ZBA balks at Brookhill LLC’s request for bathroom in garage, citing mediation, enforcement and grading concerns

Nick Marione, representing Brookhill LLC, asked the Zoning Board to approve an insubstantial modification to allow a single half-bathroom inside a previously approved garage structure so workers would avoid using porta-potties during maintenance. He said the office request had been withdrawn and the bathroom would serve the property's crews.

Board members expressed skepticism, saying the reduction from a proposed office to a bathroom still raises questions about use and precedent for subsidized 40B projects. Multiple members said the request appeared at odds with outcomes reached in prior mediation and cautioned that approving bathrooms could open a precedent where applicants repeatedly return for incremental changes. Members also questioned the size and intended use of the garage and raised concerns about recent site work that appears to have lowered finished grades by roughly 12 feet from earlier plans.

Residents asked whether the grade changes and newly installed hydrants and storm drainage represented approved finished grades; the board and applicant said as-built plans and peer-engineer inspections would reconcile final elevations before a certificate of occupancy. Abutter Neil Gary questioned how grade changes would affect the location and depth of leach fields and septic components.

A motion was made to declare the single bathroom an insubstantial change conditioned on Board of Health approval if required. The motion was opposed by several board members; the transcript records at least five 'no' votes and indicates the change did not pass as presented. Board members instructed staff to send a follow-up letter to the applicant and to the building department regarding outstanding enforcement and safety concerns. The applicant was told the project will require final as-built plans and building-department sign-offs before occupancy.