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Planning board approves modified special permit for detached garage at 44 Woodland Street
Summary
After presentations and public comment, the board approved a special permit for a detached garage at 44 Woodland Street, subject to a 3.3-foot shift toward Howard Street (to achieve a 6-foot rear setback) and installation of a monitored heat-and-smoke detection system; the motion carried on a voice vote.
Rob Chervening, chair, said the board would hear the continuation application for 44 Woodland Street and opened the presentation. The applicant’s presenter described a proposal to remove an existing nonconforming accessory shed and construct a detached garage measuring 17 feet by 18.8 feet with a 13-foot-9-inch height, and said the project reduces the principal dwelling footprint to offset lot-coverage changes.
The applicant’s presenter summarized setback and lot-size details: the lot is 4,047 square feet in a district that typically requires 10,000 square feet; the proposed work maintains an existing 2.7-foot rear setback while improving an existing side-yard condition. “The proposal is to remove the existing accessory structure… and construct a detached garage,” the presenter said, adding the project would increase on-site parking to up to three off-street spaces and comply with Massachusetts building and fire codes.
During public comment, resident John Cooper said neighbors were generally not opposed to renovating the house but opposed the detached garage because it would exacerbate setback nonconformity and create fire-safety and parking concerns. “We’re only opposed to the garage, the detached garage,” Cooper said, urging the board to require a 6-foot rear setback if a garage is approved.
Board members asked technical questions about grade changes, retaining walls, driveway width and existing timbers, parking capacity and whether a monitored fire-detection system would be installed. The applicant said the proposed rear grade would be lowered about 2 feet with a short retaining wall, that the driveway plus garage would provide more off-street parking, and that a monitored heat-and-smoke detection system would be added voluntarily although not required by state code for a single-family home.
After deliberation about the special-permit standard (whether the change would be “substantially more detrimental” to the neighborhood), the applicant offered two modifications: move the proposed garage 3.3 feet closer to Howard Street so the rear-yard setback would be 6 feet (bringing that setback into compliance), and install a monitored heat-and-smoke detection system in the garage for public safety. A board member moved to approve the special permit subject to those modifications; the motion was seconded and carried.
The board recorded the motion, second and affirmative votes; the chair directed the applicant to submit revised plans documenting the shifted garage location and the fire-detection system. The decision recorded conditions rather than exempting construction from state or local construction codes; the applicant must submit the revised drawings as required for final administrative sign-off.
