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ZBA Approves Split of 222 Commonwealth Avenue to Create Second Single‑Family Lot
Summary
The Zoning Board approved a petition to divide 222 Commonwealth Avenue into two lots and to allow construction of a second single‑family dwelling, with conditions and one requested modification removed from staff recommendations.
Attorney Donald O’Neil represented an applicant seeking to subdivide 222 Commonwealth Avenue into two buildable lots and to allow a new single‑family dwelling on the newly created parcel. The parcel has about 13,500 square feet and 135 feet of frontage.
Planning Division staff described the house on the existing lot as a pre‑existing, nonconforming single‑family dating from about 1890; staff recommended conditions including installation of erosion controls, drywell for runoff behind the new dwelling, and one new tree in the backyard of each lot. The applicant asked the board to remove staff recommendation 1(c) (which requested additional windows on each side elevation); O’Neil said the proposed interior layouts constrain window placement and that alternative fenestration exists on other elevations.
Board members found the request to be de minimis — the proposed lots would each fall short of a 7,000‑square‑foot minimum by about 250 square feet — and agreed the proposal fits the single‑family character of the neighborhood. The ZBA voted to close the hearing and approve variances for Lot 1 and Lot 2 (each for 250 square feet of relief from the 7,000 square foot requirement) with staff recommendations, except for removing recommendation 1(c). The motion passed on a roll‑call vote in favor.
Conditions of approval include erosion control measures, relocation of a shed to the retained lot, and planting requirements; the applicant must submit any small retaining wall details and show driveway regrading on a subsequent plan set if needed.
