Moody Street rental property petition succeeds in front of ZBA

A Moody Street building housing first-floor commercial space will finally become completely residential, after dealing with some past zoning woes.

The Zoning Board of Appeals at its Tuesday night meeting approved the building owner’s request to convert its ground floor unit into housing.

The owner, Joy Alamgir, a Wayland resident, brought the case to the ZBA about a month ago. 

The 642 Moody Street property, which has been standing for more than a century, is in a primarily residential neighborhood. However, one of its units was zoned for commercial use. 

The commercial unit has been empty since Alamgir purchased it a decade ago, and he asked the ZBA to approve its conversion to a residential unit despite the lot’s existing noncompliance with zoning codes.

When the case was first brought to the ZBA, board members shared concerns about parking at the site as the building does not have any off-street parking. They requested Alamgir appear again this week with feedback from neighbors of the property.

Bret Francis, the lawyer representing Alamgir, presented a letter from another Moody Street property owner voicing support for the project. Francis also pointed out that a nearby local municipal parking lot permits free single-night overnight parking between 5 p.m. and 8 a.m.

The board unanimously voted to grant Alamgir’s petition.