the BA zone that exists on State Street, Gallo said. “If you want to grow, that might be the place to go.”
“Ultimately, according to zoning regulations … it is an impermissible enlargement,” he said.
If it’s granted, other similar Orange Street businesses will seek similar expansions, leading to fundamental changes to the character of the neighborhood, Gallo said.
Given the chance for a rebuttal, Shansky said, “If you permit the baby elephant, you can’t not permit the grown-up elephant.”
“Yes,” she acknowledged, “It will be larger. That does not, under zoning laws, make it an enlargement.”
She reiterated that the project will bring Nica’s up to code, make it a safer workplace, and more accessible to the disabled.
The board is expected to vote on the proposal at its April meeting, after the City Plan Commission weighs in.