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Board of Appeals
NOTICE OF DECISION
VARIANCE
IN THE MATTER OF:
Owner/Applicant: Stephen and Anne Pratt
Premises: 50 Garrison Street
Hingham, MA 02043
Deed Reference: Plymouth County Registry of Deeds Book 44612, Page 154
Plan References: Existing conditions plan entitled,
"Plot Plan of Land," prepared by Hoyt Land Surveying, 1287 Washington
Street, Weymouth, MA, dated March 4, 2015 and an architectural plan set,
including floor and elevation plans, prepared by Aprea Design, dated
October 21, 2014 and revised through March 18 ,2015.
SUMMARY OF PROCEEDINGS
This matter came before the Board of Appeals (the “Board”) on the
application of Stephen and Anne Pratt (collectively, the “Applicant”)
for a Variance from § IV-A of the Zoning By-Law Law (the “By-Law”) and
such other relief as necessary to construct a two-car garage with
living space above by expanding an existing nonconforming attached
two-car garage and resulting in a 5.1’ side yard setback where 15’ is
required at 50 Garrison Road in Residence District A.
A public hearing was duly noticed and held on April 22, 2015, at the
Town Hall, 210 Central Street. The Board panel consisted of its
regular members W. Tod McGrath, Chairman, Joseph M. Fisher and Joseph
Freeman. The Applicant was represented by Attorney Jeffrey A. Tocchio,
Esq. At the conclusion of the hearing, the Board voted unanimously to
grant the requested relief from the side yard setback requirement
under § IV-A of the By-Law subject to the conditions contained herein.
Throughout its deliberations, the Board has been mindful of the
statements of the Applicant and the comments of the general public, all
as made or received at the public hearing.
BACKGROUND
The Property contains 13,786 +/- SF of land located on the south
side of Garrison Road, and is located within the Residence A Zoning
District. The Property is improved with an existing single-family
dwelling and attached two-car garage. Both the existing garage and
home were built in 1930, prior to the adoption of the By-Law, and
qualify as preexisting nonconforming structures subject to the
grandfathering protections of M.G.L. c. 40A, §6. The existing garage
is located within the 15-foot side yard setback under § IV-A, and is
approximately 10.6’ from the easterly property line. The existing
structure is also located 8.2’ from the westerly property line.
The existing one story, carriage-style garage is 19’ x 20’ in size,
with under-sized swing-door openings 7’6” in width and 8’ in height
(the arch in the carriage-style doors begins at 7’). Due to the
under-sized nature of the existing garage, the Applicant does not
utilize the garage to park vehicles. The Applicant represented that
the project architect, Jonathan Aprea, confirmed that upon visual
inspection, in his professional opinion, the foundation does not appear
to meet the minimum code requirements needed (i) for proper frost
protection, or (ii) suitable dimension to allow for the construction of
the additional second floor loads, but appears to be “slab on grade.”
An existing cesspool is located towards the rear “center” of the
Property, which severely limits the placement of a structure due to the
Board of Health Regulations relating to the safe distance of
structures from septic components. The location of the cesspool is
depicted on the plans prepared by Aprea Design and submitted to the
Board as part of the application. The Property is also burdened with
significant ledge, as exhibited by multiple ledge outcroppings in the
existing basement, which limits its functionality. These existing
conditions are depicted in the photographs and on Plans submitted with
the application.
