Quincy ZBA approves variance for 18 Bayswater Road but requires impervious asphalt be replaced with permeable pavers

Quincy’s Zoning Board of Appeals on Sept. 23 approved a variance for paving at 18 Bayswater Road on the condition that the property’s newly laid impervious asphalt be completely removed and replaced with permeable pavers.

The decision followed testimony from Kimberly Rodriguez, who said she was representing the property’s beneficial owner, Ronan Jordi. Rodriguez told the board she had inspected the site after a previous hearing and concluded the material installed was not pervious asphalt and that remediation options would be required. "It is not pervious asphalt," Rodriguez said under oath, and she described options discussed with an engineer including removing three feet around the property line to improve surface absorption.

The board's concern centered on runoff and front-yard coverage. Rodriguez presented calculations showing that the newly paved corner would represent about 7.9% of the lot (5,542 square feet), and that counting both paved areas would represent about 17% of the parcel; she also told the board that a town official had identified the parcel’s front yard and that a regulation limited allowed coverage to a threshold "not more than 20" as she understood it. Councilor Dave McCarthy, Ward 1, urged caution because the Bayswater area "has water issues," saying pervious surfaces are helpful in that low area.

Tenants George Holland and Anne Ursom Holland, who identified themselves as retired military and current occupants, asked the board to consider delaying removal of the asphalt until after winter because ripping up the surface would be disruptive to their household and activities at a nearby city facility. "We would request, if at all possible, that you all get some consideration to that since we're already living in the house," George Holland said.

Board members pressing for environmental safeguards and neighborhood circulation said the impervious material should be replaced with pavers to reduce runoff and to keep cars off narrow streets. One board member called for the asphalt to be "ripped out" and replaced with pavers; another noted replacement could be completed in a matter of days. The board moved to allow the variance with the proviso that the currently installed asphalt be replaced completely with permeable pavers; the motion passed on an affirmative voice vote.

The action requires the property owner to replace the existing pavement with permeable pavers; the board did not specify an exact compliance deadline during the hearing nor a specific enforcement procedure beyond the condition attached to the variance. The board also noted that complaints about quiet enjoyment or other landlord-tenant disputes are separate matters for the parties to pursue outside the zoning process.