Manchester zoning board approves most variances; chicken permit denied, Golden Nails sign tabled

The Manchester Zoning Board of Adjustment on Oct. 9 granted variances for a series of residential and commercial projects, denied a request to keep domestic chickens on a small city lot and tabled a proposal for an illuminated sign at a neighborhood storefront, the board said at the hearing in City Hall chambers.

The board approved variances that will allow projects ranging from modest deck and shed installations to a three-family infill on Spruce Street and a McDonald’s redevelopment that reduces paved area and adds stormwater infiltration, board members said. At the same meeting the board refused a variance to allow six backyard hens on a 5,000-square-foot lot and asked the applicant for Golden Nails and Spa to return with a non-illuminated sign option, tabling that application until Nov. 13.

The meeting matters because the decisions affect neighborhood character, parking and small-business visibility across Manchester — from street-front signage to accessory structures, driveways and multifamily conversions that add rental units.

Joe Wickert, the surveyor representing Tyler and Stephanie Costa, said the three-family proposal for 474 Spruce Street will “fit in with the neighbourhood well” by matching the footprint of a prior building while adding off-street parking. The ZBA granted multiple variances for that project, with the condition that only the four westerly parking spaces be paved and the fifth remain pervious.

Homeowners who sought relief for fences, sheds, propane tanks, attached garages, accessory dwelling units and rear porches also largely received approvals. Applicants said many of the structures were preexisting or intended to restore a previously built condition after fires or demolition. For example, Corey Wright, owner at 189 Ray Street, told the board, “I’m hoping to make that right with the city and get the necessary paperwork,” and the board granted variances to legalize an existing small addition and deck.

Not all requests succeeded. The board denied a request from the owners of 110 Flint Street to keep domestic chickens on a lot that does not meet the ordinance’s acreage threshold. The board split the Flint Street request: it granted a variance to keep an…