Death Out, Health In. Maybe

What causes more traffic and parking woes in a residential neighborhood: A funeral home? Or a chiropractor sharing an office with a naturopath and a midwife?

The Board of Zoning Appeals is weighing that question.

At the BZA’s most recent meeting, East Rock chiropractor Francine Freeman appealed for a special exception so she can move her practice into the, er, moribund Hawley Lincoln funeral home, a fixture since the mid-1950s at the corner of Whitney and Willow.

The special exception is needed because Freeman’s ​“health practice” is, like the funeral home, a non-conforming use. Whenever one non-conforming use is substituted for another, a new exception is required by ordinance.

Whether that will be approved here remained unresolved after the hearing.

The applicant, Freeman, would also be purchasing the adjacent property located at 501 Whitney Ave. That property has 18 parking spaces available for both properties, lessening the need for on-street parking, according to the City Plan staff report, which recommended granting the special exception. The zoners are expected to vote on the matter next month.

Freeman’s attorney, Bernard Pellegrino, whose law offices sit across Willow Street from the funeral home property, testified at the BZA meeting held in the Hall of Records this past Tuesday night that the ​“proposed use is less impactful than the current use. ​“He called it a good fit for the neighborhood.

The matter was not so nearly cut and dried to a Canner Street couple, Linda D’Albis and Ira Rosofsky, whose back yard shares space with the property in question.

After Pellegrino’s testimony before the four commissioners — Al Paolillo, Sr., Pat King, Sarah Locke, and Ann Stone, who sat high up on the raised dais at 200 Orange St. — Rosofsky took the microphone.

“There are factual inaccuracies to what Mr. Pellegrino said,” he testified. 

Rosofsky pointed out that the Hawley Lincoln funeral home business is fairly moribund these days. ​“There are few funerals, mainly graveside” activities, he added.

Linda D’Albis, who’s married to Rosofsky, spoke next: ​“I have no idea how many people would be coming in” to park on the property.

She said that when Hawley Lincoln has had events on the property, it hires someone to direct traffic. That would likely not be the case if the health practitioners come in, she added.

Pursuing that point, Commissioner Locke asked Freeman precisely how many practitioners would be sharing the space with her should she succeed in purchasing the property.

“I’ve had a midwife and a naturopath” at her current practice, Freeman answered. That current practice is at Olive and Court streets. ​“I’d like them back,” she said, so that there would be a maximum of two other practitioners there besides herself. Freeman also said that at her current location she shares a parking area with two attorneys, ​“and we’ve never had an issue.”

“There is abundant parking on this site,” Pellegrino added.

D’Albis remained unconvinced: ​“I can envision a stream of people coming through. This is a residential neighborhood. There seems to be no reason to convert to this use. I’d urge the board to think on this.”

Rosofsky added: ​“I ask naively: What’s the point of zoning if there are always exceptions to it?”

Because the matter concerned substituting a change from one non-conforming use to another, the BZA did not take a vote. The board referred it to City Plan for advice before it returns, likely next month, to the BZA for a final decision.

“Mr. Pellegrino is wrong,” D’Albis said later in the hallway. She said she will be at City Plan when the matter comes up there. ​“I’ve never done this, but I’m going to stick with it.”