Terrence and Laura Hartford can now step off their deck and onto their own property after the Marion Zoning Board of Appeals voted to grant them a variance immediately following a June 22 public hearing.

            The Hartfords applied for a variance from Section 230-5.1 of the Marion Zoning Bylaws to allow the conveyance of an abutting parcel at 62 Water Street, also described as Map 16, Lot 135B, to the applicant’s lot (135C) at 70 Water Street to remove a hardship of trespass.

            Tom Ryan, the applicants’ attorney, described “a jagged boundary line,” harkening back to a 1999 Approval Not Required maneuver that “took some land from Lot 135B, giving it to 135C in order to build an extension.”

            The existing deck, Ryan said, was built right to the boundary line. “Every time my clients step off of the deck, they’re technically trespassing,” he noted with some humor. Ryan said this has gone on ever since the 1999 construction without any sort of right-of-way or access agreement. He considered the situation “a major hardship” for the applicants.

            As ZBA member Margie Baldwin would point out, both neighbors are shielded from view of this situation by either the house or trees at a distance and a fence.

            The goal, Ryan said, was to establish a more-natural boundary line between the two lots, one that would run along an existing fence marked on the site plan. The plan would not alter the frontage facing Water Street.

            Robert Braman, a Marion-based land surveyor, said the parcel that the applicant will take from Lot 135B to Lot 135C measures approximately 605 square feet. That loss of land from Lot 135B will leave in excess of 1 acre, the minimum required when that lot saw an addition to the house.

            Ryan said the abutters, whose property is the landing point when the Hartfords step off their deck, actually suggested the proposed plan.

            ZBA member Dana Nilson asked if there is any plan for addition(s) to the house that would require future setback variances. Laura Hartford said there are plans to add a dormer to the back of the house and a kitchen to the front side, neither of which would alter the footprint.

            Marion Building Commissioner Bob Grillo identified the case as “one of the rare circumstances where this variance is making it more conforming. It’s not conforming, but it’s making a bad situation better,” he said.

            Grillo also pointed out that if the ZBA did not grant the requested variance, the applicant could file an application for a special permit based on the fact the deck already sits within inches of the lot line. The deck, as Baldwin also pointed out, had been installed prior to the sale of the abutting lot.

            ZBA Chairperson Cynthia Callow sought clarification from Ryan as to whether easements are an option, to which Ryan confirmed they “always” are. But he said they do not want a situation in the future in which an attorney could challenge an easement created by attorneys in this case. Ryan called a variance “the cleanest possible way” to ensure the future of the proposed arrangement.

            Based on a “lengthy packet” given the ZBA by former Town Counsel Jon Witten, Nilson and Baldwin admitted struggle with the hardship as asserted, a prerequisite of a variance. Nilson quoted Witten’s document disqualifying resale value as a legitimate hardship in a variance application. “I don’t understand the hardship here,” he said.

            Ryan said the hardship is not based on a deterrent to the house’s resale value but on “breaking the law every time they step off the deck.”

            “If the Hatfields and the McCoys get the land, then we’re in trouble, aren’t we,” said Callow.

            ZBA member Will Tifft expressed concern that the abutters’ approval was not documented, but Grillo said the associated ANR plan required the transfer of property, implying the abutter’s approval. Ryan said the abutters had planned to attend the hearing and apologized for their absence.

            Baldwin and Callow called it a “bad division” of property that would be made a little better and less nonconforming.

            With that, the public hearing was closed. Deliberation quickly gave way to a unanimous vote of approval.

            With the resignation of Dr. Ed Hoffer from the ZBA, Dani Engwert became a full, voting member, and on June 22, alternate member Joan Gardner voted on the Hartford public hearing. The ZBA needs a new alternate member.

            In discussion regarding CPTC on-demand training, Callow asked the membership for feedback while noting that Marion can determine the focal point of needed training.

            Callow introduced Assistant Treasurer/Collector Daryl Hope Cook, who filled in for regular board administrator Anne Marie Tobia.

