Alice and Brad Sheehan of 16 Inland Road are hoping to make some minor renovations to their cement block garage to provide an accessory apartment space for family visits and subsequent rental, but Marion bylaws may not provide that request so easily – documentation that an accessory apartment has been rented in the past before 2005 is required.

Right away via memorandum, Building Commissioner Scott Shippey recommended continuing the hearing because the application lacked an elevation plan and other information. Furthermore, the applicants must demonstrate that the structure – a cement garage – has a history of accessory apartment rental use.

Acting Chairman Michelle Smith read a letter by the Planning Board, which stated that it could not make a recommendation because the application was incomplete.

Alice Sheehan said the couple purchased the two-bedroom house about a year ago with the intention of working on the accessory apartment for family visits and future rent. Now with a baby due in January and only two bedrooms, the Sheehans are running out of space.

The Sheehans have solicited the services of an attorney, and Ms. Sheehan said she just wants to do whatever is required to acquire the Special Permit.

Neighbor Al Caron who has lived next door for 40 years said, “Every person who’s had that house has lived in that apartment above.”

The original builder’s son occupied the garage apartment, and Caron said that although he is unsure as to whether or not the apartment was ever ‘rented,’ he vouched for the prior accessory apartment use.

“Mostly it’s family as far as I know, not a rental,” said Caron, adding, “I totally support what the Sheehans are doing with this property. It’s in the back… Any renovation is going to improve that lot and improve that building.”

The bottom line, though, is whether the accessory apartment existed as a rental before 2005.

From what she could tell, said Ms. Sheehan, the structure was built in 1995.

“But it’s not the building that’s the concern, it’s the use,” said ZBA member Tad Wollenhaupt. “That’s all that matters to us when we look at an accessory apartment.”

Wollenhaupt added, “You’re not asking to modify the structure… You guys are asking about use. That’s the key.”

The use of the structure as an apartment rental has to be proven, not the actual structure itself, the board clarified.

“If we give permission for an accessory apartment, it has to be recorded in the deeds, so you might check your deeds,” said ZBA member Betsy Dunn.

Wollenhaupt added, “You might not be zoned for multi-family or rental property.”

“When a permit is granted for an accessory apartment … it’s recorded on the deed and it’s not when the property is sold,” said Dunn. “That doesn’t mean the accessory apartment can be used before going before the ZBA again.” Dunn continued, “It sounds like he built it for his son.”

The apartment currently has heat, a bathroom, and a sink, said Ms. Sheehan, but no kitchen appliances.

Another issue that arose was an existing cesspool in back yard, and it is unknown whether it is still in use by the apartment. Although the Board of Health found no opposition to the accessory apartment use, the board wondered if it was aware that a cesspool existed on the property.

Cesspools are no longer allowable in Marion.

“We’re not here to hinder. We’re here to help you,” said Wollenhaupt.

At that, the board clarified what it needed from the Sheehans pertaining to further information, and the hearing was continued until January 11.

The next meeting of the Marion Zoning Board of Appeals is scheduled for December 14 at 7:30 pm at the Marion Town House.

Marion Zoning Board of Appeals

By Jean Perry

Before getting down to the real agenda for the evening, the Town of Marion holiday party, the Marion Board of Selectmen on December 4 approved retiring Police Chief Lincoln Miller’s recommendation to promote Sergeant Richard Nighelli to the rank of lieutenant.

“As the board is well aware,” Miller wrote in a memo dated November 30 to the Board of Selectmen, “Sergeant Nighelli has the qualifications for this position and will provide the new chief with strong leadership as his second-in-command.”

Nighelli has been a full-time police officer since 2001 and joined the Marion Police Department in 2003. Subsequently, he was promoted to sergeant in 2007, and since then he has been involved in the regional tactical team serving in a leadership role in that unit.

Lieutenant John Garcia, police chief designee, requested that the appointment be made in time for the change in command of the department.

Nighelli’s promotion will be effective January 1, 2018.

Also during the meeting, the board approved St. Gabriel’s Episcopal Church’s request to tie in to the municipal stormwater collection system.

The matter was on hold from last week’s Board of Selectmen meeting in order to gather further information on details of the church’s tie-in plan.

Selectmen Chairman Jody Dickerson said that he and Town Administrator Paul Dawson met earlier with the church’s representative Brad Morse, who said that only the downspouts would tie in to the system, alleviating any concerns held over from the last meeting.

In other business, the board approved the 2018 licenses for all annual local licenses in town including liquor licenses, common victualler licenses, car dealerships, etc.

The next meeting of the Marion Board of Selectmen is scheduled for December 19 at 7:00 pm at the Marion Town House.

Marion Board of Selectmen

By Jean Perry

In the parlance of assessors, or at least Mattapoisett’s Principal Assessor Kathleen Costello, “It’s all about the levy.”

Costello was talking about the property tax levy, or rate, for fiscal 2018. The news was scheduled to have been “a modest increase.”

But after some pencil sharpening with the Accountant’s Office after the November 29 meeting with the Board of Selectmen, the tax rate is actually going down by five cents per $1,000 in property value.

For their part, the selectmen voted to maintain a single tax rate for all properties in town.

Costello reported that even if the selectmen chose to split the tax rate, with less than 7% of the total tax burden going to commercial, industrial, and personal property classifications, residential tax bills would only see “negligible decreases.”

“We’ve seen nice speedy growth with values going up four percent,” Costello told the selectmen. She said that, based on sales, most neighbors continue to experience smooth growth without big bumps.

However, when it comes to commercial properties, Mattapoisett simply doesn’t have enough to support splitting the tax rate, Costello confirmed.

“If the sewer goes into the industrial park, that will help,” she speculated. Costello also said that the solar projects in town have been good, adding, “The PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes) programs help us tremendously and pay substantial tax dollars without pulling from services.”

In her prepared report to the selectmen, Costello said that real and personal property assessed values in fiscal year 2018 were $1,718,100,891, an increase of 3.95% over FY2017.

The average family home assessed value for FY18 was pegged at $484,640.

Further into the report, Costello wrote that the total revenue to be raised by both tax and non-tax sources for FY18 is $33,124,383. She reported that this is a 4.5% increase from FY17 based on 636 units of real property and 743 units of personal property.

Costello reported in a memorandum that the assessed value of the new construction and personal property new growth that took place during the 12-month period from December 31, 2015 to December 31, 2016 is $1,917,960, translating into $205,577 of increased tax levy capacity over the basic limits of Proposition 2½ and is 17.95% over last year.

The single tax rate for FY18 is set at $13.02, or five cents lower than FY17.

Mattapoisett Board of Assessors and Board of Selectmen

By Marilou Newell