Longtime landowners propose development along Felton Street

Audience members at this week’s City Council meeting asked the council to support two petitions to circumvent or ease zoning restrictions in the Felton Street area — both of which could potentially create more housing.

Neither project is entirely new. The Santangelo family, owners of a lot at 181–185 Felton St., requested in June that the council include the entire lot in the Riverfront Overlay District. To avoid timing issues, they pulled the case temporarily before the council’s summer break, but brought it back this week.

Part of the lot sits within the overlay district, which the city created in 1990 to incentivize housing and greenspace along the Charles River. District landowners can apply for a special permit to create fully or mixed-use housing developments, regardless of whether the land is otherwise zoned for residential use.

The 181–185 Felton St. lot is already zoned for housing, but only part of it sits inside the overlay district. Attorney Michael Connors said this prevents the Santangelos from taking advantage of the more permissive housing requirements allowed in the overlay, which include terms about building height and parking. 

Connors said the owners don’t have a clear plan for the lot yet, but if their current petition succeeds, they’re considering coming back to the City Council to request a special permit for some kind of housing development.

The proposal garnered modest support from the audience. Local housing advocate Tom Benavides spoke in favor of the zoning change, describing a disconnect between the area’s zoning — which is mostly commercial — and its use. “[This] would allow affordable housing in a neighborhood which hasn’t been treated as a neighborhood in a while, so hasn’t had any new affordable housing in quite some time.”

Connors will discuss the proposal with the council’s Ordinances and Rules Committee and at next week’s Board of Survey and Planning meeting.

A few blocks away, landowner Robert Kaitz requested a special permit to build more densely than local zoning allows on his lot at 20 Williams St. Although the project has already gotten a go-ahead from the Traffic Commission and Zoning Board of Appeals, it still requires a special permit from the City Council.

The land, which was the site of a two-family home until 1940, is currently being used as a construction yard. Kaitz, who told councilors he has prior experience building houses in Waltham, plans to construct four small two-bedroom rental homes with a total of eight parking spaces. If he’s able to get all the requisite permits, Kaitz intends to break ground on the new buildings this year.

A total of 23 audience members stood to show their support for the project, and a neighboring landowner wrote a letter backing the project, saying it would “greatly help to unify the neighborhood… both visually and functionally.” Multiple councilors also expressed enthusiasm for the project, especially given its relatively small home size and proximity to public transit.