Long Beach condo project back on the table

ZBA to decide on proposed four-story building

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A developer is seeking a variance to build a four-story condo at 70 Roosevelt Blvd.
A developer is seeking a variance to build a four-story condo at 70 Roosevelt Blvd.
Anthony Rifilato/Herald

Nearly a year after residents turned out in force to blast a proposed five-story condominium project on Roosevelt Boulevard, a developer floated a revised plan at a recent Zoning Board of Appeals meeting as it seeks a variance to move forward with the project, but again met with strong opposition.

The zoning board may make a decision at this week’s

meeting.

Following a contentious meeting last February, the zoning board denied a request by Summit Development & Management Corp. and the owner of the property, Jacqueline Zapson, for height, front and side-yard variances for a five-story condominium building, which would have been more than 60 feet tall with 10 three-bedroom condos.

A two-story, three-family home now occupies the property at 70 Roosevelt Blvd., on the corner of East Broadway, a parcel measuring 11,000 square feet.

The proposal sparked the ire of nearby residents, many of them tenants of the adjacent 711 Shore Road, a seven-story apartment building, who said the new building would hurt property values, obstruct views and block sunlight, create parking problems, stress water and sewer infrastructure and negatively impact the character of the community.

The project also raised concerns about overdevelopment, with many residents saying that the row of high-rise buildings that were built on East Broadway and Shore Road beginning in the 1960s, known to many as the “Chinese wall,” is already overdeveloped, and that the city enacted zoning code changes in 1987 to limit the height of new buildings like them.

But at the Nov. 17 zoning board meeting, Albert D’Agostino, an attorney representing Summit, said that the project is now “substantially different from and significantly less than what was requested in the prior application,” according to a transcript of the hearing obtained by the Herald. The new plan reduces the height of the building and eliminates cantilevered balconies, among other changes.

“The proposed building will consist of eight … three-bedroom apartments and two-bedroom apartments in a four-story building.” D’Agostino told the board. “The proposed project is fully compliant and, as to front and rear yard setbacks, provides a 50 percent greater front yard than required by the zoning board.”

The area is currently zoned for multifamily dwellings, officials said, though the height limit is 40 feet on a minimum of 25,000 square feet of property. The proposed 6,720-square-foot building would have a flat roof height of about 45 feet, D’Agostino said, adding that the height includes a stairwell and storage area vestibule comprising less than 4 percent of the roof area.

“I would submit that a proposed four-story, 10-unit condominium will constitute a transition from the massive density of 711 Broadway, and the other similar buildings to the east and the two-, three- and four-story one- to four-family houses and condominiums located to the north and west,” D’Agostino said.

The new building would have 21 parking spaces — more than required — would be lower than most buildings in the area while also meeting Federal Emergency Management Agency height requirements, and would not be out of character with the neighborhood, D’Agostino contended. It would also feature a 500-square-foot recreation area on the roof.

“In my opinion, this proposed project … will not produce an undesirable change in the character of the neighborhood by the granting of this application,” Robert Marks, a real estate expert for the developer, told the board, “and, in my opinion, there will be no detriment to the value of nearby properties. The property meets all yard requirements…”

Nearby residents again crowded the November meeting, and reiterated many of the same concerns, telling the board that they believed there was no substantial difference in the proposal.

“The most substantial variance is lot area — it’s trying to squeeze a size 12 foot into a size 6 shoe,” said Bruce Migatz, an attorney representing residents of 711 Shore Road. “The magnitude of that variance has not changed. Where is the substantial difference? You are still trying to build a 10-unit multiple dwelling on a lot of 11,000 square feet where 25,000 is required. This application should not be heard on that ground alone.”

Migatz also argued that the structure would be more than 63 feet high from street level. “Seven Eleven Shore Road is 66 feet from grade,” Migatz said. “So when the people on the fifth floor are standing on their balcony or in their living room, you will be looking out at a parapet wall that is higher than their view.”

Taft Avenue resident Terry Anastasio, who lives across the street, said she was insulted “that the people that came to present their case basically just reiterated what they said last time.

“We are not stupid, and we know what is going on here — this is somebody talking about making money,” Anastasio continued. “And when they talk about the character of the neighborhood, one thing [is] forgotten: We are individuals that have spent a lifetime investing into our homes.”

“It is a large building stuck on a small property, and adds to the congestion,” said Shore Road resident Ann Weintraub, adding that more than 600 residents had signed petitions opposing the project. “It is just stuck in there, and it takes away views.”

Jacqueline Zapson, the property owner, is married to Michael Zapson, an attorney and a former chairman of the Long Beach Democratic Committee, though D’Agostino said she is not involved with the project. He added that the sale of the property is contingent on approval of the variances.