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ZBA Orders Continued Hearing on 80 Prudential Avenue After Strong Neighbor Opposition; Applicant Asked for Detailed Plan
Summary
The ZBA continued a petition to split 80 Prudential Avenue after extensive neighbor testimony opposing a new home on the parcel; the board asked the applicant to provide a site plan showing the proposed house footprint and driveway details before the Oct. 6 meeting.
Attorney Patrick Flynn presented a request to divide 80 Prudential Avenue and create a new southern lot of about 6,400 square feet that would need roughly 600 square feet of relief from a 7,000‑square‑foot minimum.
Planning Division staff indicated that granting a variance would create a developable lot but recommended the applicant show the proposed building location, driveway, walkways, landscape and site improvements and preserve existing mature trees where possible. Staff noted that the applicant will also need to record an Approval Not Required (ANR) or similar documentation through the Planning Board to split a lot without adequate frontage.
More than a dozen neighbors testified in opposition, arguing the lot is too small for an additional house, that the proposed subdivision would change the character and create parking and plowing burdens, and that the existing house and lot need maintenance. Several neighbors urged the board to deny the variance or to require alternatives. Objectors said an adjacent landowner had expressed interest in buying the lot instead of developing it.
Board members said they were uncomfortable approving a split without a complete site plan demonstrating how a new dwelling would fit, how setbacks would be met, and how parking and driveway access would be handled. One member asked for a continuance so the applicant could supply a full depiction of the proposed house and site improvements; the board unanimously voted to continue the matter to the Oct. 6 meeting and encouraged neighbors to review revised materials through the Planning Division ahead of that hearing.
