Quincy ZBA delays decision on 23 Bartholff St. subdivision after board presses for smaller house

The Quincy Zoning Board of Appeals postponed action on a petition to subdivide 23 Bartholff Street and build a new single‑family home, directing the applicant to submit revised plans reducing the house to three bedrooms and growing the right‑side setback.

Jim Chen, the project's architect, told the board the footprint had been reduced to 24 by 36 feet and that a bathroom had been removed from the earlier plan. Kevin Chen, the property owner, said the extra bedroom was intended to accommodate visiting family and to allow his parents to age in place. “They wanted to age in place in the area,” Kevin Chen said.

Board members repeatedly flagged the proposed 5‑foot‑8‑inch side setback and the link between bedroom count and parking requirements. Councilor Deborah Riley, representing Ward 6, said the side setbacks appeared inadequate despite the applicant’s efforts to comply; she urged the board to avoid “squeezing people so close together.” Several members said they could not approve a four‑bedroom house given the available tandem parking and narrow lot.

During deliberations the board asked whether the applicant could reconfigure rooms or move structural elements to gain additional setback and recommended targeting a roughly 7‑ to 7½‑foot right‑side setback and no more than three bedrooms. The applicant agreed to attempt reconfiguration and submitted a revised schedule: new plans to be filed by March 5 for possible consideration on March 24, 2026.

With that direction the board moved to postpone ZBA 253 to the March 24 meeting to allow the applicant time to redesign the plan; the motion passed.

Next steps: the applicant is to file revised plans by March 5 so the petition can appear on the March 24 agenda.