Lucy Gellman Photo
Inside Nica’s.
Six years after neighborhood opposition killed its plans, a popular East Rock grocery is seeking again to win zoning approval to expand its operation.
The owner of the grocery, Nica’s Market on Orange Street, seeks to add 240 square feet to its kitchen to handle daily food preparation. He also seeks to put in three new energy-efficient 11-by-22-foot storage freezers outside in the back of the building, replacing a unit that’s currently inside.
To do all that, Nica’s needs special permission form the city’s Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA). It needs permission to have the freezers limit the property’s side yards to two and seven feet — rather than the mandated eight and 10 feet —from adjoining property. (Because the freezers are set on foundations, they are regulated the way a building structure is for this purpose, according to City Plan Director Karyn Gilvarg.) And Nica’s needs permission to have the building with the expanded kitchen cover 54 percent of its lot, rather than the permitted 30 percent covered under a RM‑2 zone.
Rizzo and Sabino make their case.
Nica’s enlisted Andrew Rizzo, a former city building official who’s now a private consultant, to make the case for the zoning relief at the most recent Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) meeting. The board continued a public hearing on the request until its April meeting, asking Nica’s to return with more information to support a claim of a hardship that would support the relief.
Rizzo argued that both the new freezers and an expanded kitchen would allow the market “to be more efficient, and serve the neighborhood as it has for so many years.” He pointed to the new freezers as a greener approach to running the market. He said a larger kitchen — which means more space for food prep — would lead to smoother operations in the store and less time for deliveries. Currently, the kitchen area has less than 200 square feet for food prep, Rizzo said.
“Basically we’re just trying to run the business as efficiently as we can,” said Tony Sabino, who runs the market with his sister Rosanna and father Giuseppe.
Nica’s has been trying for years to expand. In 2009, the Sabinos pitched a “decongestion” plan that would have added indoor balcony seating on the market’s second story. That was ultimately a no-go. The Sabino family returned in 2010 with another proposal to add retail space, expand the kitchen, enhance parking options, and build out the second floor/ After meeting opposition from neighbors, that request for zoning relief, too, died.
Votre argues against the variance.
Then in 2011, representatives of the market returned with a revised request for permission to expand, arguing that a larger Nica’s would enhance the surrounding East Rock community. The BZA voted to grant that approval. But three Nica’s neighbors went to court t to contest the decision. A Superior Court judge overturned the BZA’s decision in August of 2011, agreeing with neighbors that Nica’s had failed to prove a legal hardship
Some of the same property owners are opposing the new Nica’s request.
Speaking on behalf of residents at 347 Humphrey St., attorney Ken Votre urged the zoning board at last month’s hearing to reject an expansion, arguing that Nica’s still hasn’t proved a hardship.
“This application fails on multiple grounds,” said Votre. “They’re looking to essentially violate their own rules.”
City Plan Photo
The rear of the market.
“In reference to your notice concerning building coverage to a store on Orange Street, I am puzzled as to where this addition will be added,” Madeline Squeglia, a homeowner living at 584 Orange St., wrote to the zoning board. “We have a parking lot that will need more room after the addition … [M]ore room will add more cars, and more cars will add to the traffic we now have on all of Orange Street. ” She added that she fears that increased congestion will make Orange Street less safe.
Rizzo told the board that Nica’s has no plan to expand the parking lot and does not anticipate the business becoming more crowded as a result of the kitchen expansion.
A City Plan staff report argued that increasing storage in an expanded kitchen “may actually decrease the frequency of deliveries and provide a degree of traffic-related relief to the area.” The report, by Deputy Zoning Director Thomas Talbot, recommends approval of the Nica’s request, stating that it meets the zoning code’s standards for variances. it called the proposed expansion “a positive, no-impact enhancement of an existing neighborhood establishment meant to ensure its continued [operation] and to maintain its role as a significant element of the East Rock neighborhood experience.”
Lucy Gellman contributed reporting for this story.
Mr. Sabino. Come to Westville! We have plenty of spaces available for rent and for sale. There is even a corner market at Alden Avenue and West Elm Street that might be perfect for your operation. The Westville community is desperate for a market such as yours.