Bolton ZBA approves setback variances for Vernon Road lot; 1 abstention

The Bolton Zoning Board of Appeals voted to grant setback variances that will allow a new dwelling on a vacant parcel on Vernon Road after members concluded the lot’s pre‑zoning origin and tight dimensions create a unique hardship.

James Read, the applicant, asked the board to reduce the front‑yard requirement from 35 feet to 20 feet and the rear‑yard requirement from 30 feet to 15 feet so he can build a house on the lot between nos. 21 and 31 Vernon Road. Read told the board the Inland Wetlands Commission has approved the plans, the property will connect to sewer, and he had a letter of support from the property’s original owner. Read said he would consider a modular home to reduce construction noise and install a stone wall or fence to improve safety.

The request touched off a debate over what counts as an "unusual hardship" under the ZBA’s standards. Member Jonathan Treat pressed whether the hardship Read described was peculiar to the parcel or a condition shared by other lots in the zone, saying financial loss is not a proper basis for a variance. Read said his engineer had concluded there was no viable alternative on the lot to allow reasonable use.

Other board members weighed in that many local parcels were laid out before the town adopted the R‑1, R‑2 and R‑3 zoning districts and that the lot’s small size and dimensional orientation impede residential use. Member William Pike argued the lot’s pre‑zoning creation and the way setbacks overlap make it difficult to place a dwelling; Joshua Machnik and Tom Lyon echoed that perspective. John Toomey noted the applicant had met Eastern Highland Health District requirements and had Inland Wetlands approval, and an abutter present at the meeting, Alexander O’Neill, said the absence of other abutters at the follow‑up session suggested opposition was reduced from earlier hearings.

After discussion, Treat moved to grant the variance (the transcript records the motion as granting the proposal made by "David Read"); Machnik seconded. Pike then moved to amend the motion to specify the hardship as the lot’s existence prior to R‑3 zoning, which would severely impede residential use; Machnik seconded the amendment. The amended motion passed 4–0–1, with Treat recorded as the lone abstention.

The board’s action allows the applicant to pursue construction subject to any additional permits or conditions required by town regulations and other approving agencies. The board closed the public hearing at 7:28 p.m. and later approved routine minutes before adjourning at 7:52 p.m.