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Zoning board grants variance for garage addition at 87 East Glenwood Street
Summary
The Nashua Zoning Board of Adjustment approved a variance allowing owners to encroach into the left side-yard setback to build a two-story, 24-by-26-foot garage with a bedroom above. The board found the project consistent with neighborhood patterns and noted no public opposition.
The Nashua Zoning Board of Adjustment voted to grant a variance that will let owners Robert Salerno and Savannah Newred encroach into the left side-yard setback at 87 East Glenwood Street to build a two-story, 24-by-26-foot garage with a bedroom above. Chair Jamin Carr read the application into the record before the board heard testimony from Salerno.
Salerno told the board he and his family need additional space to accommodate a growing household and said he had spoken with immediate neighbors who did not object. "I'm kindly requesting...a full foot variance off of the property setback," Salerno said while describing a mudroom-style connection between the house and garage. The application as read by the chair requests encroachment of four feet into the left side-yard setback to construct the addition.
Board members discussed alternatives and technical dimensions before deliberating. One member noted the offset foundation makes a conforming garage difficult and that many lots on the block already have minor encroachments into side-yard setbacks. Citing neighborhood context and the applicant's consultations with neighbors, a board member moved to approve the area variance, saying it "would not be contrary to public interest" and that the proposal "is consistent with the rest of the neighborhood." The motion was seconded and the board granted the variance. Chair Carr reminded the applicant there is a 30-day window for appeal.
The board’s approval rested on findings that the proposed addition fits the local pattern of development, that no evidence was presented to show property values would decline, and that denying the variance would impose a practical difficulty given the lot’s existing foundation placement. The public hearing drew no speakers in favor or opposition.
Project specifics recorded in the meeting packet include the application under Land Use Code section 190-16, Table 16-3, the RA zone designation (Ward 7) and the stated dimensions of the proposed garage. The board’s approval allows the applicant to proceed subject to the usual permitting process and any applicable building code review.
