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Yarmouth Board of Health denies variance request to reclassify addition as bedroom in Zone 2 aquifer protection area
Summary
The board voted not to grant a variance to treat an addition at 18 Buchanan as a bedroom despite a newly installed three-bedroom septic. The decision followed debate about Title 5 definitions, aquifer-protection Zone 2 rules and precedent for future requests.
The Yarmouth Board of Health on March 17 declined a homeowner's request to classify an addition at 18 Buchanan as a third bedroom and to grant a variance that would allow the house to be treated as a three-bedroom dwelling in a Zone 2 aquifer-protection area.
Barry introduced the variance request, explaining the property had been built as a two-bedroom and that a 1982 addition had later created a space the owner now considers a bedroom. Owner Michelle Mangado told the board she purchased the property nearly two years ago, had the old cesspool replaced with a new septic sized for three bedrooms and sought the variance to allow the house to be marketed as a three-bedroom. "I put a whole new [septic]... 3 bedroom system will do a good job. He just installed it," Mangado said in testimony.
Board discussion centered on the town's aquifer-protection policy that generally does not allow additional bedrooms in Zone 2 and on how Title 5 (310 CMR 15) calculates bedroom counts. Several board members noted that other nearby houses historically built as three bedrooms remain grandfathered; the board expressed concern about setting a precedent that would encourage additional bedrooms in the aquifer-protection area.
A motion to grant the variance was made and seconded; the board then voted and the motion did not pass, so the property remains classified as a two-bedroom under local interpretation. The vote was conducted by voice/hand; the transcript records the motion, a second and a call for those in favor, and the chair later stated the variance was not granted.
Board members also discussed the practical consequences: Mangado said she had invested to install the new system partly to avoid environmental risks from the old cesspool. Several board members praised that investment yet said the board's duty to protect the aquifer and avoid ad hoc exceptions outweighed individual circumstances.
Ending: The board recommended the owner may recoup the septic investment on resale, and noted property owners should consult the town's long-range sewer plans and zoning when planning changes in Zone 2.
