Image courtesy of Boston Planning Department

The owner-occupant of a commercial property located near the MBTA’s Forest Hills station is seeking approval for 165 residential units.

The 0.8-acre property currently includes surface parking and a small building occupied by headstone vendor Wellsmere Monuments and Vozzella Design Group.

The property is located in a light industrial zoning district, and will require approval of variances from the Zoning Board of Appeal, an attorney for developer Joseph Vozzella wrote in a notification letter to the Boston Planning Department.

“While still appropriate in certain areas of the city, [light industrial] zoning in Boston currently functions more as a historical relic that is not responsive to current housing creation priorities,” attorney George Morancy of Boston-based Adams & Morancy wrote.

The proposed project would total 144,633 square feet and include 199 bicycle parking spaces, 33 garaged vehicle parking spaces and 5,652 square feet of ground-floor commercial space.

The property was not included in the Roslindale Squares + Streets rezoning, but the proposal shares the city’s goals of encouraging housing development near transit, Morancy stated in the notification letter.

“Located within easy walking distance of the Forest Hills Orange Line rapid transit and commuter rail station, the proposed project exemplifies best practices in transit-oriented development,” the letter stated.

Along with a variance for housing use, the project may require zoning relief for dimensional and off-street parking minimum requirements.