Norton ZBA grants variance for Old Colony Habitat house on undersized Grove lot

The Norton Zoning Board of Appeals voted to grant variance relief allowing Old Colony Habitat for Humanity to build a single‑family house on an undersized lot at 0 Island Road.

The board closed the public hearing and approved variances to reduce front and side setbacks — including a 26‑foot front setback to Island Road and a 10‑foot Lagoon Lane/side setback — citing the lot's preexisting nonconformity and historical road placement as the hardship. The board also voted to record the lot size as 4,000 square feet on the plan of record after noting the original application form incorrectly listed 5,000 square feet.

The project team introduced itself for the record. "Good evening, Kimberly Thomas, CEO of Old Colony Habitat for Humanity," Kimberly Thomas said, and engineer Scott Faria confirmed that "the plan of record is accurate" even though the application form contained an earlier, incorrect size. Board members said the narrative and plan supported relief because the lot’s undersized condition predated the applicant’s involvement.

Board members framed the relief as limited to the setbacks and the lot‑size finding. A member summarized the justification: the lot was reduced by historic road placement and the house was sited to minimize impacts. The board voted in favor of the variances and the 4,000‑square‑foot lot finding; recorded votes show Mr. Tenore, Mr. Ferguson and Mr. Noel voting yes on the motions.

The board said it would draft and post a written decision in the coming days and reminded parties of statutory appeal rights. The applicant was advised that any appeals must be filed within the statutory time limit.

The decision will be attached to the plan of record dated 1/29/2016, which the board said it would use as the controlling depiction of the project.