Nica’s Plan Draws Fire

If the expansion of an Orange Street grocery store goes ahead as planned, the tenants in Tom Morgillo’s building will look out their windows to a wall three and a half feet away.

Morgillo (pictured) is not pleased with the prospect. He was one of five neighbors who showed up at the Board of Zoning Appeals on Tuesday evening to express their opposition to a plan to expand Nica’s Market.

Nica’s owners hope to add 900 square feet of retail space to the Italian market, expand the kitchen and build out the second floor with more office space and seating for 12. To do that, the Sabino family needs a use variance allowing them to have a taller and wider building than normally allowed and a special exception allowing them to have off-site parking.

Read more about the current plans here. Read about a previous controversial Nica’s expansion plan here.

In order to gain permission for the expansion, Nica’s must show it experiences a hardship under current zoning restrictions.

A lawyer representing one neighbor argued that there is no hardship. Other neighbors, including Morgillo, objected to the increased height of the building and the off-site parking plan.

The Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) did not vote on the matter, but referred it to the City Plan Commission. The commission will hear the item next week, before a final vote by the BZA next month. An advisory report by the City Plan Department recommends the denial of the application.

Attorney Anthony Avallone presented the Nica’s plan to BZA members on Tuesday evening. Sibling owners Rosanna and Tony Sabino (pictured) joined him before the board.

The Nica’s building precedes zoning laws, Avallone said. Over the seven years of its existence, Nica’s business has grown, particularly the prepared foods section, Avallone said. As the business has evolved ​“the ordinances applied to this lot create a legal hardship,” he said.

Rosanna said the expansion plan is a direct result of customer suggestions. For three years, Nica’s has had a suggestion box and customers have consistently asked for indoor seating, a public bathroom, and more aisle space, she said. ​“That is what initiated these plans.”

Avallone presented board members with a petition signed by over 2,000 Nica’s customers, supporting the expansion plan.

The expansion will not have a significant impact on traffic on Orange Street, Avallone said.

By law, the expansion requires the addition of new parking spaces. Nica’s proposes using a separate lot, behind 355 Humphrey St. That lot would be for Nica’s employees only, and would result in fewer cars parked on the street, Avallone said.

Gregory Gallo (at left in photo), attorney for the owner of 347 Humphrey St., was the first to speak for the opposition. As an existing non-conforming use in a residential zone, Nica’s proposal violates a city ordinance that prohibits the expansion of non-conforming uses, he said.

“The issue here is that there’s no hardship,” Gallo said. ​“It’s simply outgrown its location.”

Morgillo said a bigger Nica’s would make it impossible for him to rent his apartments in the building next door. His tenants will be staring at a wall less than four feet away, he said.

The little aisles in the store were never a problem in its previous incarnation as Prime Market, Morgillo said. ​“I’ve been in Nica’s hundreds of times. You’re overstocked.”

Doug Kysar (center in photo), president of the condo association at 591 Orange St., said he was not opposed to the expansion of Nica’s. But the condo owners do not want the off-site parking lot near them, he said. It will inevitably lead to people cutting through their property and walking by their first floor bedroom windows to get to Nica’s, Kysar said.

Two other condo owners in the building raised similar concerns.

Deputy Director of Zoning Tom Talbot said the parking plan was unacceptable. The drawings submitted have no scale or dimensions and do not meet any required standards, he said. Further, there’s no room for cars to maneuver in the proposed area, Talbot said. ​“It’s not a workable plan.”

Talbot read from the City Plan Department report, which advises denial. Zoning regulations covering neighborhood convenience stores are designed to limit size in order to keep down traffic, noise, and visual impact while providing access to variety of commercial services in residential zones. ​“This proposal runs counter to all of these intended effects,” Talbot read. ​“As the scale of the these individual commercial uses increase beyond permitted levels it will be increasingly at the expense of residential quality of life.”

Avallone responded by noting the petition from Nica’s customers. ​“You have in front of you a significant number of signatures,” he said. Nica’s customers had an opportunity to see the plans and believe they are good for the neighborhood, he said.

The zoning ordinances do not address the present needs of the neighborhood, Avallone said. ​“There is a difference between what was written years ago and the practicalities of today.”

After the meeting, Rosanna said if the off-site parking is a sticking point, Nica’s could scrap that part of the plan and re-submit the application with a request to allow the store to have zero extra spaces.

“We’re not dead-set on getting those” parking spaces, she said.

As for objections about the second floor, Rosanna said there already is a second floor. ​“It’s just going to add a little.”

It’s impossible to run the business from the tiny office that’s currently on the second floor, she said.

The City Plan Commission will take up the Nica’s expansion plan next Wednesday.