The Marion Zoning Board of Appeals on May 11 approved the owners of “418 Point Road Trust” of 418 Point Road their request to appeal the building inspector’s refusal to issue a building permit for construction of a kitchen within a recently constructed addition to their house.
The addition – built to house the visiting adult children of the appellants – was originally presented to the ZBA as an application for a conversion to a two-family home. However, ZBA members found that the request failed to meet the intent of the bylaw; the board concluded that a conversion is a conversion of an existing dwelling, and an addition was not a true conversion, in their opinion.
In addition, under the bylaw to convert to a two-family, the accessory apartment must be no more than 1,200 square feet; the addition is 2,400 square feet.
The owners then applied for a building permit to install the kitchen aside from the original conversion request, which Building Commissioner Scott Shippey denied, leading to the appeal before the ZBA.
Representatives for the owners tried to reassure the board back in March that their intention was to allow family to occupy the space and would not rent the new unit.
After a number of continuances, the board on May 11 overturned Shippey’s denial and agreed to allow the kitchen after the owners acquiesced to placing a deed restriction to not allow the conversion into a two-family house.
The vote was unanimous.
The next meeting of the Marion Zoning Board of Appeals is scheduled for May 25 at 7:30 pm at the Marion Town House.
Marion Zoning Board of Appeals
By Jean Perry