Cambridge Zoning Board Approves Four Special Permits, Continues Hotel Conversion Case

CAMBRIDGE -- October 10, 2024, Cambridge Board of Zoning Appeals continues a contentious hotel conversion case and grants four special permits at its October 10 meeting. The board voted 5-0 to continue the case of petitioner Manny Barrows, who sought to convert a residential building at 723-731 Cambridge Street into a 44-room hotel, to January 9, 2025, after board members including Chair Jim Monteverde and Member Stephen Eng said the hardship justification for the required variance remained unclear and that documentation was incomplete; both the East Cambridge Planning Team and the Cambridge Planning Board had filed opposition letters. In four unanimous approvals, the board granted a variance for a first-floor accessibility addition at 13 Saville Street, a special permit for an accessory dwelling unit at 15 Ash Street, a special permit for a two-family addition at 33 Thingvalla Avenue, and a special permit for a major single-family renovation at 93 Spring Street, the last with conditions prohibiting a proposed second-floor balcony and third-floor deck after six neighbor letters and three public callers objected that elevated outdoor spaces would direct noise into densely packed bedroom windows on Thorndike Street.