ZBA approves conversion of 37 Byrd Street to two-family despite parking shortfall

The Lynn City Zoning Board of Appeals on Jan. 7 granted a petition from Ivan Lopez to convert a single-family dwelling at 37 Byrd Street (parcel 096-471-010) into a two-family property in the R1 single-family district.

Lopez told the board he purchased the house from an owner who faced medical challenges and that the structure originally dated to the early 1900s and likely was once a two-family. "I have been a resident of Lynn for the last 8 years," Lopez said as he described his ownership history and the proposed conversion.

The board heard that the property is undersized for a two-family under the zoning code: a two-family typically requires 12,000 square feet and 75 feet of frontage in the district, while the subject property has roughly 4,500 square feet and about 50 feet of frontage. The conversion also raises parking concerns; the house currently provides roughly 1 to 1.5 parking spaces, short of the 1.5 spaces per unit required for two-family dwellings.

Contractors on the project described retaining walls and driveway repairs done to improve access and to meet safety and egress needs; the work used existing footings with replaced cinderblock walls, improved drainage and a slightly widened driveway that the applicant said now accommodates a modern vehicle. Board members questioned whether the building footprint would change; the applicant and contractor said interior reconfiguration rather than expansion would create the second unit and that existing front and rear egresses meet safety requirements.

After questions from board members and no recorded public opposition, the board voted to grant the variance under M.G.L. c.40A, Section 6 (preexisting nonconforming structures may be altered if not substantially more detrimental), finding the proposed conversion not substantially more detrimental than the existing use.