No New Washington Ave. Apartments, Zoning Board Decides

The Belleville Zoning Board of Adjustment turned down a proposal to turn first-floor commercial space at 442-448 Washington Ave. into seven residential apartments at its Thursday meeting, The Belleville Times reported.


The application Son by developer Washington 208 Assoc. went down due to a technicality: While the seven-member adjustment board gave the proposal four yes votes, a majority, because it would use space zoned for commercial use in a residential context, the plan required a use variance, and under law, that would require five yes votes to win passage.

Concerns revolved mostly around boosting the number of available parking spaces from 26 to 39, meaning its tenants would have to park on the street, the article said. Attorney Robert Gaccione, who represented the developer, argued that more residential housing would be a benefit, as the current presence of CVS and Walgreens drug stores in the immediate area makes that section of Washington Avenue makes doing business there "difficult."