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Kingston ZBA grants four variances to allow second‑story addition on Eleventh Circuit Drive cottage
Summary
The board granted four variances for a second‑floor addition at a small shoreline lot on Eleventh Circuit Drive: side setback, aquifer protection nonconforming expansion, shoreland 50‑foot setback and shoreland nonconforming use. The applicant was reminded of the 30‑day appeal period and two‑year start requirement for the variances.
The Kingston Zoning Board of Adjustment voted to grant four variances to allow a second‑story addition on a small, nonconforming shoreline lot on Eleventh Circuit Drive.
The applicant, represented by contractor Rob Gingras, said the project will not expand the building footprint but will add an upstairs master bedroom, bathroom and a small sitting room. The ZBA granted variances for the rural residential side setback (existing closest side distance cited as about 10 feet where 20 feet is required), for the aquifer‑protection ordinance provision on nonconforming uses, for the 50‑foot shoreland setback (the structure was cited as about 36 feet from the water) and for the shoreland nonconforming‑use rule that otherwise forbids expansion of nonconforming structures.
A neighbor, Casey Macklin Legasse of 15 Circuit Drive, spoke in favor, saying she shared the longest property line with the applicant and had no objection. Board members said their findings turned on several factors the applicant documented: no outward expansion of the footprint, the structure’s placement on a narrow, sloping lot, and the applicant’s representation that the project will not increase septic or shoreline impacts. The board conditioned no special additional requirements beyond normal building‑department review; the building inspector and the land‑use administrator will confirm septic/occupancy requirements as part of permit review.
All four variances passed by voice vote. The chair reminded the applicant that the ZBA’s decisions are appealable for 30 days and that the granted variances expire if construction is not begun in good faith within two years.
