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Eight-unit residential building to replace 'obnoxious, smelly' motorcycle repair garage in Dorchester

The Zoning Board of Appeal approved a developer's plans to replace an old motorcycle garage on Pleasant Street at Roach Street in Dorchester with a three-story, eight-unit residential building with four parking spaces.

Nicholas Zozula, attorney for developer Jason Weissman, said the building, on a lot zoned for a three-decker, would replace an "obnoxious, smelly" building on a property that is "overgrown, with barbed wire, with tires strewn about."

In response to a question from board Chairwoman Christine Araujo about the special character of three-decker zoning, Zozula said the lot's current neighbors are already larger than typical three deckers.

One resident, who lives across the street from the garage, said he welcomes its replacement.

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Comments

approved a developer's plans to replace an old motorcycle on Pleasant Street at Roach Street in Dorchester with a three-story, nine-unit residential building

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Omitted word added!

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6 parking spaces, not 4...

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Uncontrolled excessive jam packing close to DOT block 1200 people jam packing
- changing the character of neighborhood and causing problems to existing residents
- jam packing people, crowded or NO enough space in schools and daycares
- multiple zoning violations
- no enough parking spaces and creating scarcity of parking
- increased traffic jams and accidents to increase insurance rates
- crating domino effect problems to neighborhood
- no infrastructure to support excessive build out (electric and sewer issues etc)
- helping out builders to cash out bubble and push out existing residents
Please call Boston inspection department (617) 635-5300

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Dorchester not for sale? New construction three bedroom family(tm) apartments for $500/month and not a penny more?

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are we going to have anything Other than housing in this city in 20 years. I just don't know how a city can sustain itself long term when it seems like 80% of all buildings are housing

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Umm the city has been adding way more jobs than housing so as it stands now we’re going to have a huge problem if that ratio doesn’t change soon. So, no, it’s not all housing, if only.

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There's a fair bit of new office space going up as well, but we hear about it less for several reasons. One is that each new office building holds more people than a new housing building -- so it takes more hearings and arguments to house 1,000 people than it does to give them a place to work.

Also those office buildings tend to be in business districts where neighborhood complaints aren't as big a deal, so the hearings aren't as contentious or drawn out.

Finally, the city had a bit of an imbalance for a while, with people living in the burbs and working in the city. Now that city living is more appealing that balance is being worked out with more housing added.

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... sooner or later, you need to get your motorcycle repaired. Or buy a tank of gas for your car. And the contractor who works on your building needs to store supplies and trucks. There's more to the economy than office work and housing. While some things (for example, heavy manufacturing, distribution centers, livestock feedyards) should logically not be in dense population centers, there are businesses that serve local residents that are, inherently, "obnoxious and smelly," and it's not clear that trying to export them to the hinterlands is a win.

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I know you don't mind a place to have your motorcycle repaired in Dorchester, but how would you feel about a place to have your motorcycle repaired in your decidedly non-smelly Beacon Hill?

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That a motorcycle repair shop has to be smelly.

I routinely run down a street that has a motorcycle repair shop, an automobile body shop, and a welder amongst other things. The odors emanating from them are not noticeable.

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We used to have two gas stations; now we have none; I wish we had them back.

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but if there's a need for these businesses to be local and enough demand for them to charge for providing that service in that location - wouldn't they still be thriving and not being torn down for something else instead?

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... is to achieve long term policy objectives that are in some measure not achieved by the unfettered free market naturally seeking short term return.

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It's a lot that's more appropriate to residential but it is spitting distance to a new large mixed use development. The stretch of Dot Ave from a bit north of Fields Corner to around where Freeport comes in (Glover's Corner) has a bunch of large commercial lots that will probably be developed with a similar mixed use property over the coming years. Your 80% residency also doesn't sound so crazy, if it was 50% commercial are there enough businesses that the population could support around there?

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It's just on the periphery of the Dot Block, so it's a good use of the lot, similar to the way outdated industrial sites in the Dot Block area are being turned into residential use.

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with cheap bright white trim won't be obnoxious?

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Let me guess, it'll be concrete on the first floor, then wood framed up above.

Units will sell for $800k.

..And in 10 years the building will be falling apart, with trim falling off, paint pealing, and owners complaining about poor construction with noise isolation issues.

Contractor long gone... not their problem. Real Estate agents, long gone, not their problem.

We need to demand higher quality for the prices these places are commanding.

Also, DOT Block has been promised for like a decade and there's still just a big empty lot there.

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Also, DOT Block has been promised for like a decade and there's still just a big empty lot there.

Well Dot Block got delayed by the NIMBY/City Life alliance and only finally permitted by the BPDA earlier this year after years of meetings. But, doesn't sound like that's a concern for you based on the other comments here.

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We may be working on solving the housing shortage -- well -- for the well-heeled, but not the low-income bracket.

However, as we decrease the available commercially zoned spaces and create more housing spaces, we are driving business from the city in small but defined batches.

As it is, people come in to Boston to work. As this trend continues, we will all be heading OUT of the city to work, and to be specific mostly manufacturing or any business that does not entail more than an office with a computer terminal. Blue collar jobs need to exist someplace.

Lots of buzz about Amazon trying to come to Boston or vicinity but that never happened... nor will it. They saw the handwriting on the wall.

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Mumbai of the East Coast. Jam as many people into the City with no regard for the environment or transportation. Then listen to the resident whine on MubaiHub about overcrowding and transportation.

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In Mumbai, you can get a fantastic meal for under $5.

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In Mumbai, there are currently three major subway lines under construction, spanning the city at 10 miles in length each. Also the commuter rail system is electrified and runs trains every few minutes at peak. Not to say they've solved transportation (far from it), but at least they're trying'. So they've got that on us.

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Mumbai is great. Have you ever actually been there?

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