The March 17 meeting of the Mattapoisett Zoning Board of Appeals was short and sweet with just one case scheduled, and short and sweet is just what the property owners Michael Esposito and Cynthia Redel, 18 Ned’s Point Road, needed after a devasting fire consumed their large, seaside home on April 6, 2021. That property was the former location of the much-loved Silver Gull Inn, which had served as a summer retreat and dining venue for decades before being converted into a 9,000-square-foot private residence.
Represented by architect Will Saltonstall of Marion, the couple sought a Special Permit to develop an adjacent lot that would feature an upside-down floorplan.
Saltonstall said that the lot size was 12,000 square feet with 81 feet of frontage in the R30 zone. He said the original plan was to build a detached garage, for which they had previously received building permission, but now wished to develop the site with a structure that would feature a first-floor, three-stall garage and single-bay workshop with a one-bedroom residence on the second floor.
The floor plan Saltonstall pointed to also showed a Cape Cottage aesthetic in keeping with the neighborhood and that the lot when first created in 1960 would not meet current setbacks but should be grandfathered and a Special Permit granted.
The ZBA members were well pleased with the project with one member, Colby Rottler, inviting the couple to his home so he might show them the lift system he installed in his home, which is on stilts.
Another member called it a “nice project.”
The vote unanimously approved the Special Permit.
The next meeting of the Mattapoisett Zoning Board of Appeals was not scheduled upon adjournment.
Mattapoisett Zoning Board of Appeals
By Marilou Newell