The Petitioners’ proposed project is to remove the existing
nonconforming garage and construct a 24’ by 20’ garage, with a 6.5’ by
16’ storage area. The new garage and storage area are to be located
approximately 5.1’ from the easterly property line; thus, requiring a
side yard setback variance. The new garage will occupy all of the space
occupied by the existing garage structure (88+/- SF within the side
yard setback) and will only occupy an additional 146 +/- SF within the
side yard setback (the storage area will occupy only 27+/- SF). The
new garage will have two carriage-style doors, each 8’ in height and 9’
in width. The garage will allow for internal access to/from the
existing dwelling, as well as include an out-swing garage door at the
southerly (rear) portion of the storage area in order to allow for
passage through to the backyard of the Property. Above the new garage
(not the storage area) will be a 19’ by 23’ living space for use by the
Applicant’s family (which is not possible in the dwelling basement as
the majority of the area is restricted to crawl-space due to ledge
outcroppings). A new, code-compliant foundation will be poured, which
will support a second story. The new garage will be simple in design,
showing a carriage-style towards Garrison Road. These alterations are
reflected on the architectural plans submitted as part of the
application. Construction of the new garage will allow the Petitioners
to safely park their vehicles within the garage, allowing for direct
access to the interior of the house.
FINDINGS
Based upon the information submitted and received at the hearing, the Board has determined that:
- There are circumstances relating to soil conditions,
shape or topography especially affecting the land but not affecting
generally the zoning district. The Property was previously
improved with the preexisting nonconforming undersized garage
structure, dating to 1930, which is located within 10.6’ of the easterly
side yard lot line. The existing dwelling is also located 8.2’ from
the westerly side yard lot line. An existing cesspool is located
towards the rear “center” of the Property. The Petitioners
established that the Property is burdened with subsurface ledge
deposits, as are clearly exhibited within the basement. The ledge, and
combination of the location of the existing structure relative to the
cesspool on the Property, are unique to the Property and not generally
found in the zoning district.
- The literal enforcement of the By-Laws would involve substantial hardship financial or otherwise. The
location of the existing dwelling relative to the cesspool presents
significant difficulties and financial hardship with locating an
addition elsewhere on the Property. As a result, the existing garage
is of limited contributory value to the house lot, in that its
sub-standard size will not accommodate many contemporary vehicles. This
presents substantial hardship as the Petitioners are unable to garage
vehicles or add onto the existing house without moving the septic
system, and/or blasting ledge. The hardships demonstrated are
appropriate for modest dimensional variances (additional 146 SF
incursion into the setback), particularly where a dimensional
nonconformity presently exists, and where there is no proposed change
to the character of the zoning district or introduction of inconsistent
land uses. The requested relief allows for a reasonable use that is
consistent with a single family residential use allowed within the
Residence A Zoning District.
- A Variance may be granted without substantial detriment to the public good. The
project will not create any noise, traffic or result in other similar
negative impacts. The new garage project is consistent with single
family residential use in the Residence A Zoning District. There will
be no adverse effects on the neighborhood and there will be no harm to
the public good.
- A Variance may be granted without nullifying or substantially derogating from the intent or purposes of the By-Law. The
project is designed to conform to the character of the neighborhood,
and is generally consistent with similar well-conceived projects
receiving relief from this Board. The granting of a dimensional
variance will conserve the value of buildings, a stated purpose under
Section I-A, 2 of the By-Laws, in that the underutilized pre-existing
garage will be upgraded to be functional, and support additional
residential living above.
DECISION
Upon a motion made by Joseph M. Fisher and seconded by Joseph W.
Freeman, the Board voted unanimously to GRANT the requested Variance
from § IV-A of the By-Law to construct a two-car garage with living
space above by expanding an existing nonconforming attached two-car
garage and resulting in a 5.1’ side yard setback where 15’ is required
at 50 Garrison Road in Residence District A, subject to the following
conditions:
- The Applicant shall complete the construction in accordance with
the plans submitted with the application and representations made at
the hearing.
This decision shall not take effect until a copy of the decision
bearing the certification of the Town Clerk, that twenty (20) days have
elapsed since the decision has been filed in the office of the Town
Clerk and no appeal has been filed, or that if such appeal has been
filed, that it has been dismissed or denied, is recorded with the
Plymouth Registry of Deeds and/or the Plymouth County Land Court
Registry, and indexed in the grantor index under the name of the record
owner or is recorded and noted on the owner’s certificate of title.
For The Board of Appeals,
_____________________________________
W. Tod McGrath
May 13, 2015
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