Davis Sq Task Force meets Monday 2/11

[ron_newman]

The Davis Square Task Force will meet this Monday, February 11, at 7 pm at the Tufts Administration Building, 167 Holland Street. Here's the agenda:

7-7:05 - Introductions

7:05-7:20 - Neighborhood Groups Update
- Somerville Climate Action/Go Green Davis Square
- Local First Initiative
- Davis Area Resident Business Initiative

7:20-7:55 - CARLI Fence site

7:55-8:25 -Davis Square Development
- Antonia’s Restaurant space: Krista Kranyak from Ten Tables Restaurant
- Property on Highland Ave and Enterprise Lot
- Possible Blue Shirt Café expansion/Dollar Days
- Dover Plaza
- Dahn Yoga studio
- Sushi restaurant opening where La Contessa used to be

8:25-8:50 -Future Search Concept (Vanessa Rule)
“Where does our community want to go?”

8:50-9 - Miscellaneous items and next meeting date

ETA, 2/14: My notes from the meeting are here.

Comments

[chumbolly.livejournal.com]

Are you suggesting that Mr. Trane did something underhanded in connection with the construction of this building? Or merely that he should have been more assertive in making the developer build something more to your liking?

I'm not an expert on Somerville zoning, but if the developer didn't have to receive a variance, or even a special permit, then the developer would have been able to build as a matter of right with no public input, and no involvement by the Board of Aldermen. I think sometimes people forget that if you own property, and you stay within the existing rules, you can do what you please with the property, be damned the views of the Neighborhood Development Liberation Front.

[surrealestate.livejournal.com]

Honestly, I don't know what happened -- I was just repeating what I gathered from some anti-Trane campaign flyers and I'd love to know more about it all.

But as for the permitting process, I can't say whether or not 1188 might have needed a variance or two, but I cannot imagine they could have built that without a special permit. I believe anything with more than three units requires a special permit.