Board continues Meadowbrook Road subdivision and duplex request after members say lot is too small

The Quincy Zoning Board of Appeals continued a special permit and variance request to subdivide 56 Meadowbrook Road and build a duplex on the vacant portion after several board members said the new lot would be too small for a two-family dwelling under current standards.

Attorney Rob Fleming, representing applicant Stephen Goble, said the existing parcel is about 9,600 square feet and that the proposal would split it into two parcels — one of about 4,840 square feet to retain the existing single-family home and a second parcel of roughly 4,760 square feet for a duplex. Fleming said the proposed duplex units would each have two bedrooms, two-and-a-half baths and a one-car garage under each unit, with additional driveway parking.

Fleming said the requested relief is dimensional and procedural: the Residence B zoning district allows multifamily use, but the subdivision and resulting lot sizes require variance or finding that the proposal would not be substantially more detrimental to the neighborhood. He also said the project team will appear before the Conservation Commission for an order of conditions on April 2.

Board members pushed back on subdividing to create a 4,700-square-foot lot. One member said, “I see no reason why we should repeat errors of the past … It's 4,700 square foot lot with a duplex. No possible way would I approve that.” Another member said many of the city’s current lot-size requirements are intended to prevent exactly this pattern of small, nonconforming lots and asked the applicant to consider designs that match modern lot-size standards.

The applicant asked for a continuance to revise plans; the board agreed and moved to continue the matter to April 22 and asked for a set of revised plans to be submitted at least a week before the continued hearing. No permit or finding was approved at this meeting.