Planning Board continues 101 Arborway Drive two-family conversion to Feb. 10

The Planning Board heard a public hearing and voted to continue the application for a special permit and site-plan review to convert 101 Arborway Drive from a single-family dwelling to a legal two-family on Feb. 10.

Staff opened the hearing and read the public notice, identifying the applicant as Jason Umbrell and the lot as 10,410 square feet on assessor plan 3038, plot 17. Umbrell told the board the structure requires no exterior changes and already has separate electrical meters, heating systems and separate means of egress. Several board members probed the history and current use, and staff confirmed the lot is zoned Residential B and that the proposal seeks to legalize a long-standing two-family use on a preexisting nonconforming lot.

Member Connolly raised fire-safety questions; staff proposed a decision condition requiring verification within 90 days from the Building Department that both units meet current building and fire-access codes. Abutter Robert Liston spoke at public comment, describing repeated police responses to the property under prior ownership and asking whether Section 8 tenants would return; the applicant and staff said the property owner has begun rehabilitation and that a recorded sewage easement, shown on the site plan, runs 20 feet from the rear property line and will not be disturbed.

The board voted to close the public hearing and continue the application to Feb. 10 so staff can draft a special-permit decision with conditions addressing ingress/egress and building-code verification before a final vote.