The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink About32-18 7A Hussey Farm Road Approvalr U9. Q,-' '9pORAt�� TOWN OF NANTUCKET BOARD OF APPEALS NANTUCKET, MASSACHUSETTS 02554 61 1 `ss Date: December 5, 2018 To: Parties in Interest and Others concerned with the Decision of The BOARD OF APPEALS in the Application of the following: Application No.: 32-18 Owner/Applicant: JONATHAN G. KLATT AND SANDRA L. KLATT Property Description: 7A Hussey Farm Road Map 56, Parcel 94.3 Enclosed is the Decision of the BOARD OF APPEALS which has this day been filed with the office of the Nantucket Town Clerk. An Appeal from this Decision may be taken pursuant to Section 17 of Chapter 40A, Massachusetts General Laws. Any action appealing the Decision must be brought by filing a complaint in Nantucket Superior Court or Land Court within TWENTY (20) days after this day's date. Notice of the action with a copy of the complaint and certified copy of the Decision must be given to the Town Clerk so as to be received within such TWENTY (20) days. Eleanor W. tonietti, Zoning Administrator cc: Town Clerk Planning Board Building Commissioner/Zoning Enforcement Officer PLEASE NOTE: MOST SPECIAL PERMITS AND VARIANCES HAVE A TIME LIMIT AND WILL EXPIRE IF NOT ACTED UPON ACCORDING TO NANTUCKET ZONING BY-LAW SECTION 139-30 (SPECIAL PERMITS); SECTION 139-32 (VARIANCES). ANY QUESTIONS, PLEASE CALL THE NANTUCKET ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS OFFICE AT 508-325-7587. NANTUCKET ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS 2 Fairgrounds Road Nantucket, Massachusetts 02554 Assessor's Map 56, Parcel 94.3 Deed at Book 1536, Page 34 7A Hussey Farm Road Plan No. 2016-14 Residential 20 (R-20) Lot 1-B DECISION: 1. At a public hearing of the Nantucket Zoning Board of Appeals (the "Board") opened on Thursday, September 6, 2018 and closed on Thursday, October 11, 2018, in the Conference Room, at 4 Fairgrounds Road, Nantucket, Massachusetts, the Board made the following Decision on the application of JONATHAN G. KLATT AND SANDRA L. KLATT (the "Applicant"), c/o Cohen & Cohen Law PC, 34 Main Street, 2nd Floor, P.O. Box 786, Nantucket, MA 02554, in File No. 32-18. 2. The Applicants seek Special Permit relief pursuant to Zoning Bylaw Section 139-16.C.2 to validate an unintentional frontyard setback intrusion of less than five (5) feet. Specifically, the stairs are as close are 28.3 feet from the front yard lot line where a thirty (30) foot setback is required. In the alternative, the Applicant seeks Variance relief pursuant to Section 139-32 for a waiver from the definition of structure in Section 139-2 that allows for stairs providing access to a structure to be within the setback but only if there are not more than two steps in total (as opposed to two steps within the setback) and they are not more than ten (10) feet in length and two (2) feet in depth. The Locus, an undersized lot created under the Nantucket Housing Needs Covenant program, is situated at 7A Hussey Farm Road, is shown on Tax Assessor's Map 56 as Parcel 94.3, as Lot 1-B on Plan No. 2016-14. Evidence of owners' title is recorded in Book 1536, Page 34 on file at the Nantucket Registry of Deeds. The site is zoned Residential Twenty (R- 20). 3. Our decision is based upon the application and accompanying materials, representations, and testimony received at the public hearing. There was no Planning Board recommendation, on the basis that no matters of planning concern were presented. No opposition, written or oral, was presented at the hearings. 4. The property is shown on a plan entitled, "ZBA Sketch Plan in Nantucket, Ma., Prepared for Jonathan G. Klatt & Sandra L. Klatt", dated August 13, 2018, prepared by Bracken Engineering, Inc., attached herewith as "Exhibit A". As shown thereon, the property is undersized with a lot area of 8,210 square feet in the R-20 zoning district where 20,000 sq. ft. is minimum lot size required. Locus, created as a Secondary Lot subdivision under the Nantucket Housing Needs Covenant program, is improved with an 834 sq. ft. single-family dwelling moved onto the lot pursuant to a valid building permit. Although the front wall of the house is sited 35.6 feet from the front yard lot line, in excess of the thirty (30) feet