Zoning Board Approves Brookview Village 40B

In a vote that split the Zoning Board of Appeals 3 to 2, the "Brookview Village" 40B apartment complex was voted through Tuesday night pending approval of conditions.

“We have to have another meeting where we will work on the conditions because there are going to be a lot of them," said Board Chairman James Natale.

The vote gives the go ahead to 225 apartment units that will be placed off of Ames Street in an area in the middle of industrial and commercial developments that had previously been zoned commercial. It is being developed by the Gutierrez Company.

Bill Caulder, from Gutierrez, stated that the company would be looking to develop the adjacent property into commercial and retail.

The vote occured with ZBA members Lynn Faust and Robert Page asking for additional time to process nearly two hours of presentations regarding the city's residential, housing and economic position. There was no discussion after the decision to take a vote was made.

Receive updates to this story and other breaking news in your inbox or smartphone by signing up for our newsletter here

Following the vote, Faust said that she did not feel the figure of $675,000 for mitigation. This works out to roughly $3,000 per unit.

City Council President Patricia Pope reiterated a request by herself, Mayor Arthur Vigeant and City Councilor Joseph Delano to have the mitigation money set aside in a specific fund rather than be allotted out to specific departments.

"It is our hope that instead of spreading small amounts of money around we can do some good things," said Pope.

The ZBA will meet after the holidays to discuss the conditions of the approval.