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ZBA approves second-story alteration at 72 Baxter Road over neighbor objections
Summary
The Zoning Board approved a special permit to add a partial second story and foundation work at 72 Baxter Road, finding the changes not substantially more detrimental to the Baxter Road context; one member dissented citing massing and neighborhood impacts.
The Zoning Board of Appeals granted a special permit on Nov. 13 to alter a preexisting nonconforming residence at 72 Baxter Road to add a portion of a second story, a new unenclosed porch, and a new foundation within the existing footprint.
Attorney Arthur Reed, representing Robert and Catherine Hatcher, said the property is a lot of record with existing front- and side‑yard nonconformities and that the proposed work does not expand the building footprint or increase ground cover. “We're not increasing any nonconformity,” Reed told the board and said the revised plans had Historic District Commission approval. The team said the ridge height increase is modest (about a 6‑foot change) and will remain well under the 30‑foot bylaw limit.
Nearby homeowner Susan Golden objected, saying the block of Baxter Road should not be further densified and that a prior 1993 application language had said the earlier proposal would not add a second story. Golden said adding a second story would set a “terrible precedent” and block light and air for neighbors. Reed and the applicant’s architect replied that earlier application language described what that Applicant requested at the time and was not a perpetual prohibition against future second‑story additions.
Board members debated massing and context: one member argued the proposed increase was “substantial” and “more detrimental” and announced a no vote, while other members noted Baxter Road contains many two‑story houses and HDC reviewed context as part of its approval. The board closed the public hearing and voted to grant the special permit; the transcript records the vote as 4–1 in favor.
Conditions mirror typical ZBA language: substantial conformity with approved plans, adherence to HDC Certificate of Appropriateness HDC2025-07-12904, and a prohibition on exterior work during the summer season (Memorial Day–Labor Day). The decision leaves in place required permits and inspections from the Building Department and any Conservation Commission review if applicable.
The board’s decision reflects balancing neighborhood concerns about precedent and massing with the HDC’s contextual review and the bylaw standard that alterations to preexisting nonconforming structures not be substantially more detrimental to the neighborhood.
