Long-time Rochester Zoning Board of Appeals member Davis Sullivan sat on the other side of the meeting room table on July 10 as he asked the panel to approve his variance request to allow the construction of a detached garage at 6 Union Church Terrace.
The board granted Sullivan a variance of the 40-foot side setback requirement for his plan to build a 20×34-foot steel pole garage with a concrete floor at a 20-foot setback on his side yard. Sullivan said the two small sheds currently on his property are a terrible place to store his motorcycles and electronic tools. They don’t prevent the weather and moisture from potentially affecting this equipment.
He said his plan is to demolish his wooden shed and garden shed to make room for larger garage storage. He noted his house sits in the middle of his lot, meaning that placing his garage on his rather small 6.7-acre lot is a financial hardship because of the excavation and driveway work that will be needed. He noted he needs to situate his driveway so as not to go over his septic system. He added that what he will be storing are “six motorcycles and a lawn mower.”
The four voting members present for the hearing quickly endorsed the variance request after the lone abutter in attendance, Mark Wellington, said he supported the plan. “I have no objections,” Wellington said. “It’s a good use of the property. We are in favor of it.”
The variance passed with the following conditions: that the garage does not house farm animals, that it not become a commercial use building, that it not be converted into housing, and that the existing sheds be completely demolished.
In other business, the board’s new chairman Donald Spirlet announced that the Selevt Board recently elevated Zoning Board Associate Member Dennis McCarthy to full-time member and appointed Douglas Sims, a carpentry teacher at Old Colony Regional Vocational-Technical High School, as a new associate member.
Spirlet said there will be no regular meeting on July 24 as no petitions have been filed for that date. The next Zoning Board of Appeals meeting is tentatively scheduled for August 14 at 7:15 pm at Town Hall, 1 Constitution Way.
By Michael J. DeCicco