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Applicant withdraws variance request for yoga studio after code dispute
Summary
TA Sudbury LLC withdrew a use‑variance request for a yoga studio at 505–525 Boston Post Road after the Building Inspector flagged plumbing code implications and the applicant cited prior precedents; the board accepted the withdrawal without prejudice.
An applicant seeking a use variance to open a yoga studio at 505–525 Boston Post Road withdrew its request during the Zoning Board of Appeals meeting on March 2 and will proceed with building and occupancy permitting as‑of‑right.
Building Inspector Andrew Lewis told the board that updated plumbing code requirements — which can require showers for some 'Indoor Commercial Recreation' uses — could make small fitness or yoga studios a use that requires a variance in the Limited Business District. Applicant counsel Joshua Fox said the applicant filed the use variance to move discussions forward and pointed to historical certificates of occupancy and local precedents where small fitness studios had been treated as‑of‑right.
To avoid creating a variance precedent that would conflict with longstanding practice, the board and applicant agreed the matter should proceed through the normal permitting path. Chair John Riordan made a motion to accept the applicant’s withdrawal without prejudice; the motion was seconded and passed by unanimous roll call.
The minutes do not record that the board issued a formal determination on the Building Inspector’s interpretation; rather, the applicant withdrew its variance and will pursue building/occupancy permitting as allowed by zoning and code.
