As provided for in Section 10 of Chapter 665 of the Acts of 1956, as now in force or hereafter amended, and in Section 8-3 of this code, and subject to the provisions of Sections 6-2, 6-3, 6-3A and 6-4, the Board of Appeal may, in a specific case after public notice and hearing, grant permission for a use specified in Table B of Section 8-3 (Use Regulations) or other provision of this code as a conditional use; provided, however, that such permission shall lapse and become null and void unless such conditional use is commenced within two years after the record of said Board's proceedings pertaining thereto is filed in the office of the Building Commissioner pursuant to Section 8 of said Chapter 665.

(As amended on September 27, 1973 and April 27, 1990; Text Amd. No. 471, § 14d., 4-3-2024)

Each appeal for a conditional use shall be filed in quadruplicate with the Building Commissioner, who shall retain one copy for his files and transmit the other copies as follows: one to the Board of Appeal, one to the Boston Redevelopment Authority, and the other to the Zoning Commission. The Boston Redevelopment Authority shall, within thirty days after the date of such transmittal, file with the Board of Appeal a report with recommendations, together with material, maps or plans to aid the Board of Appeal in judging the appeal and determining special conditions and safeguards. The Board of Appeal shall not hold a hearing nor render any decision on an appeal for a conditional use until such report with recommendations has been received and considered, provided that if no such report is received within said thirty days, the Board of Appeal may hold a hearing and render its decision without such report.

(As amended on May 26, 1970)

The Board of Appeal shall grant any such appeal only if it finds that all of the following conditions are met:

(a)

the specific site is an appropriate location for such use or, in the case of a substitute nonconforming use under Section 9-2, such substitute nonconforming use will not be more objectionable nor more detrimental to the neighborhood than the nonconforming use for which it is being substituted;

(b)

the use will not adversely affect the neighborhood;

(c)

there will be no serious hazard to vehicles or pedestrians from the use;

(d)

no nuisance will be created by the use;

(e)

adequate and appropriate facilities will be provided for the proper operation of the use;

(f)

if such appeal relates to a Development Impact Project, as defined in Section 80B-7, the applicant shall have complied with the Development Impact Project Exaction requirements set forth in Section 80B-7.3; and

(g)

if such appeal relates to a Proposed Project in an area designated a Greenbelt Protection Overlay District as defined in Section 29-2, the Applicant shall have complied with the requirements set forth in Section 29-3 and Section 29-5 and the standards set forth in Section 29-6.

(h)

if such appeal relates to a Proposed Project in an area designated a flood hazard district as defined in Article 25, the Applicant shall have complied with provisions set forth in Article 25.

(i)

if such appeal relates to a Proposed Project in an area designated a Coastal Flood Resilience Overlay District (CFROD), as defined in Article 25A, the Applicant shall have complied with provisions set forth in Article 25A.

(j)

if such appeal relates to any Proposed Project which is subject to or shall elect to comply with Section 80B of this Code, Large Project Review, the Applicant shall have complied with the provisions set forth in Article 37.

(As amended on December 29, 1983, February 27, 1986, June 1, 1987 and May 9, 1996; Text Amd. No. 471, § 4a., 4-3-2024.)

In a restricted parking district, the Board of Appeal shall grant a conditional use for an off-street parking facility, whether a parking lot, a public garage, or parking which is accessory or ancillary to any use other than Use Items numbered 1 through 15, only if the Board of Appeal finds that said facility meets one or more of the following conditions:

a.

It will serve a traffic demand not adequately provided for by public transportation; or

b.

It will replace existing off-street parking spaces in one or more nearby parking facilities, or it will replace legal on-street parking spaces that have been physically eliminated through permanent modification or demolition; or

c.

It is accessory or ancillary to a use which by its nature does not contribute significantly to traffic flows during peak traffic periods; or

d.

The facility constitutes a temporary parking lot use of land and that serious intent to reuse the land for an allowed use within a specified period of time has been demonstrated to the satisfaction of the Board of Appeal.

(As inserted on September 27, 1973, and amended on September 2, 1976)

In approving a conditional use, the Board of Appeal may attach such conditions and safeguards as it deems necessary to assure harmony with the general purposes and intent of this code, such as, but not limited to, the following:

(a)

requirement of front, side, and rear yards greater than the minimum required by this code;

(b)

requirement of screening of parking areas and other parts of the lot from adjoining lots or from the street, by walls, fences, planting, or other devices;

(c)

modification of the exterior features or appearance of the structure;

(d)

limitation of size, number of occupants, method and time of operation, and extent of facilities;

(e)

regulation of number, design, and location of access drives and other traffic features; and

(f)

requirement of off-street parking and other special features beyond the minimum required by this or other applicable codes or regulations.

If a structure or land is being lawfully used for a conditional use, whether lawfully existing on the date of this code, made conditional by amendment thereof, or granted by the Board of Appeal under Sections 1 through 4 of this article, in order not to unduly prolong the life of such conditional use, subsequent non-use of such conditional use for a period of twenty-four consecutive calendar months shall terminate the right to use such structure or land for such conditional use. For purposes of this section, whenever a structure or land is not being actively used for such conditional use, there shall be deemed to be a non-use of such conditional use.

(Inserted on May 13, 1976)
Former Section 6-5, entitled Exceptional Relief within Urban Renewal Areas and Public Housing Projects, was inserted on September 7, 1967 and repealed on July 2, 1968.

Any lawful use existing on the effective date of this Code which this Code classifies as a conditional use in the disstrict in which the land occupied by the use is located, and also any lawful use existing on the effective date of any amendment of this Code which such amendment so classifies, shall be deemed to have been authorized as a conditional use subject to maintaining the character and extent of operations and structures existing on the effective date of this Code or of such amendment, as the case may be. Any application for a change in use or an increase in the area devoted to such use shall be subject to the provisions of Article 6, but no conditional use permit shall be required for the replacement of gross floor area lost by fire or other casualty. In the case where the Building Commissioner or designee cannot determine that a use existed on the effective date of any change to the code that establishes such use as a conditional use, it shall be the applicant's responsibility to demonstrate the pre-existing nature of the use.

(Text Amd. No. 471, § 4b., 4-3-2024)