Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Setback Variance topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Zoning board permits rebuilt cottage at Hill Farm Camp despite large shoreline setback variance
Summary
The Coventry Zoning Board approved a dimensional variance to allow a reconstructed single-family cottage at 17 Hill Farm Camp to sit 32.2 feet from the shoreline of Johnson's Pond, with staff noting the agenda transposed setback numbers but the mailed notice and staff analysis were correct.
The Coventry Zoning Board approved a variance that will allow a rebuilt cottage at 17 Hill Farm Camp to sit closer to Johnson’s Pond than current rules allow after the applicant and staff clarified a transposed figure in the agenda and staff report.
Thomas Cronin, representing the owner and applicant, told the board the house would be 32.2 feet from the rear boundary (the town treats the shoreline of Johnson’s Pond as the rear property line) and that the relief requested is therefore 57.8 feet. “The house is 32.2 feet from the rear boundary... and I’m seeking 57.8 feet of relief,” Cronin said, noting the agenda and staff report had the numbers reversed.
A town planning staff member confirmed the mailed notice used the correct figures and that the staff report’s analysis and findings otherwise stood despite the transposition error. “The notice that was mailed was correct, and ... the agenda and the staff report are using the incorrect numbers,” the staff member said.
Cronin said the proposal is to remove and reconstruct the home on the same site and footprint in the Hill Farm Camp condominium conversion; the condominium lot is 13,068 square feet and the home will retain its present placement. Cronin told the board that the project includes a new on-site wastewater treatment system (OWTS) approved by DEM and disconnection from a community well in favor of an individual well; the condominium association has approved the placement. “Brand new OWTS replacing literally whatever was there... the condo association has approved this construction,” Cronin said.
Board members asked procedural and practical questions about temporary occupancy during demolition; Cronin said the owner lives elsewhere in Coventry and will move in after completion. A board member commented that many cottages in Hill Farm Camp are being upgraded and expressed no concerns about the project.
A motion to approve the application encompassing the staff report and the corrected variance numbers passed on a roll-call vote. The board’s approval is limited to the dimensional variance and placement described in the application; no other project approvals were announced at the meeting.
