BZA OKs Ex-Westville Wines Plans With No Strings

The Board of Zoning Appeals gave the OK a plan to decrease parking at the former Westville Wines building on Whalley Avenue and did so without adding any strings.

Board members decided Tuesday night to concur with a recommendation from City Plan staff to allow no on-site parking where six spaces are required for the expansion of customer space in a general business (BA) district.

The owner of the building, Varsha Mehta, plans to renovate the 837 – 841 Whalley Ave. property, which used to house Westville Wines. (It currently houses the campaign offices of Board of Ed candidate Ed Joyner.) Mehta seeks to transform an additional 1,100 square feet that is now zoned for storage into office and retail space.

Mehta’s plans call for maintaining a large Whalley Avenue storefront at the property and adding five small units on the West Rock Avenue side. The City Plan Commission voted a few weeks ago to recommend that the BZA approve the Mehta’s plans with the condition that her tenants close up shop by 7 p.m. each night. The owner of the building, Varsha Mehta, who was not in attendance at the meeting Thursday, seeks to renovate the 837 Whalley Ave. property, which used to house Westville Wines. (It currently houses the campaign offices of Board of Ed candidate Ed Joyner.) Mehta seeks to transform an additional 1,100 square feet that is now zoned for storage into office and retail space.

Mehta’s plans call for maintaining a large Whalley Avenue storefront at the property and adding five small units on the West Rock Avenue side. Some neighbors objected to the parking plan.

Zoning board members Tuesday night voted unanimously to approve the parking special exception without conditions. Board member Patricia King said she was concerned that a restriction operating hours ​“might be unduly restrictive,” especially given that other businesses in the area are open past 7 p.m.

Board member Ben Trachten pointed out that the spaces will be small and not conducive to a big, rowdy bar.

The BZA also approved the following variances and special exceptions Tuesday night:

• A variance to allow Rishi Narang, owner of Narang New Haven Co. LLC, to use 81,000 square feet of a 190,000 square foot, five-building factory at 285 Nicoll St. for office space. The space was once used by the Rockbestos Corporation for general office space. The property, which is in a light industrial district (IL) has been used most recently used as industrial machinery storage and staging area for the Alexion Pharmaceutical construction at 100 College St. Current use variances already allow 18,000 square feet of the buildings to be used as a health club/gym with accessory coffee bar and physical therapy services. The BZA approved the use variance with a condition that owner must add the 99-space parking garage where a basement now exists.

• A front yard variance for the city and New Haven Farms that would allow a smaller front yard at 613 Ferry St., which is in an a RM‑2 district, so that a heated greenhouse and an unheated hoop house can be built on the property.

• A variance to permit housing on the first floor of a building in a general business (BA) district at 1435 State St. Owners Ocean Management LLC. plan to convert the ground floor of an existing building from non-residential office use to a market-rate apartments. The building, which is in the Cedar Hill neighborhood, was originally constructed as a residential YMCA with dormitory rooms for railroad workers, according to information provided by City Plan staff. In more recent history, it was an office building for the Visiting Nurse Association of Southern Connecticut.