Weller Funeral Home

The Board of Zoning Appeals convened for its monthly meeting on Tuesday night. Of the eight appeals the board heard, five were approved, one was sent to the City Planning Commission and two were rejected. But in the wake of a city report that did not recommend the approval of a zoning request submitted by St. Michael’s Church Corp., lawyers representing the church withdrew their request for an appeal on Tuesday morning. Representatives from St. Michael’s Church Corp. are currently in the middle of a controversial land acquisition with New York-based developers Netz Group. The withdrawal of the church’s zoning appeal follows a heated community meeting last week, during which members of the neighborhood criticized Netz Group’s attempts to purchase church property, which the developers intend to convert into high-end apartments. The St. Michael’s Church Corp. filed a motion for special exception to have just nine on-site parking spots, despite city requirements to incorporate 50 parking spots. The filing is the first of two Board of Zoning Appeals motions that must pass for the developers to execute the acquisition. The second motion, which is yet to be filed, is for an assessor’s map adjustment — the church’s property lines extend toward Greene Street, while the line should extend onto Wooster Street, according to church representatives.Christopher McKeon, from the New Haven law firm Bershtein, Volpe & McKeon, which represents the church, confirmed the church’s request to remove its motion from the Board of Zoning Appeals agenda on Tuesday. Although he wrote in a letter obtained by the News that church leadership hopes to reapply shortly, he did not explain why it requested to delay the hearing. In an interview with the News, Deputy Director of Zoning Thomas Talbot said he could not confirm that the church would reapply for next month’s Zoning Appeals meeting. But, he said that he “guesses they will.”Local residents criticized the developers plans at a meeting wit...