Pizzi Farms seeks zoning reform to become housing development
The owner of neighborhood ice cream shop and corner market Pizzi Farm appeared this week in front of City Council to request a change to the lot’s zoning designation, which would allow it to be redeveloped as housing.
The owner’s lawyer, Joseph M. Connors Jr., explained to the council that although Pizzi Farm has operated since 1964, the current owners don’t have heirs to take over the business. Instead, Cheryl and Richard Pizzi have partnered with Anthony G. Cardillo III of Waltham construction company A. Cardillo & Sons Inc. to develop it into housing.
The Pizzis’ plan is to split the current lot into six two-family townhomes and one single-family home. They are asking for it to be designated as a Residence B district. Connors presented an initial layout for the lot but warned it wasn’t yet finalized. He did not give a specific date for when the development would go up.
The lot currently sits in a Residence A2 zoning district, which would only allow four single-family homes to be built on the lot. The owners appeared previously before the Board of Survey and Planning in September to confirm a subdivision of the lot into four segments. Connors explained that the lot sits beside land zoned for more intense residential use, including Residence C districts with multi-family homes.
Members of the Board of Survey and Planning expressed dissatisfaction with the idea of designating the lot as a Residence B district, given that it does not border any similarly-zoned land. In response to questions from board member Brian Moroney, Connors admitted the current development plans would not be harmed if the city designated 495 Lincoln St. as a Residence C zone like some of the districts it borders.
A total of 12 audience members stood in favor of the development, and none opposed it. One audience member, Tim Riley, added that the two-family townhouses would be consistent with the character of the current neighborhood, although he lamented the loss of corner stores like Pizzi Farm across the city.
Richard Pizzi told councilors that the lot’s abutters had not raised any concerns about the new development plans, and some had in fact expressed that they appreciated the decrease in traffic this redevelopment would bring.
The City Council did not take action and forwarded it to the Ordinances and Rules Committee and the Board of Survey and Planning for further review.
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The apparent imminent loss of the best drive-in ice cream spot in Waltham is a huge loss to the community. It’s such a great place to be on a warm evening enjoying first rate frozen treats among our fellow Waltham residents. Will only Dairy Joy in Weston be left? And where will that crew of high school kids find summer employment?
See, I don’t get the comments from members of the Board of Survey and Planning about zoning RB in isolation here.
If we strictly looked at zoning of adjacent parcels as a reflection of a ‘desirable community character’, those single family homes shouldn’t be there! Almost all of them have one problem or another (usually small lot sizes, but a couple have high lot coverage). Conforming to that zoning means some of those families would have to leave, and their lots merged to build a luxury large single family home or the parcels upzoned themselves. This is why ‘zoning to protect neighborhood character’ is an unworkable concept and we should drop it.
If anything is wrong with this site, it’s the width of Lincoln and Lake streets encouraging speeding next to a school. There’s frequently a cop stationed here to catch them too.