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Zoning board permits wider driveway at 11 Essex Street to meet household mobility needs
Summary
The Zoning Board approved a variance Dec. 10 allowing a 30‑foot driveway at 11 Essex Street, citing an existing nonfunctional garage, a tree limiting depth, and family mobility needs as special conditions.
The City of Nashua Zoning Board of Adjustment voted unanimously Dec. 10 to allow owners Frederick J. Junior and Barbara S. Murphy to expand their driveway at 11 Essex Street to a total width of 30 feet, six feet wider than the code’s 24‑foot limit.
Applicant Fred Murphy said he and family members need space for three regularly used vehicles and described winter parking and mobility challenges; he said his wife and daughter are disabled and that tandem parking would not be practical. A neighbor and family member described existing site constraints — a small, older garage structure and a tree that supports wildlife — that limit options for moving parking farther back on the lot.
Board members noted several similar wider driveways in the neighborhood and, after discussing alternatives including tandem parking and the prospect of removing the tree, found special conditions (lot depth constraints, a nonfunctional garage and existing structures) that supported the additional width. The board moved to approve the variance to exceed the maximum driveway width (24 ft permitted; existing 10 ft with a proposed 20×20 extension to reach 30 ft) and the motion passed 5–0.
The chair reminded the applicant of the 30‑day rehearing window and that standard permitting and inspections will follow.
