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.