With few other options for his conundrum, Mark Freitas, owner of 273 Snows Pond Road, withdrew his special permit application to allow two houses on one lot – an application that came before the Rochester Zoning Board of Appeals on April 11 as a result of a complaint lodged by a tenant who was resentful over having been evicted.

            Freitas bought the 4.55-acre property in 1999 with its house, garage, and five other smaller structures built by the previous owner. Freitas, after returning from living in Malaysia for two years, began to update the upstairs loft of the garage, a room that was already partially finished with heat and electric, to turn into a separate apartment space for his grown daughter. Freitas’ tenant informed the Town that Freitas was performing the work without a permit, resulting in a cease and desist order.

            Freitas explained that there is one furnace and one electricity account that services his main house and the garage, saying, “It’s all tied together. It’s not like I’m trying to build a whole separate house.” He added that he would like to add a breezeway to completely connect the two buildings and add a kitchen to the upstairs of the garage.

            But, as ZBA member Richard Cutler pointed out, Snows Pond Road is not a town road; therefore, the property technically has no frontage. And when the bylaw was created decades ago to allow property owners to build on those large lots on Snows Pond Road, it stipulated that there could only be one dwelling per property and it couldn’t be further subdivided.

            Freitas’ neighbor, Richard Harding of 276 Snows Pond Road, said he would have no problem if Freitas established the separate apartment for his daughter, but he would have a problem if he were to have “two houses on one lot” as the application suggested.

            “If you’re talking about letting him have an apartment with his daughter living on the property, I’m proud of him and I don’t think the Town should stop him from doing that,” said Harding. But he wouldn’t want to see that apartment one day become rental income from non-family tenants.

            Things got confusing as Freitas’ true intent became clearer. It wasn’t two houses he was seeking: it was actually a multi-family he really wanted. He was looking to connect both buildings by a breezeway, which would make the house and garage one structure, not two separate structures with dwellings.

            “Personally, I’m opposed to the two houses and I’m opposed to a separate apartment,” said Cutler. An ‘in-law’ apartment – one without a kitchen, Cutler said, “I wouldn’t have an issue with that.”

            ZBA member Kirby Gilmore, who recused himself from the matter because he owns an abutting property, said he would not have a problem if the board granted Freitas permission for the daughter’s separate apartment.

            Building Commissioner Jim Buckles told Freitas, “If you want to combine them and have two separate dwelling units, you could request that,” although that was not clear to Buckles at the time, he explained.

            But for now, the application was for two houses, not a multi-family house. ZBA Chairman David Arancio advised Freitas that he could withdraw his application without prejudice and re-file for a multi-family if he wanted to, but the board gave Freitas no guarantee that it would be approved.

            “I guess I’ll just withdraw this and re-think this,” said Freitas.

            The next meeting of the Rochester Zoning Board of Appeals is scheduled for April 25 at 7:15 pm at the Rochester Town Hall

Rochester Zoning Board of Appeals

By Jean Perry

            With no public hearings on April 10, the Marion Conservation Commission took the opportunity to discuss other agenda items.

            The Zoning Board of Appeals sent a request for comment regarding a special permit application by 22 Cove Street LLC, which owns property located at 213 Converse Road, between Zora Road and Beach Street. The owners are seeking waivers from a number of requirements for the development of a subdivision.

            Administrative Assistant Lissa Magauran informed the commission that a Notice of Intent (NOI) had been filed for the parcel and will be heard at the next meeting on April 24, and this information will be passed on to the ZBA.

            In addition, there had been a complaint about unpermitted work occurring at the site, which ConCom member Marc Belanger investigated. Belanger noted that there was evidence of work on the site, which resulted from work that had occurred last summer. Vice Chairman Shaun Walsh reached out to engineer David Davignon, who has worked on plans for the site, and his opinion was that the owners or contractors would not work on the site without permission. This seemed to satisfy the commission.

            At their last meeting, the commission issued an enforcement order to M.P. O’Leary and K.J. Welch for their property at 82 West Avenue on Planting Island. The order pertained to work that had occurred at the site within resource areas under the commission’s jurisdiction. The entire site is within the V-zone, and includes other resource areas, including barrier beach and salt marsh.

            The commission received confirmation that the enforcement order was received by the owners on April 5, and the owners were ordered to cease and desist all work and install erosion control near any work that had occurred within three days of receipt of the letter.

            Chairman Jeff Doubrava, who was not at the meeting this evening and who lives near the property, had told Magauran he had not seen any work done on the site.

            The owners also must submit a Notice of Intent within 30 days of the issuance of the enforcement order.

            Walsh established that town counsel had not been copied on the letter, and suggested that if, after the commission’s site visit on April 20, it is clear the owners have not complied with the order, town counsel should be notified.

            In other business, the commission sent a reminder letter to The Cove, which has a longstanding enforcement order pursuant to a fence constructed by them within the conservation restriction held by the Town.

            At the last appearance before the commission back in January, Cove representative, Kathy Reed, had asked for time to allow for a member of the board to return from traveling. At that time, Walsh had suggested that The Cove determine by survey exactly where the fence was on the property, and come back before the commission with solutions to the violation. Magauran noted that she had been contacted by The Cove and had been asked for the commission’s personal email addresses. She did not comply, and told The Cove they should communicate with the commission through the commission office.

            The commission discussed an issue at the bottom of Ryder Street, where a culvert empties into the harbor adjacent to Burr Brothers and Tabor Academy. An accumulation of silt has developed to the degree that, at low tide, small boats moored in the location sit high and dry. Walsh remarked that, if it can be demonstrated that the Town is not adequately maintaining the catch basin, it could be argued the Town is responsible for the issue.

            The next meeting of the Marion Conservation Commission is scheduled for April 24 at 7:00 pm in the Marion Town House.

Marion Conservation Commission

By Sarah French Storer