The Rochester Zoning Board of Appeals began the new year with two easily decided approvals. On January 8, the board granted a variance to permit an attached garage over 1,000 square feet on the 4-acre lot at 522 Walnut Plain Road. Applicant and property owner Karl Ferreira said he needs a 2,400-square-foot garage to store and work on his large truck, several farm tractors and excavator. A smaller-sized garage would not fit all the equipment he owns.
Agreeing with this reasoning, ZBA Chair Donald Spirlet said Ferreira has a big piece of property. Thus, the larger size of the garage will not be detrimental to the neighborhood. In fact, the garage would improve the neighborhood because this equipment would no longer be stored outside, he said. Board member Doug Sims noted in the variance language he motioned that the standard-size garage would be a hardship as it would not provide effective storage for what Ferreira owns. The garage that was approved will be a 40×60 foot, steel-frame structure on a concrete slab.
The Zoning Board of Appeals then approved a Special Permit to allow the construction of a two-family residence at 309 Neck Road. The plan here is to build a new two-story home on 2.65 acres and demolish the single-family home, built in 1971, that sits there now.
Applicant Jennifer Jones described what is being planned as a tri-level home. The first floor will be for her parents, she said. The second floor will be for her, as their caretaker, and her young daughter. The property has been owned by the family for over 50 years and three generations, she noted. This will keep the home in the family for years to come. She admitted she already has a foundation permit and has built that foundation.
Abutter Rick Charon endorsed the plan, saying he was speaking as a neighbor of the address for 47 years rather than the project’s engineer. “I am speaking highly in favor of this plan,” he said. Charon noted he has made a similar plan to move his daughter and eight-year-old granddaughter to live with him, and it’s part of popular trend. “It’s what people with families are doing nowadays,” he said.
Board members echoed this theme, as it voted its approval. “It’s so close to what is permitted now by right,” board member Richard Cutler said. “The intent is a beautiful thing,” Spirlet said. And it’s close to meeting frontage requirements, Spirlet added.
The Special Permit includes the condition that the current residential structure be demolished within a year after the certificate of occupancy for the new home is issued.
The Rochester Zoning Board of Appeals did not set a date for its next meeting before adjourning.
Rochester Zoning Board of Appeals
By Michael J. DeCicco