Even the Marion Zoning Board of Appeals was surprised by how swiftly it managed to clear three applications from the agenda on April 5 in just one meeting. Two of those applications were approved, but not everyone left the meeting satisfied; one applicant withdrew her application, and one ZBA member opposed the board’s one-meeting decisions.
Constance Dolan of 9 Beach Street was denied a building permit for a one-car garage that wouldn’t meet the 15-foot side setback by 2 feet, 9 inches according to the Building Department, and 1 foot, 8 inches according to Dolan’s engineer.
Building Commissioner Scott Shippey insisted Dolan required a Variance in addition to the Special Permit (although in its recommendation the Planning Board said only a Variance was required), which discouraged Dolan because a Variance requires a three-pronged approach to approval – demonstration of financial hardship, topography unique to the property, and non-detrimental to the neighborhood.
Dolan was visibly puzzled, pointing out that she and only one other neighbor did not have garages on their non-conforming lots, saying that one neighbor’s is only a 10-foot setback, “And that’s a relatively new garage,” she added.
No neighbors openly opposed the garage, one neighbor attended in support, and Dolan submitted two letters of support from neighbors. Still, as ZBA member Tad Wollenhaupt insisted, “Show us your hardships … I don’t think there’s [one]…. You need a Variance; I don’t see any way to get around this.”
Members Betsy Dunn and Michelle Smith recalled having granted one or more Variances in the past without hardship, with Dunn adding, “We decided it was not more detrimental to the neighborhood.”
Dolan said her abutter “would love to have a buffer between us, which would give us a little more privacy.”
But still, her application was for a Special Permit only, missing one for a Variance, so in his memo to the board Shippey recommended Dolan withdraw without prejudice and re-file.
“I don’t see this as a huge deal … myself,” Wollenhaupt said, but he couldn’t proceed any further because the application was incomplete.
“I don’t know how I’m supposed to fill out the Variance [application] with the [hardship] criteria that’s listed there,” said a concerned Dolan.
The board accepted the withdrawal without prejudice, and voted to waive the filing fee.
In other matters, Jean and George Linzee received a Special Permit to continue to operate 460 Front Street as a bed and breakfast without much fuss.
The matter was first vetted by the board in 2016 with the previous owners, with ZBA Chairman Marc LeBlanc sounding ominous when he said, “The wounds are still fresh on this one.”
Nonetheless, the Linzees, who retired and moved to Marion from Long Island to reunite with Mr. Linzee’s 92-year-old mother from the Buzzards Bay area, charmed the ZBA with their anecdotes on history and their intended involvement with the Marion community and an open invitation to the board to an imminent open house at the inn.
“It’s always nice to have new neighbors who want to continue the look of the town and the history,” said LeBlanc.
ZBA member Kate Mahoney preferred to continue the hearing in order to review the last case, of which the board did not have a copy in front of them.
“I want to read what the previous decision was, and maybe I will have questions,” Mahoney said. “I want to investigate further.”
But the rest of the board was prepared to close the public hearing, and no one seconded Mahoney’s motion to continue the hearing.
Adhering to the prior owners’ Special Permit conditions, the Linzees are limited to three bedrooms for rent, and they must give written notice to the Town when renting the entire house to one guest.
Mahoney abstained from the vote.
Also during the meeting, Cathy Alves of 2 Washburn Park Road received a Special Permit to continue the two-family use of the property she co-owns with her daughter.
Mahoney also objected to making a decision in one night for this case, saying, “I think we should, in the majority of cases, take two weeks and vote on it the next time. I just think the mistakes that we made, and there have been mistakes … and to me it’s because we acted very quickly.”
Dunn agreed that deciding on cases that same night is, in fact, rare for the board and acknowledged that, yes, mistakes have been made in the past.
“To your point, Kate,” said LeBlanc, “This isn’t a new [multi-family] unit.” LeBlanc felt the case was relatively simple due to its pre-existence and no changes were requested.
“If there was change, I’d be a hundred percent on board,” Wollenhaupt told Mahoney, but with no changes – “…Get the dockets off the board.”
The next meeting of the Marion Zoning Board of Appeals is scheduled for April 19 at 7:30 pm at the Marion Town House.
Marion Zoning Board of Appeals
By Jean Perry