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Group Sues City Over Zoning Approval for 30-Story Tower

BOSTON-A coalition of city councilors join with the Chinese Progressive Association to sue the Boston Zoning Commission over its approval of the 30-story, 346-unit Residences at Kensington Place.

By Naomi Grossman | Updated on January 21, 2004

BOSTON-Kensington Investment Co. Inc.’s plan to build a 30-story apartment building on Washington Street in Chinatown suffered a setback after a coalition of city councilors joined with the Chinese Progressive Association to sue the Boston Zoning Commission over its approval of the 346-unit project.

The group, which includes city councilors Felix Arroyo, Maura Hennigan and Chuck Turner, contends that the commission’s decision this past December to approve a Planned Development Area plan for the project, called Residences at Kensington Place, was faulty because the project does not include the required one acre of land in its development.

“We are not looking to stop the development of the parcel,” Hennigan tells GlobeSt.com. “The PDA exempts any development from existing zoning [regulations] and that should only go to those projects which meet the criteria.” To achieve a PDA of at least one acre in size–as required by the zoning code–the group alleges that Kensington Investment Co. is using property which isn’t slated for development, including sidewalks, the street and the nearby YMCA. “Without the inclusion of such property, the area of the proposed PDA would fall far short of the one-acre minimum required under the zoning code. The Kensington Investment Co. currently owns or legally controls less than 21,000 sf,” reads the group’s fact sheet. The PDA designation enabled the project to exceed the 155 feet maximum allowable height under the current zoning.

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