UPDATED: Blinds To Go Seeking Special Permit From Framingham ZBA For Roof Project

By Grace Mayer

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FRAMINGHAM – The Framingham Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) will hear a petition from Blinds to Go to modify the roof of its retail space on Route 9 at its meeting Wednesday, July 14.

The meeting will be held in the Memorial Building’s Blumer Community Room at 7 p.m. The public may attend in person or via Zoom.

Blinds To Go petitioned in June for the ZBA to overrule zoning requirements to renovate the retail space’s roof at 100 Worcester Road in Framingham.

This is the latest request from the retailer, which previously received permit approvals from the Zoning Board in March to eliminate parking spaces and to waive parking space dimension requirements for their renovation.

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Blinds To Go, a superstore that offers discounted custom-made blinds and shades, took over the space previously occupied by Sleepy’s Mattress.

Currently, the building has a pitched roof that peaks at 28 feet, which the company plans to turn into a flat roof of the same height.

But the building’s structure falls short of meeting zoning requirements, classifying the building as a “nonconforming” structure and stalling the project.

The building falls short of the front and side setback minimum feet requirements.

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The building also fails to meet landscaping requirements, according to documents.

But the project plans to use spaces previously allocated for parking to add landscaping.

Inside, the building also falls short of meeting floor area requirements, in part due to the project’s plans to eliminate a mezzanine floor.

Falling short of zoning requirements, the retailer is seeking a special permit from the ZBA, before going forward with construction.

After the hearing for this property on Wednesday, the Framingham Zoning Board of Appeals will have until October 1 to approve or deny the permit.

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Grace Mayer is a senior at Boston College studying marketing and journalism. She is also the head arts editor for Boston College’s newspaper, The Heights, where she’s covered the arts beat for three years. She is excited to report on a variety of beats for Framingham SOURCE this summer. You can contact her at gemayer007@gmail.com.