Zoning board approves setback variance for Route 17 lot to allow 32x32 cabin, with septic/well conditions

The Rangeley Zoning Board of Appeals voted July 30 to grant a setback variance allowing an applicant to build a 32-by-32 cabin and associated deck on a legally nonconforming lot off Route 17, reducing the required high-water setback from 100 feet to 78 feet for the deck. Board members found the lot's small size and nonconforming status constituted unique circumstances and that the variance would not alter the essential character of the neighborhood. "When they went to lay this out, if you do the 25 foot setback, the 20 foot setback on the sides, literally, it gave him about 15 feet of building space," said a staff member describing the parcel constraints; the applicant is seeking enough space for a four-bedroom cabin. The board heard that the septic system had been designed to remain within the 100-foot shoreline setback and that the well location complies with the 100-foot separation from the septic field. Members agreed the request was not the result of action by the applicant and that other nearby lots are similarly constrained; they approved findings A through E under the town's variance criteria. The board made a formal motion to grant the variance for the shoreland area after reviewing erosion-control, shoreline vegetation, public access and floodplain considerations; members noted the property is not in a designated deer yard or archaeological site. The motion to grant the variance carried by voice vote; staff were instructed to finalize paperwork and monitor construction-phase erosion controls and other safeguards.