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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1994-09-15 Zoning Board of Appeals MinutesTOWN OF READING ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS MINUTES-SEPTEMBER 15, 1994 Members Present: Ardith ieworka, Chairman :john Coote Stephen Tucker* Christopher Vaccaro Susan Gaskell* *Indicates non-voting member A meeting of the Zoning Board of Appeals was held in the Selo---~tmen$s Meeting Room of the 'down Fall, 16 Lowell Str t, heading, CIA at 7:00 P.M. The first hearing was on the petition of Marie E. Power who was seeking a Special permit under Section 4.3.2.8 of the Zoning By-Laws in order to make an Accessory Apartment on the property located at 249 High Street, Reading, .MA. It was stated for the record that the three voting members had viewed the property. Ms. Rower explained accessory apartment also stated that a. be added by cutting into the bedroom of of the plan. than she would on the lower l second entrance a doorway from the apartment. like to have an avel of her home. She to the apartment would the outside of the house She submitted a drawing The Board then discussed the criteria that needed to be met in order for a Special Permit to be issued. The house had been legally occupied on August 1, 1952. Ms. Power stated that she bought the home in July of 1965. The house is 30 years old and was a new home at the time. The apartment can not be more than 1/3 of the dross floor area of the home. It was discussed that the total dross floor area was 1941 square feet. The apartment gross floor area is 522 square feet making it less that 1/3 of the home. The apartment also had more than 400 square feet. The building density did not exceed 1 to 5. Ms. Power also stated that she, would be residing in the dwelling. The By--law states that the home must remain as a one family dwelling in appearance. DTs. Rower stated that the only change would be adding the door from the outside of the dwelling into the bedroom of the apartment. All motor vehicles must have off street parking. .Ms. Power stated that the home had 2 driveways and would have ample parking. There would be no other apartment on the lot and the apartment would meet all zoning and code requirements. At 7:32 P.M. Mr. Coote moved to grant a Special Permit under Section 4.3.2.8 to Marie E. Power for property located at 249 High Street on the condition that the second means of egress be installed from the proposed bedroom directly to the outside. Mr. Vaccaro seconded and the motion passed with a vote of 3-°0. Members Present: Ardith Wieworka Stephen Tucker John C;oote John Jarema* Christopher Vaccaro* Susan Gaskel1* * Indicates non-voting member The next hearing was on the petition of Ralph T. Meuse who was seeking a Special Permit under Section 6.3.1.3 of the Zoning By-Laws in order to construct a single family duelling on the property located at Lot 97, Assessors Plat 101, Auburn Street, Heading, MA. Mr. Nicholas Decoulos, representing Mr. Meuse, stated that 1r. Meuse had. been before the Board twice for the same Special Permit and had been refused. He stated that the lot contained 5400 square feet and 75 feet of frontage. He stated that Mr. Meuse bought the property in 1969 as two lots, and at the time the lots conformed to the zoning. It wasn't until 1978 when the zoning changed that they were non--conforming. He stated that Mr. Meuse had bought the property as an investment so that in his retirement he could build on the second lot. He didn't realize when the zoning changed in 1978 that his buildable lot was done. Mr. Decoulos them discussed that there were many lots that were similar within the 300 feet. He also discussed that the By-Law was very vague when it used words like similar and substantial and that the Board should favor the applicant in this case. The Board stated that they had discussed the words similar and substantial many times, and in the past have used roughly 50%. It was also discussed that the intent of the By--Law was to stop small lots from being built upon in areas that had larger lot. An abutter stated that all the homes in the neighborhood are small and that a home on this lot would fit right in. Mr. Decoulos stated that only 9 lots in the 300 foot area comply with present zoning. Mr. Vaccaro and Ms. Gaskell felt that many of the lots in the area were similar and that a home on the lot would fit right in. Mr. Jarema stated, that in 1990 he had voted for the Special Permit. He stated that it is the only lot in the area that is not built upon and that it would be appropriate to let r. Meuse build upon it. Mr. ICoote stated that if the ~ d changed its decision there could have to be a goad r,"-ason, but he felt that the circumstances had not changed. Ms.. ieworka stated that although Mr. .Meuse's case was very sympathetic, the facts have not changed. The lets were still the same, a.n.d the numbers have not changed. The Board had only been able to come up with 12% to 26% of lots that were similar and that is not even close to 50%. Mr. Tucker also felt that he didn't see a substantial change in any of the facts of the case At 9:05 P.M. Mr. 'Ducker moved to grant to Tyr. Ralph T. Meuse a Special Permit under Section 6.3.1.3 of the Zoning By-Laws in order to construct a single family dwelling on the property located at Loot 97, Assessors Plat 101, Auburn Street. Mr. Coote seconded and the motion failed by a vote of -3. The Board them briefly discussed the upcoming cases. At 9:35 a motion was made and seconded to adjourn, and the Board voted unanimously to do so. o~~` Approved: