Unpermitted retaining wall stalls occupancy; Charlton Zoning Board continues hearing for Jennings Road property

Rip LeBlanc, appearing for property owners at Jennings Road, asked the Charlton Zoning Board of Appeals for relief from a five‑foot setback requirement after a stone retaining wall was built near a new house on the parcel. LeBlanc said the wall was needed to hold soil and provide the required pitch away from the house and that moving the wall would prevent proper drainage.

"The wall was installed as we were building it... it's on their property," LeBlanc said. He and others explained that the grade difference between adjacent houses required a retaining wall to maintain drainage away from the new house.

Kurt Meskis, zoning enforcement officer and building commissioner, said he had advised the contractor months earlier that constructing a two‑tiered retaining wall would require engineering and a building permit. He said no building permit had been issued for the wall as constructed and that he could not issue an occupancy permit until the wall and permitting were resolved. "I had to inform [the contractor] that I would be unable to issue an occupancy permit for the house because the property would be incomplete," Meskis said.

Meskis also reported that an engineer has since provided calculations showing the existing gravity stone wall is structurally acceptable. The board heard from an immediate neighbor, Christian Spirovski of 76 Jennings Road, who said he had no concerns.

Board members noted they could not vote to grant zoning relief at the Aug. 5 meeting because the board lacked the four‑fifths concurrence required; they unanimously approved a motion to continue the hearing to Sept. 2. The building commissioner noted a 20‑day appeal period would apply should the board grant a variance in the future and that the occupancy permit remains under the building office's control.

The board left the hearing open; no variance or setback relief was granted on Aug. 5.