The Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Council (JPNC) seems to be loosing its credibility.

At its Sept. 15 meeting, the Jamaica Plain Housing Committee (JPHC), a subcommittee of the JPNC, reviewed and unanimously criticized 3841 Washington St., a five-to-seven story, 162-unit apartment building just outside Forest Hills.

But this had already been approved by the Boston Planning and Development Agency (BPDA) Board on July 16, “waiving further review.”

The vote, however, did not follow JPNC protocol (which it jealously guards) that requires developers to present to the neighborhood council first.

Adding to the confusion, 3841 Washington St. is geographically in Roslindale but in the Jamaica Plain zoning code.

The JPNC seemed to have just recognized this, so they invited the developers to the Sept. 15 housing committee meeting.

Present were owner/ developer Joe Vozella, his attorney George Morancy, and his architects Zack Kutchin and Eric Robinson of RODE architects.

As he did at the two BPDA article 80 meetings with enthusiastic support from the neighboring community, Vozella said that his family had owned the Wellsmere Monument Works for a century “with a lot of attachment to the neighborhood.”

“I saw an opportunity to develop transit development,” Vozella said. “We need housing and it was the right time for me to move forward.”

Morancy said the building will be seven-story/ mixed-use with apartments ranging from studios to three-bedrooms, “for a range of people who want to live in this neighborhood.”

“There will be a lot of street frontage.”

“As per Article 79, 17 percent of the units – 20 – are set aside as affordable with 60 percent (area median income [AMI]), with 3 percent reserved for (Section 8) voucher holders,” Morancy said.

“There’s been a lengthy review process with the planning department,” Morancy said. “We’ve completed the Article 80 process and the next step is the Zoning Board (of Appeal), probably early 2027.”

Project architect Zack Kutchin went into a screen-share design presentation, but JPNC chair Alcurtis Clark seemed impatient.

“Can you make this as quick as you can,” she said. “Can you send the presentation to us?”

Clark attended the first Article 80 meeting on Jan. 13, 2026 “as a resident and property owner,” but she still seemed confused about the location of the building.

“Is this near Arboretum Road?” she asked requesting to see the location on Kutchin’s screenshare.

“Is this near the Arboretum arch, near Puritan Ice Cream?”

Kutchin said it was off his screen-hare locator map, but he tried to expand a Google map.

At the July 16 BPDA meeting, Board member Matt O’Malley was also confused about the location: “Is this where Schell Printing was?” he asked. The old print shop is close to Green Street.

Clark had concerns. “I’m worried about height. This is much bigger than I thought,” she said.

Committee member Gert Thorn said he was an architect.

“Refine this design,” he said. “It looks like a mistake. The curve of the roof line is wrong, the ground floor overhang is not in proportion. The building needs more cheerfulness.”

Morancy told The Bulletin the next day, “This project included reviews by three Boston Planning Department architects and one senior designer.”

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Committee member Lorenzo Bartoloni rarely speaks but he raised his virtual hand and said, “I’m worried about height.”

Bartoloni was also worried about affordability.

“You can do 25 percent (affordable),” he said. “You own the property. There’s no purchasing cost.”

“[Get to] a higher percentage of affordability. We’re going to push for that.”

Committee members Sarah Horsely, Kathy Brown and Pam Bender repeated the same request as they do with every housing development.

“Add more affordable units as you can,” Horsely said. “Do more than 17 percent.”

The BPDA approved the affordability agreement for 3841 Washington St. on July 16.

“Twenty-eight units – approximately 16.97 percent of the total number of units and 17 percent of residential leasable square feet – will be designated as income-restricted units to households with incomes not more than 60 percent of AMI, [and] five voucher units or 3 percent will be made available to mobile voucher [holders].”

This preamble was followed by a detailed chart of all the affordable units; for example unit 213, a one-bedroom unit, has a 60 percent monthly rent of $1,537.

Thorn wasn’t finished. As he has done for the dozen years he’s been a council member, Thorn has criticized what he thinks are Boston’s antiquated and outdated planning and zoning process; these in his view are not as sophisticated as New York, Berlin or Amsterdam where he said he has worked.

“In a city like New York, if a developer wants to go tall they have to give back,” he said. “What are you giving back besides a tall building and earning more money?”

“We want a better looking building. More greenspace at the rear of the building,” Thorn said.

Vozella replied, “I’d love to add more park at the rear but I don’t own the land.”

As Vozella and Morancy explained earlier at the meeting, and at both Article 80 meetings, the land is owned by Boston Water and Sewer Commission (Stony Brook culvert) and MBTA commuter rail.

After an hour Clark closed out the presentation at which no committee member expressed any support.

“As you move along, we ask that you come back to us, as you finalize the project,” she said.

“Show us what changes you have made. We will expand our questions and comments where our interests line up together.”

Just before adjournment, Clark came back on the call. “I forgot to ask – are these all rental?” she said but the development group had left the building.

Morancy told The Bulletin the next day, “The only pending approval is the ZBA.”