Planning & Zoning approves special permit for single‑family home with market‑rate accessory apartment on Route 6

The Andover Planning & Zoning Commission on Dec. 16 unanimously approved application 25‑1 SP for the construction of a single‑family residence with a market‑rate accessory apartment at 280 Route 6.

Andrew Bushnell, the project engineer, presented the site plan and explained technical details of the proposal. "I'm Andrew Bushnell, a licensed professional engineer and land surveyor with Bushnell Associates," he told the commission as he walked through the plan, which calls for a three‑bedroom primary house and a one‑bedroom accessory apartment, four parking spaces, a septic system engineered for the combined use and modest grading and erosion controls. He said the septic design has already been approved by Eastern Highlands Health District.

Commissioners and nearby residents focused questions on access, utilities and neighborhood impacts. Neighbors asked about driveway location and length, whether emergency vehicles could turn on site, where utilities and broadband would be brought in, and a tree that a neighbor said overlapped a private power tap. The applicant and engineer said the driveway will be separate after discussions with the state DOT, that parking and turning room are shown on the plan, and that utility connections would be coordinated with the power company. The wetland areas on the site were depicted on the plan and the applicant proposed evergreen plantings as mitigation for trees cleared into the regulated upland review area.

The commission accepted the application and voted to approve it with standard planning and zoning conditions plus two specific conditions stated in the motion: the accessory apartment's sleeping room must include a closet, and the owner‑occupancy requirement in the regulations must be enforced (the owner must reside on the property in either the main house or the accessory unit as regulated). Commissioners also required that the final site plan clearly depict utility connections; if any utilities require additional poles or transformer work, the applicant must document that in the record prior to final site plan filing.

The approval followed confirmation that the public hearing notice had been posted on the property and mailed to abutters; the public hearing itself had closed earlier in the meeting. The motion to approve was made and carried unanimously, recorded by the commission as a 5‑0 vote. The commission noted that any enforcement questions about occupancy or other conditions would be handled through standard zoning enforcement procedures.

Next steps for the applicant include filing the final, conditioned site plan with the land records and coordinating required permits and utility work with state and utility providers. The commission also noted that, if neighbors raise safety concerns about the tree over the power tap, the applicant will need to coordinate removal or mitigation with the utility.