Chipotle is one step closer to Thayer. A proposal to build a location of the popular burrito restaurant chain on Thayer Street has received conditional approval from the Providence Zoning Board of Review.
The proposed building, steps from campus at the corner of Euclid Avenue and Thayer Street next to Kabob and Curry, required exemptions from city code that requires businesses to provide off-street parking spaces. The zoning board waived those requirements in early June, but its approval has not been officially recorded because of an administrative backlog.
Once the official decision is issued, opponents of the exemption have 20 days to appeal. Then the project must pass other reviews, such as a review of the building's fire safety, and obtain building permits from the city.
Andrew Teitz, an attorney representing Chipotle, called the zoning board's decision a "key approval." Other procedures are "more ministerial," he said.
Though there is no date set yet for groundbreaking, David Shwaery, owner of the property, said he expects "Chipotle will begin construction immediately once they get all of their approvals."
The board's decision has not quieted some College Hill residents' opposition to the project.
There is "a critical shortage of off-street parking in the Thayer Street area, and the action by the Zoning Board, if upheld, will only exacerbate that further," said Will Touret, a member of the College Hill Neighborhood Association board of directors.
The CHNA is considering an appeal to the zoning board's decision, Touret said.
Barbara Harris, also a CHNA board member who opposes the decision, said she has "nothing against Chipotle" but said Shwaery and Chipotle have not met legal criteria for an approval.
"Every time you ignore the zoning laws, you risk diluting the protections for the neighborhood," Harris said.
