Zoning board approves second‑floor addition and accessory apartment at 344 Lichfield Avenue

Dean Kubis, a permit expeditor representing the Giana Cauakis family, told the zoning board the application for 344 Lichfield Avenue was a revised, smaller plan from an earlier filing and included a partial second floor intended for an accessory apartment for a family member.

"We're here tonight with a much cleaner, better application," Kubis said, listing the variances sought: a front‑porch setback of 27 feet (40 feet required), a setback to the main house of 32 feet, a rear‑yard setback reduced to 26.7 feet (40 required), a building‑area increase to about 21.4% (up roughly 996 square feet), and a two‑car garage of 560 square feet (500 allowed).

Kubis told the board the applicants would drop a planned fence variance so the fence would be placed in a conforming location and submitted a letter of support from the nearest neighbor.

Board members asked for and received commitments that the enlarged garage would remain a garage and not be converted to living space, and that the accessory apartment would maintain internal access but would not enclose the front porch.

Mr. Shepard said the revised application was an improvement over the prior submission and asked the applicant to confirm compliance with the planning memo and conditions. After a motion to amend the application to remove the fence variance and a second, the board voted to approve the application as amended with the planning‑department conditions and the homework commitments Kubis described.

The decision requires the applicant to obtain a building permit and comply with the planning memo’s conditions; the applicant will receive the board’s decision in writing.

The next step for the applicant is to secure required building permits from the town building department before beginning construction.