The Mattapoisett Zoning Board of Appeals met on March 19 for five agenda items, one that had been continued from a prior meeting and four other cases.
The meeting began by the hearing on the continued case, that of applicant Russell W. Chase Jr. of 7 Ridgewood Road & Sparrow Hill Road. Chase is seeking a Variance and Special Permit for the property that contains a single-family dwelling build just over 50 years ago in 1974. The applicant sought to un-merge the two properties originally merged in 1973.
The Sparrow Hill Road lot would be developed further with a new house attached to an existing garage, thus needing a Special Permit. The Variance is due to the 5.4-foot rear setback versus the minimum 30-foot required setback. Chair Susan Akin noted there were no notes from abutters, nor none present to speak for or against.
Chase noted he plans to sell the new lot, once created, and the proposed house is just a placeholder to give the board a public an idea of what could potentially take up the new lot. Both the Variance and Special Permit were eventually approved with unanimous votes of approval. The Special Permit was accepted with an added notation of an 1,850 square-foot maximum on any future dwelling.
The next agenda item was the application for a Special Permit by Jeffrey A. and Julia H. Hayward of 18 Nashawena Road for the construction of a two-story garage with accessory dwelling unit on the second floor. It was noted proposed structure would occupy the area of an existing shed and the ADU would have 50% of the living space of the existing home on the property.
The new garage would occupy 884 square feet, though the board stated there is a 864 square foot limit on garage space, with the board requesting 20 square feet be “shaved off” the proposal. The ZBA agreed to move forward with the addition of an amendment that would limit the proposed structure to aforementioned limited size. The permit was granted with a unanimous vote.
The next hearing was another Special Permit request, this time from Vera B. Gibbons of 9 Pearl Street. This permit was for the addition of a one-story, 134 square foot addition on to the home’s master bedroom’s western side. The owners want to expand out to the room for renovations on the bedroom and the inclusion of a bathroom. Member Aaron Goldberg mentioned it was a “very modest addition,” with the board accepting the permit request as presented.
The petition by Patric M. and Sharon J. Costello for 41 Fairhaven Road was heard next. The applicants are not the property owners, with that falling to David A. Greece and Judith Wallace through a revocable trust. The applicants sought a Special Permit to re-divide the property in order to construct a house on the northern side of the existing lot, which would abut Wildwood Terrace. The new lot would be 19,270 square feet, along Wildwood Terrace with the remainder of the existing lot being 45,059 square feet along Fairhaven Road/Route 6. Per the plan, the existing dwelling would be demolished.
The first question by the ZBA was whether they can grant such a permit to someone who is not the property owner, though it was mentioned that the owners dropped off a letter of support. The current applicants are in the process of purchasing the property. This hearing was continued to next month’s meeting.
The final hearing was for Patricia and Thomas Lee of 14 Barstow Street for a Special Permit for the construction of a new single-family home with an attached garage totaling 2,834 square feet. The representative of the applicants noted the lot’s narrow, non-conforming nature, jokingly referring to it as a “bowling alley lot.”
The application was accepted as proposed with a unanimous vote of approval.
The next meeting of the Mattapoisett Zoning Board of Appeals is scheduled for Thursday, April 16.
Mattapoisett Zoning Board of Appeals
By Sam Bishop