front yard setback 2 requirement, topography, building code, and the siting of the move -on structure has resulted in a front yard setback intrusion of 1.7 feet. Specifically, the front access of the house requires a three (3) foot landing and four stairs that measure roughly 7.3 feet in length to reach the ground, resulting in a front yard setback distance of 28.3 feet. 5. The Applicant sought a Special Permit pursuant to Zoning By-law Section 139-16.C.2 of the Nantucket Zoning By-law to validate an unintentional setback intrusion not greater than five feet into a required yard and not closer than four feet from a lot line, where the burden of correcting the intrusion substantially outweighs any benefit to an abutter of eliminating the intrusion and where the siting of the structure was reasonably based upon a licensed survey. In the alternative, the Applicant sought a Variance pursuant to Section 139-32 for a waiver from the definition of Structure in Section 139-2.A which was amended by virtue of passage of Article 18 at the 2017 Annual Town Meeting. The amended definition of Structure, in relevant part, reads: Anything constructed or erected, the use of which requires a fixed location on the ground. "Structure" shall be construed, where the context allows, as though followed by the words "or part thereof' and shall include, but not be limited to, buildings, retaining walls which support buildings, platforms, more than two steps providing access to a structure that in total are more than 10 feet in length and two feet in depth in all districts except for R-40, LUG -1, L UG -2, L UG -3, and MMD, [... ]. Therefore, Applicant requests a waiver from the requirement that allows for stairs providing access to a structure to be within the setback but (as currently interpreted by the Zoning Enforcement Officer) only if there are not more than two steps in total (as opposed to two steps within the setback) and they are not more than ten (10) feet in length and two (2) feet in depth. 6. Applicant, through counsel, presented testimony at the public hearings. At the initial public hearing on September 6, 2018, Attorney Steven Cohen explained that the owners bought a vacant portion of former 3 Manchester Circle and moved a house from Eat Fire Spring Rd. to the Locus. The slope of the lot required a landing with stairs and a retaining wall. The inadvertent 1.7 foot encroachment caused by the siting of the landing and stairs was apparently discovered too late in the construction process, but it was thought to be cured with the above -referenced By- law amendment. Cohen maintained that the likely intent of the By-law amendment was a limitation to no more than two steps within the setback. However, the By-law simply reads that you cannot have more than two steps. The Zoning Enforcement Officer has applied a literal reading of this provision and considers the landing and steps to be part of the structure, thus creating a nonconformity because there are more than two stairs. 7. At the continued public hearing on October 11, 2018, Applicant provided correspondence from Steven Sullivan, a professional licensed surveyor, explaining that he had assisted Applicant with setting and staking for excavation, placement of footings, and foundation location which was calculated to be thirty-six (36) feet off and parallel to the sideline of Hussey Farm Road. Additional surveying done by Mr. Sullivan to locate the corner boards shows that the house was built where it had been staked. 3 8. Applicant demonstrated that the cause for the steps intruding into the front yard setback, even with the house set back to allow for a set of stairs, was due to the shape and topography of the lot and the unusual design of the moved -on structure (a single story structure set on an extra high foundation), circumstances which affect such land and structures but do not generally affect the zoning district in which it is located. Essentially, the steepness of the front yard and the height of the foundation require either substantial grade alterations and retainage, or extra stairs to account for the height and distance. Applicant asserted that, in this case, a literal enforcement of the provisions of this chapter would involve substantial hardship, financial