nothin They Agree On Eblens | New Haven Independent

They Agree On Eblens

Two Dwight groups divided over a proposed Marriott Residence Inn on Whalley agreed in favor of a plan for an athletic apparel store a block away.

The agreement emerged Tuesday night at a meeting of the Board of Zoning Appeals.

Representatives for the Eblens athletic urban wear” chain presented a request for two zoning exceptions to open a new store at 60 Whalley Ave., the vacant former home of Rite Aid, which closed in 2009.

Eblens asked for a use variance to allow retail sales in an automotive district and to reduce the number of parking spaces required by code to 35 from 54. The zoning board referred the matter to the City Plan Commission for an advisory opinion.

Rolan Young Smith, the lawyer representing the store, said Rite Aid, the previous occupant of the space, had already received permission for these exceptions. Eblens is seeking the exact same zoning relief.

They’re good neighbors,” Smith said about her client Richard Seaman, owner of Eblens, and his associates.

Aliyya Swaby Photo

Green, at an earlier Dwight meeting.

Diana Li Photo

Masterson at an earlier zoning meeting.

Sheila Masterson and Dorthula Green, the two people who spoke in favor of Eblens at Tuesday’s meeting, had been on different sides of an earlier discussion about whether to allow a proposed Marriott Residence Inn to continue at 30 Whalley Ave.

Masterson, executive director of the Whalley Avenue Special Services District, has spoken in favor in the Marriott project at earlier zoning meetings, though she said developers should have gone about the process differently. Meanwhile, she read a letter at Tuesday night’s zoning meeting saying the group’s board of directors approved of Eblens opening on Whalley and that the store would make a good fit” for the district in a space that had been vacant for years.

Green said she appreciated the fact that Eblens had approached the Dwight management team and listened to its concerns before going to the zoning board. She has been an outspoken critic of the way Marriott developers have approached their project, especially since they failed to make a previously planned appearance at a neighborhood meeting last week.

No one spoke up at Tuesday’s zoning meeting to oppose Eblens’ requests.

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