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Zoning board approves plan to raise and rebuild 36 Hiawatha Street, rejects separate‑dwelling status
Summary
The Falmouth Zoning Board of Appeals unanimously granted a special permit allowing the owners to raise and rebuild two nonconforming structures at 36 Hiawatha St into a single‑family home, finding the proposal reduces existing nonconformities and imposing conditions on driveway permits and plan certification.
The Falmouth Zoning Board of Appeals voted unanimously to grant a special permit allowing owners to raise existing structures and build a new single‑family dwelling at 36 Hiawatha Street, a proposal the board said will reduce several existing nonconformities.
The board’s decision, reached after a presentation by attorney Kevin Clower and the project architect, allows the applicants to eliminate an on‑site second dwelling and improve front, side and rear setbacks while increasing lot coverage by structure to 24.7 percent — within the range that requires a special permit. The lot is about 9,600 square feet; the applicants said the combined footprint of existing structures is 1,929 square feet and the proposed footprint will be 2,375 square feet.
Clower told the board the proposal “will improve or eliminate all of the existing nonconformities,” and said the project reduces safety and visual impacts by moving and consolidating built area. The application also reduces the total number of bedrooms on the property from the existing combined total and eliminates a separate cottage as an independent dwelling, he said.
Board members spent the bulk of their questions on how the rebuilt home would be used and whether the plans effectively created an accessory dwelling unit (ADU) or a separate rental. One member said, “I think this is a second dwelling and an ADU,” raising a concern about potential future conversion; the board discussed wording for findings and conditions to reflect that the approval applies to a single‑family dwelling as shown and that any separate rental use would require separate permitting.
The board required standard conditions including submission of stamped final plans, a driveway permit, compliance with engineering and erosion‑control recommendations, and that any paving within the town’s road layout be removed and loamed and seeded. The wastewater superintendent’s referral was discussed; the board said any required upgrades or approvals must be obtained from the appropriate town departments before final sign‑off.
The board closed the public hearing and approved the permit by unanimous vote. The applicant was reminded that subsequent permits (building, structural, driveway and any wastewater approvals) remain necessary before construction begins.
