Quincy ZBA approves expanded single-family at 183 Norfolk Street with window-design condition

The Quincy Zoning Board of Appeals on June 24 approved a variance for 183 Norfolk Street to allow a larger single-family home, additional parking and a floor‑area‑ratio (FAR) variance, adding a condition that windows on the new addition be fixed and styled to match the existing house.

The board approved the application after the architect described design changes since the last hearing and neighbors submitted letters of support. The project, presented by Bonnie Tan of JCBT Architects, reduces the originally proposed gross living area from an earlier submission and seeks only relief for FAR. Tan said the house would total about 4,124 square feet of living area on an approximately 8,000‑square‑foot lot, and that the FAR variance sought was roughly 0.11 (about 800 square feet of relief). The proposal increases on‑site parking to four spaces, up from two.

Board members discussed exterior treatments, particularly window style. Several board members said they preferred windows on the addition to match the existing house and recorded an explicit condition at the vote. ‘‘If, in fact, we put it in the record that you’ll fix the windows,’’ one member said during deliberations; the applicant agreed. Architect Tan described the interior layout changes, including leaving an existing kitchen area as a wet bar and maintaining the same number of bedrooms (five) and bathrooms (four full, one half).

No members of the public spoke in opposition at the hearing; the applicant said nine letters of support had been entered into the record at the earlier meeting. The board moved to approve the variance with the condition that the addition’s windows be fixed and dressed to mimic the existing home’s appearance, and the motion carried.

The decision allows the owner to proceed with the addition subject to the design condition recorded at the hearing; other permits and inspections will still be required by inspectional services.