Rochester’s Zoning Board of Appeals on April 27 reviewed two proposals that turned single-family houses into multifamily dwellings. The board approved a special permit for construction of an in-law apartment above a garage at 24 Mayflower Lane, but the members weren’t sure about a plan to convert a basement into a dwelling unit at 128 Dexter Lane.
Sharon Grant’s plan at her home on Mayflower Lane is to convert the upper level of her garage into an apartment for her aging parents, who will be selling the home they own on Rounseville Road. The design will include a living room, a kitchen, bedroom and bathroom and a deck and wraparound stairs attached to the northeast corner of the unit.
The board endorsed the plan after acting chairman Richard Cutler noted the plan does not increase the structural floor area but that the house lot is too small to do this by right.
Grant noted she has owned 24 Mayflower Lane since 1999, and her parents are also long-time Rochester residents. This led board member Donald Spirlet to remark before voting his approval that he was glad Grant was doing this. “People living here a long time should be able to do this,” he said.
Carl MacDermott III’s request for a special permit and variances of minimum lot requirements and minimum required frontage so he may convert a basement into an apartment for his son at 128 Dexter Lane did not go as smoothly.
MacDermott said his son, who has visitation rights to his two children after a divorce, needs a place to stay. His son works a lot of on-call hours as a Massachusetts State Police officer with the Homicide Unit, and the house’s septic system has already been designed for four bedrooms, he said.
The board wrestled with one big sticking point. MacDermott has lived at the address only since 2019, less than the seven years of continuous residence required to convert a dwelling to “multifamily.”
The strength of that requirement depends on which chapter of zoning bylaw is referenced in the decision the board makes, Cutler indicated. It’s why he proposed crafting a draft decision and running it by Town Counsel first. The board agreed to continue this hearing until its next meeting on Thursday, May 11.
In other action, the board voted to cease holding hybrid meetings, wherein Zoom attendees are also allowed. This new policy will take effect after May 11 because this meeting has already been posted as hybrid. The board also agreed, however, that a meeting may revert to hybrid when special circumstances warrant it.
Cutler noted the special permit that the board granted to Five O’Clock Farm, a horse stable at 66 Burgess Avenue, has been remanded back to the board for a rehearing as a result of a Land Court complaint. “The petitioners said they did not get the opportunity to discuss the decision,” Cutler explained. “The petitioner disagreed with the conditions.”
That special permit rehearing was scheduled for May 25.
The Zoning Board of Appeals’ next public meeting will be held on Thursday, May 11, starting at 7:15 pm at Town Hall, 1 Constitution Way.
Rochester Zoning Board of Appeals
By Michael J. DeCicco