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Planning board tables variance request for 19 Cherry Street to August meeting after applicant absence
Summary
A variance request to reduce setbacks at 19 Cherry Street was tabled to the August 11 planning board meeting after the applicant was not present and board members requested the owner attend to explain expansion plans and as‑built details.
The Planning Board on July 14 tabled a variance application for 19 Cherry Street to the August 11 meeting and directed staff to contact the applicant and request the owner’s presence. The applicant, listed as Stefan Grancheroff, requested relief from minimum setbacks in the GC-2 zoning district to bring an existing structure and a proposed east-side expansion into compliance.
Staff described the request as a reduction to a three-foot setback where the GC-2 standard requires five feet at the east side (a relief of two feet) and said the structure’s current rear setback is already approximately three feet. Board members expressed hesitation because the applicant was not present and some details of the proposed expansion — including the purpose of the expansion and who would occupy or operate from the space — were not clarified on the record. One board member said it would be “ideal if the property owner was here.”
Because variances are final decisions of the Planning Board (they do not go to City Commission), members opted to table the item so staff could secure the owner’s attendance; the board set the date certain for the next Planning Board meeting on August 11, 2025, at 4 p.m. The motion to table passed on a recorded vote of 5–0.
Staff noted that the variance application materials indicated an expansion that would relocate or rely on water/sewer connections on the eastern side and that the footprint would remain the same for the existing building, with the application required so the property could proceed with renovation or expansion. The board’s direction asked staff to reach out to the applicant and to include any as-built or survey information and to confirm whether the expansion would cause additional encroachment beyond what is shown in application materials.
The applicant or owner must appear at the August meeting to present and answer questions; the board’s tabled motion specified the meeting date and room and included an instruction that staff attempt to contact the applicant in advance.
