Boston ZBA Unanimously Approves Six-Unit East Boston Building With Parking Review Condition

BOSTON — March 10, 2026 — Boston's Zoning Board of Appeal approved a six-unit residential building for 60-62 Byron Street in East Boston, voting unanimously 7-0 at its March 10 remote hearing. Attorney Richard Linz, representing the petitioner, argued the project satisfies amended Article 53 zoning on all counts except lot width — the 50-foot parcel is five feet short of the 55-foot threshold required for a single six-unit building — and that the same six-unit density could have been built as of right across two subdivided lots with no parking requirement. The Harborview Neighborhood Association voted 10 to 7 in favor of the proposal in August 2025, with community support driven largely by the six on-site parking spaces; a representative from Councilor Coletta Zapata's office endorsed the project on the same grounds. One board member who raised open-space concerns nonetheless moved approval, stating "housing is a human right but parking is not," and attached a condition requiring Planning Department review with special attention to revising the parking count and increasing open space — though Linz confirmed that reducing parking below six spaces would itself trigger a new zoning violation under the single-building design.