Zoning Board of Appeals 10/19/2026

The City of Worcester Zoning Board of Appeals met on October 19, 2026, to hear land-use and zoning matters; no procurement, contract awards, or spending decisions were identified. The board continued the special-permit hearing for the billboard adjacent to 692 Milbury Street to November 9, extending the constructive-grant deadline to December 1. At 99 Sears Island Drive, the board acted on a request involving a side-yard variance and expansion of a pre-existing nonconforming structure; the applicant withdrew the front-yard variance request and sought a fee refund for it. The board approved the 11-unit proposal at 1 Shale Street by a 4–1 vote, granting parking, retaining-wall, and related relief. The approval included a road-paving/access condition, with details to be addressed through Planning Board review; residents raised concerns about emergency access, traffic, construction impacts, and neighborhood safety.

The hearing for the proposed expansion and redevelopment of the gas station and convenience-store site at 167 and 177 Southwest Cutoff was postponed to November 9 for further review, including revised plans and additional information on parking, landscaping, traffic circulation, and MassDOT coordination. The board also approved a lodging-house request for 22 beds, with specified conditions and waivers, and approved variances for the proposed division of the property at 25 Kendig Street into two lots, subject to plan and planting-related conditions. The transcript provides no clear outcome for the 20 Gold Street matter. These were zoning and development decisions, not procurement activity.