or otherwise, to the applicant, and noted that the desirable relief may be granted without substantial detriment to the public good and without nullifying or substantially derogating from the intent or purpose of such By-law. 9. A denial of the requested relief would require a shortening of the foundation, a relocation of the house, or a massive regrading of the front -yard, with substantial retainage, all of which would be extremely expensive, with no fundamental benefit to the neighborhood. Therefore, based upon the foregoing, the Board finds that due to the topography of the lot and shape of structure, a denial of the requested variance relief would result in substantial hardship, financial and otherwise, and that the desirable relief may be granted without substantial detriment to the public good or the neighborhood and can be granted without nullifying or substantially derogating from the intent or purpose of such bylaw. 10. Accordingly, by a UNANIMOUS vote, the Board GRANTS the requested relief by VARIANCE to validate the siting of the dwelling and stairs, the latter deemed to be non - structures pursuant to the definition of Structure in Section 139-2, such that they are exempt from the front yard setback requirement, on the condition that there is no further intrusion into the setback without relief from the Board. 4 Assessor's Map 56, Parcel 94.3 7A Hussey Farm Road Residential 20 (R-20) Dated: October 11, 2018 Nantucket, ss. Deed at Book 1536, Page 34 Plan No. 2016-14 Lot 1-B COMMONWEALTH OF Lisa Botticelli erim Koseatac Michael J. O'Mara On the 2,1 day of 4, 2018, before me, the undersigned notary public, personally appeared Me &n6t-_- , one of the above-named members of the Zoning Board of Appeals of NantulYket, Massachusetts, personally known to me to be the person whose name is signed on the preceding document, and acknowledged that they signed the foregoing instrument as their free act and deed and voluntarily for the purposes therein expressed. 'X W441 Official Signature and Seal of Notary Public My commission expires: Q, LESLIE WOODSON SNELL Notary Public coluMolwlEnLTr+ of Mnssnn^F+usErrs Ulf My Commission Expires September 2e 2025 W N �V e _ S 0J1000, PVC VENT f7 HUSSEY FARM ROAD MAP 56 PAWL 14.4/ fAN�r�, 6�t a� N 052025" W X0`1 ALAN M EXISTING LOT AREA: 20,000 s.f. GRADY No. 37732 v FRONTAGE: MAP 56 75.00' FRONT YARD: 30' PARCEL 94.3 SIDE YARD: 10' 10.7'± 8,21 0± s. f. 10' 24.0'± GROUND COVER: 12.5% (MAX) 10.2% Y IN NANTUCKET, MA 70. 7 A.C. UNIT A.C. UNIT CEO CEO 3 \ #7A EXISTING Q DWELLING 834 S.F.f "EXHIBIT A" ZONE: R-20 N 052025" W REQUIRED EXISTING LOT AREA: 20,000 s.f. 8,210± s.f. FRONTAGE: 75' 75.00' FRONT YARD: 30' 28.3'± SIDE YARD: 10' 10.7'± REAR YARD: 10' 24.0'± GROUND COVER: 12.5% (MAX) 10.2% Oji O COVER 6� UNDERGROUND PROPANE TANK o O PLAN SCALE 0 4 8 12 16 20 30 40 1 inch = 20 feet #J MANCHESTER CIRCLE MAP 56 PARCEL 94 75.00' N 052025" W 6. NANTUCKET HOUSING COVENANT: Bk:1536 Pg:10 coNC \ AIN 7. LOCUS DOES NOT FALL WITHIN P, NOTES: SPECIAL FLOOD HAZARD ZONE — AS SHOWN ON FEMA FLOOD HUSSEY FARM ROAD INSURANCE RATE MAP No. WW W.W. 06/09/2014. 71.21 1. OWNER: JONATHAN G. KLATT s Y IN NANTUCKET, MA M & SANDRA L. KLATT ►- JONATHAN G. KLATT & m JENGINEERING,o 49 HERRING POND ROAD 19 OLD SOUTH ROAD SANDRA L. KLATT 2. DEED REF: Bk:1536 Pg:34 BUZZARDS BAY, MA 02532 NANTUCKET, MA 02554 #7A HUSSEY FARM ROAD Q 3. EASEMENT REF: Bk:1555 Pg:206 (tel) 508-833-0070 (tel) 508-325-0044 fax 508-833-2282 www.brackeneng.com (fax) g PARKING NQ 0 r� r 4. PLAN REF: No:2016-14 (LOT W 1—B) H- _ 5. SPECIAL PERMIT: Bk:1523 Pg: 276 75.00' N 052025" W 6. NANTUCKET HOUSING COVENANT: Bk:1536 Pg:10 coNC \ AIN 7. LOCUS DOES NOT FALL WITHIN P, APRON SPECIAL FLOOD HAZARD ZONE — AS SHOWN ON FEMA FLOOD HUSSEY FARM ROAD INSURANCE RATE MAP No. 25019C -0088—G dated (PRI VA TE) 06/09/2014. AR ZBA SKETCH PLAN s Y IN NANTUCKET, MA M / ►- JONATHAN G. KLATT & m JENGINEERING,o 49 HERRING POND ROAD 19 OLD SOUTH ROAD SANDRA L. KLATT Cn BUZZARDS BAY, MA 02532 NANTUCKET, MA 02554 #7A HUSSEY FARM ROAD Q m (tel) 508-833-0070 (tel) 508-325-0044 fax 508-833-2282 www.brackeneng.com (fax) g MAP 56 PARCEL 94.3 o 0 5:\Autocad Drawings\Nantucket\Hussey Form Road\7A Hussey Form Rood\7A Hussey Farm Road 26A Plan 2018.dwg