Board grants sidewalk variance for lot split; applicant sought waiver of fee-in-lieu

The board granted a variance that relieves a property owner from the city’s sidewalk requirement tied to a recent lot split, after members debated whether the situation met the subdivision trigger and whether a fee-in-lieu could be required.

The applicant, identified as Chuck, told the board he plans to build a small house for his granddaughter on a lot he said he subdivided from a larger parcel. Chuck said there are no sidewalks along the stretch of North Culver House (transcript also records the street name as “North Cobra House” and “North Cobour House”) for roughly three miles, and that installing a sidewalk would require removing a row of trees and would be ‘‘a…