The Chelsea Planning Board will hold public hearings Tuesday night on the two most contested development cases in the city this fall: the 150-apartment building proposed at Broadway and Spencer Avenue, and Walmart’s plan for 121 Webster Avenue, which the Zoning Board of Appeals turned down three days ago.
The board’s agenda, posted Friday morning, settles a question the record had left open. Both cases are on it. The meeting is Tuesday, November 17, at 6 p.m. in the City Council Chambers on the third floor of City Hall, 500 Broadway.
717 Broadway: 150 apartments, hearing goes ahead
Case 2026-25 is listed as a public hearing. The applicant, G&G Real Estate Investment, is asking the Planning Board for a special permit recommendation and major site plan review for a six-story building with 150 apartments. The agenda gives the address as 717-719 Broadway and 10-24 Spencer Avenue.
The city moved the Zoning Board of Appeals hearing on the same project from November 10 to Tuesday, December 8, saying the delay would allow more time for community outreach. The Planning Board date did not move. That means residents who want to speak about the project in front of a city board get their first chance this Tuesday, three weeks before the board that decides the variances.
The agenda lists 11 zoning requirements in connection with the request: minimum front, side and rear yard setbacks, maximum lot coverage, maximum number of stories, maximum height, maximum floor area ratio, maximum density, minimum usable open space, required off-street parking spaces and minimum lot size. As printed, the agenda says the building “does meet” those requirements. The Zoning Board’s notice for the same case lists the same 11 items as requirements the building does not meet. Our earlier report on the project and the relief it needs.
The Planning Board does not grant the special permit or the variances. On those, it sends a recommendation to the Zoning Board. Site plan review is the Planning Board’s own.
Walmart at 121 Webster Avenue: still listed
Case 2026-14, filed by Walmart Real Estate Business Trust, is also listed as a public hearing, for major site plan review “seeking approval for a supermarket.”
On November 10 a motion at the Zoning Board to grant the special permit for the project drew two votes in favor and three against, short of the four a special permit needs. As described at that hearing, the space would be used to fill online grocery orders for delivery and would not be open to walk-in shoppers. How the Zoning Board voted and why.
The Planning Board agenda does not say whether Walmart intends to go forward with site plan review after that vote, or whether the applicant will ask for a continuance or withdraw. The Zoning Board has not posted a written decision. Agendas are set in advance, and the listing by itself does not show what will happen Tuesday.
212 Arlington Street: event venue
Case 2026-24 is listed as a public meeting, not a public hearing. David Lamm is asking for a special permit recommendation to use the first floor of 212 Arlington Street as a special event venue. The agenda says the space does not meet the minimum requirement for off-street parking and that the request involves a change from one nonconforming use to another. The Zoning Board continued its own hearing on the case on November 10.
Hearing or meeting: who gets to speak
The agenda spells out the difference. At a public hearing, the board must allow public comment on the item. A public meeting is open to the public, but comment on the item is not required and is allowed only at the discretion of the chair. The board can take the cases in any order.
Plans and filings can be read at the City Clerk’s office during City Hall business hours.
Also Tuesday: block grant hearing and a zoning update
- Community Development Block Grant, public hearing. The Department of Housing and Community Development will report on grant years 2022/2023, 2024, 2025 and 2026, and is asking residents how well the programs worked and how they could be improved. The agenda says a proposed amendment to the fiscal 2024 award and a proposed new Community Development Strategy will be discussed. Our week-ahead has the details from the hearing notice, including where to send written comments.
- Planning and zoning initiatives, quarterly update. The Permitting and Land Use Planning Department will brief the board on recent and ongoing work, including zoning amendments, plans and policy changes. This item is a public meeting.
- Minutes. The board is asked to approve the minutes of its October 27 meeting.
If you go
- When: Tuesday, November 17, 2026, 6 p.m.
- Where: City Council Chambers, City Hall, third floor, 500 Broadway.
- Agenda: posted on the city website.
- Planning Board office: City Hall, Room 106, 617-466-4180.
Two other public bodies meet at the same hour Tuesday, the City Manager Evaluation Committee and the Board of Library Trustees. The agenda does not mention a remote option for the Planning Board meeting.