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ZBA approves special exception for two rooming houses at 11 and 15 Pierce Street, limits occupancy to eight per unit
Summary
The Concord Zoning Board of Adjustment granted a special exception to allow two rooming houses at 11 and 15 Pierce Street, approving separate rooming-house status for each address and capping occupancy at eight people per unit. The decision passed 4–1.
The Concord Zoning Board of Adjustment voted 4–1 to grant a special exception permitting a rooming house at 11 Pierce Street and a rooming house at 15 Pierce Street, each limited to eight occupants.
Board members debated whether the attached dwelling should be treated as one structure or two separate homes for zoning purposes. The board decided to treat the addresses as two separate rooming houses, noting each unit has a separate street address and separate living configurations. The board also noted that, as presented, no physical changes to the properties were proposed.
The board considered calls for information from the police and fire departments during an earlier continuance. Members who reviewed fire-department records said roughly half of the recorded calls had involved alarm-system malfunctions, and none of the recorded calls they examined were clearly related to overdoses or drug incidents. Board members said they had requested police data but did not receive a police report in time for the meeting.
Board discussion focused on whether the use would overburden municipal services and on whether the structure meets the zoning definition of a single “house” versus two attached homes. One member observed that if the structure were treated as a single rooming house, the proposal would exceed the 10-person limit allowed by the rooming-house supplemental standards; treating the structure as two separate rooming houses allowed the board to consider the exception without granting a numerical variance for a single house.
The motion approved the special exceptions on the basis that the board found the applicant met the special-exception criteria in the application record. The motion language specified separate approvals for 11 Pierce Street and 15 Pierce Street and included the occupancy limit of eight persons per address. The vote was 4 in favor, 1 opposed (Monahan).
The board chair noted that if the city ultimately reached a different legal interpretation of how the addresses should be treated, that would be a matter for later administrative or legal review; the board said its decision was based on the record it had before it.
The applicant was represented in the hearing and was told how the board’s decision would be recorded and enforced.
Looking ahead, the board noted that any future change in use or increase in occupancy beyond the approved limits would require a return to the board or a different application process.
