Weymouth ZBA Approves Mixed-Use Building, Height Variance at Washington Street

WEYMOUTH -- July 12, 2023, Weymouth's Board of Zoning Appeals unanimously approved a special permit and height variance for a four-story, 28-unit mixed-use building at 550-560 Washington Street. The board, sitting with four of five members, voted to allow the project to rise to 50 feet and four stories, above the district's 45-foot, three-story limit, finding that the lot's irregular shape, wetlands, active river, and the fire department's preference for a smaller footprint constituted sufficient hardship. Attorney Ray Jennings represented the applicant; architect Pat Fisher and site engineer Eric Shoemaker presented redesigned exterior finishes, including a natural wood cladding to replace rib siding on the brew house section. The special permit carries five conditions: a lighting fixture specification, rooftop mechanical screening, resolution of outstanding DPW engineering comments, separate water meters for each unit, and dedication of 10 percent of units, roughly three, as affordable housing. The project remains subject to Conservation Commission approval. The board separately granted a 14-condition special permit to Clear Lake LLC allowing Kenealy Excavation Company to operate a construction storage and vehicle dispatch yard at 450 Green Street, with operating hours capped at 5:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. and trucks barred from leaving the site before 6 a.m.