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Haverhill council approves conversion of 43 Jackson St. to three units, limits total bedrooms to six
Summary
The City Council approved a special permit to convert a deteriorated two‑family at 43 Jackson Street into a three‑family dwelling, conditioned to a total of six bedrooms and subject to development‑review safety checks, after hearing the applicant and debating egress, sprinklers and square footage discrepancies.
The Haverhill City Council approved a special permit on Monday to convert an existing two‑family dwelling at 43 Jackson Street into a three‑family property, with the council conditioning the approval to a maximum of six bedrooms. The vote was 10 yeas, 0 nays, 1 absent.
During a public hearing, applicant Marcos Devers described work to demolish and rebuild a deteriorated rear structure and to reconfigure the interior to add a third unit. He said the property sits on 0.17 acres and that structural repairs and reinforcing were required because the building was unsafe.
Councilors pressed the applicant on details including apparent square‑footage changes, bedroom counts and life‑safety systems. Councilor Chewy said he was “supportive of doing 3 units with 2 bedrooms, which would give me the 6 bedrooms that you originally had,” and added he would not support eight total bedrooms on the small footprint. Members asked whether sprinklers, hard‑wired smoke and CO detectors, and two means of egress would be installed; the applicant said code‑required life‑safety systems and fire protection would be provided and reviewed during development review with Inspectional Services.
Councilors also noted that some demolition and foundation work had occurred before final approvals. The applicant acknowledged that contractor activity had proceeded beyond initial permits and said the team is working with the building inspector to resolve outstanding issues.
Before the final permit vote, the council approved an amendment to limit the project to six bedrooms (the amendment passed 9‑1‑1). The council then approved the conditioned special permit and attached standard departmental conditions; further plan details and code compliance will be verified in development‑review with the city’s inspectional and development departments.
The council concluded the item by reminding the applicant that detailed interior plans, life‑safety system installation and final inspections must be completed before occupancy changes.