            Without scheduled public hearings, the next meeting of the Marion Zoning Board of Appeals was not set upon adjournment.

Marion Zoning Board of Appeals

By Mick Colageo

            Rochester’s selectmen on June 21 approved a plan to give town employee retirees a one-time 5% Cost of Living Adjustment raise for 2023 that will cost the town budget $25,000 for the next five years.

            Town Treasurer Kory Lyon presented the plan to the board on behalf of the Plymouth County Retirement Board, which has chosen the action as a way to better compensate the town’s retirees for 2023.

            It piggybacks on Governor Charlie Baker’s November 2022 signing of a law that according to a recent Mass Municipal Association report, “adds an important municipal acceptance step for a one-time, above-the-cap increase in public pension cost-of-living adjustments in fiscal 2023.”

            Plymouth County Retirement Association representative Charles Armanetti emphasized that this is a one-year increase approved by the retirement board. He noted the other 10 communities in Plymouth County have all approved this plan. Now it was Rochester’s turn to decide.

            There are 45 retirees from Rochester currently, he said. The $25,000 per year amount will cover the increase by cutting the grand total cost of $125,000 into five pieces.

            Still, the selectmen were reluctant at first to approve the expense. “It is a big hit on our budget,” Town Administrator Glenn Cannon said.

            Select Board Chairman Paul Ciaburri lamented that Finance Committee Chairman Kris Stoltenberg was not in attendance to give his perspective. Select Board member Brad Morse noted that might not have mattered, as Stoltenberg doesn’t know the budget numbers for next year anyway.

            “Ten out of 10 communities have voted in favor,” Armanetti said before the final, unanimous approval vote.  “But it wasn’t easy. There has been resistance. But every other town has found a way.”

            Later in the evening came a surprising announcement, as Cannon revealed that the developer of the Rochester Memorial School solar-energy canopy project has asked the state for an extension of its permit to June 30, 2024.

            Cannon said the problem is in supplies. The developer is having trouble getting shipments of the steel that the project needs. The Planning Board approved the project permit and the Groundwater Protection District permit in May. The canopy-mounted, large-scale, solar photovoltaic system was to be built over 13.7 acres of the rear parking lot of the Rochester Memorial School starting this fall.

            In other business, the Select Board followed a recommendation from Town Planner Nancy Durfee and approved donating $10,000 from SEMASS’s yearly donation to the town to fund the Snipatuit Pond hydrologist study. Durfee explained in a previous meeting that a flow gauge would be installed to determine the area’s waterflow rate and water levels. ARPA monies totaling $20,000 funded the beginning of the project, Durfee said, adding that she needs volunteers to help her monitor this gauge.

            The board also approved beginning a Veterans Work-Off Program, under which military veterans may work a maximum of 125 hours in a year for the town to abate their tax-bill debts.

            The board announced that the Conservation Commission needs a new full member and an associate member after accepting the resignation of Commissioner William Clapp. Interested volunteers should contact Town Hall.

            Under appointments, new Select Board member Adam Murphy was named the panel’s new representative to the Southeastern Regional Planning and Economic Development District (SRPEDD) commission. Halima Tiffany was reappointed to the Registrar of Voters, and Sandra Romero became a new member of the Agricultural Commission.

            The board approved a $250 license fee for the new Farmer Winery Pour License.

            The board approved an amendment to the Town Counsel Access Policy that any member of a board may ask the town administrator to speak to Town Counsel. The policy previously required the entire board or committee to agree to make such a request of legal counsel.

            The board approved closing Town Hall on Monday, July 3.

            The Rochester Select Board called a special meeting for an executive session on Thursday, June 29, at 5:30 pm to discuss personnel and will not convene in public session. The board set its next regular meeting for Monday, July 10, at 6:00 pm at Town Hall, 1 Constitution Way.

Rochester Select Board

By Michael J. DeCicco