 |
Meeting Minutes from the Zoning Board of Appeals
October 30, 2008
Meeting convened at 7:30 pm in the Lower Level Conference Room. Present: John Kimball, Chair, Steve Daigle, Joel Freedman, Anna Hardman, Jeff Macklin, Win Quayle, Margaret Olson and Megan Stride, and Dorothy Blakeley, ZBA Clerk.
Continuance:
Eleanor Hardigg and James Pope, 61 Beaver Pond Road, M/P 85 12 0, are seeking permission to reconstruct a single family home. Mr. Pope appeared with his architect, Stephen Hart, of Hart Associates, Belmont, Mass. and Mr. Hart’s colleague, Sarah White. As requested by the Board in the last ZBA meeting, a report of existing conditions was prepared and submitted in advance of this meeting. Mr. Hart summarized the highlights of the report as follows:
• Existing house built in 1952 at below existing grade
• Ceilings are less than 7 feet; they are 6.4 feet
• Single glazed metal windows
• Substandard installation of roof
• Property is dense with trees and the building is wet
• Hardwood floors cupping, rotten trim
• Mold
In summary, there are fundamental problems with the existing home. Since our last meeting on September 25, 2008, they have reduced the house size by 3 ft. 6 in. within the east west axis. Regarding the right side yardrear setbacks, the existing rear setback is 43.10 and the proposed is 44.9. The proposed house breaks down as follows: the central portion of the basement is 1,406 s.f., the 1st floor has five rooms and 2,880 s.f. and the 2nd floor has 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms and 1,813 s.f. The height of the new home is 29.11 feet but only the master bedroom is 2 stories with the balance of the second floor being 1 ½ story with dormers. There will be a 2 car garage with a height of 23.9 feet as well as a setback of 23.9 feet. The Board and the applicants discussed the elevations which were
submitted per the Board’s request, to show the existing versus the proposed house in an overlay format. The architect also did research on 20 of the existing homes in this neighborhood and distributed to the Board a breakdown of these homes complete with square footage and gross square footage as well as the height of each structure. It was noted that the proposed home would be 7th out of 20 in square footage. The Board, Mr. Pope and Mr. Hart then discussed the trees and screening around the proposed structure. Mr. Richard Mandlekorn, 65 Beaver Pond Road, stated that although the applicants are great neighbors, he has grave concerns with the proposed massing and the largest façade would be facing his property making his view a large amount of clapboard. Mr. Mandlekorn added that whatever planting that would be done would not have an effect for a number of years. The Board inquired if a planting plan had yet been submitted to the
Planning Board. The landscape architect is working on this plan and it was noted that this planting plan would be helpful for the Board to render a decision as screening is an important factor.
Action: This matter is continued until Nov. 13, 2008. Panel includes: John Kimball, Chair, Steve Daigle, Anna Hardman, Jeff Macklin and Win Quayle. Anna Hardman is the Decision Writer.
New Matters:
Cayley Torgeson, 29 Lincoln Road, M/P 64 8 0, for permission to replace existing garage. Mr. Torgeson represented himself. Mr. Torgeson owns a home in the Historic District and also needs approval from the Conservation Commission due to wetlands issues. The current garage is not in good condition with rotting sills and there are not a lot of options for placing a new structure due to the tight configuration of this non-conforming lot and wetlands. It was noted that the applicant lives next door to the old Town Hall and his initial application to the Historic Commission was for a garage 21 x 36 feet and 21 feet high, with an additionalapproximate square footage of 320 s.f. The Historic Commission apparently felt the proposed structure was too tall and too imposing for the site and asked Mr. Torgeson to review the
style and massing of the proposed garage and come back before them with a revised plan. The Board and the applicant discussed the height, massing and storage of the proposed garage. Members of the public, including Richard McQuaid, 26 Lincoln Road, Laura Olson & Julian Banerji, 37 Lincoln Road, and Rainer Frost, 38 Lincoln Road, all came to support Mr. Torgeson in his efforts to replace the existing garage. The Board and the applicant discussed the height, massing and storage area of the proposed garage. The Board indicated its belief that the proposed garage was too high for the site. The Board and the applicant decided to continue this matter until our December meeting giving Mr. Torgeson time to prepare a revised plan.
Action: This matter continued until December 11, 2008 meeting. Panel includes: John Kimball, Chair, Joel Freedman, Anna Hardman, Jeff Macklin, and Win Quayle. John Kimball is the Decision Writer.
Countryside Bldg. & Dev. Corp. 173 Tower Road, M/P 119 20 0, for permission to reconstruct a single family home and garage. Ken Eisner, owner of Countryside Bldg. and Dev. Corp. recently bought this property and represented himself. Mr. Eisner stated that the existing home which is located at the corner of Rt. 117 and Tower Road was built in the 1930’s and is 1 ½ stories, one bedroom, and one bath home built within the conservation buffer zone. The basement regularly has ground water and the pump runs for months at a time. Mr. Eisner noted that the property was on the market for 2 years before the price was reduced to the land value and he then purchased the property which is a one acre non-conforming lot. The proposed structure would be compliant with the wetlands regulations and would be a
relatively modest home, 1 ½ stories, 3 bedrooms, 2 ½ bathrooms and 2,800 s.f. Mr. Eisner noted that this would be the smallest new house built in Lincoln in the last 10 years and that this proposed project has already received approval from the following boards: Historic, Planning, Conservation, and Board of Health. The Planning Board requested only 2 more trees to be added to this plan presented tonight. The Board and Mr. Eisner discussed the issue of reconstruction and whether some use of the existing structure may be used or if the existing structure is unreconstructable. It was noted that the Board requires some sort of structural engineering report that deems the existing structure not reconstructable or using some portion of the existing house as part of the new home. It was also noted that the report may contain photographs, which are helpful for the Board to render a decision. Members of the public, Barbara Peskin, 299
South Great Road, and Pat Kagle, 171 Tower Road, expressed it was their hope that this land could be kept as rural as possible in keeping with the character of Lincoln.
Action: This matter is continued until our November 13, 2008 meeting. Panel includes: John Kimball, Chair, Anna Hardman, Joel Freedman, Jeff Macklin, and Win Quayle. Jeff Macklin is the Decision Writer.
Christopher Kalisch, 158 Bedford Road, M/P 17 18 0, for permission to add modest additions to an existing single family home. Mr. Kalisch represented himself and noted he has one of the smallest homes in Lincoln, currently, one bedroom and one bathroom and he is seeking to add one more bedroom, one bathroom and a porch to his house. This addition would bring him 8 feet closer to the road, but would not intrude into the required setbacks; the new front setback would be 54 feet. There would be no foundation changes other the deck support which would be pre-cast concrete footings. The height of the home would go from 16.6 to 26.5 feet.
Action: Motion to approve this application approved unanimously. Panel includes: John Kimball, Chair, Steve Daigle, Joel Freedman, Anna Hardman and Jeff Macklin. Steve Daigle is the Decision Writer.
Administrative:
Meeting minutes from the September 25, 2008 ZBA meeting were approved.
| |
