Somerville ZBA Grants Two Variances for Wheatland Street Apartments, Approves Verizon Antenna

Zoning Board · Meeting of July 15, 2026

Somerville's Zoning Board of Appeals approved two hardship variances for a five-unit apartment building at 6 Wheatland Street and a special permit for a Verizon Wireless rooftop antenna at 75 Myrtle Street, all on unanimous 5-0 votes at its July 15, 2026 remote meeting. Acting Chair Anne Brockelman led the board, with Alternates Brian Cook and Sisia Daglian seated as voting members. Attorney Adam Dash, representing NPO Properties, LLC, won variances from the 80 percent minimum front facade buildout requirement, the proposed building reaches 74.7 percent, a gap of roughly two feet two inches, and from a six-foot landscape buffer requirement along the narrow lot's driveway; both variances were driven by the site's constrained width and the need to preserve a 10-foot Eversource utility-access corridor.

The board also fielded a late-breaking update from Dash that the state budget had just amended MGL Chapter 40A to replace the traditional hardship variance standard with a "practical difficulty" test, and staff told members to continue with the existing three-criteria approach while awaiting EOHLC guidance. At 75 Myrtle Street, attorney Jessica Barty of Robinson and Cole presented the Verizon Wireless facility plan for a Somerville Housing Authority building, where three fiberglass antenna-sector enclosures painted to match the building facade would serve the Washington Street and Broadway corridors; Cook raised an unresolved question about whether the Housing Authority had been formally consulted beyond signing a consent form.

In the full story:

• 6 Wheatland Street, Facade Variance (CP26-000018)
• Background and stakes
• The question before the body
• Substantive content
• The deliberation
• Procedural steps and outcome
• The complete report, 3,189 words

Source: the Zoning Board meeting of July 15, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.