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Arlington ZBA closes hearing on large addition at 87 Grandview Road, requires stormwater plan and side-yard condition
Summary
The Zoning Board closed the hearing on a roughly 1,171 sq. ft. rear addition at 87 Grandview Road after neighbors raised concerns about massing and runoff. The board directed conditions requiring a town-engineer–approved stormwater-management plan, retention of an 11.2-foot side-yard separation, and that any land-swap be handled separately.
The Arlington Zoning Board of Appeals closed the public hearing on a proposed rear addition at 87 Grandview Road that would increase the home’s gross floor area by roughly 1,171 square feet, and the board directed conditions to mitigate runoff and protect neighboring properties.
Architect Vahe Ohannessian, representing the homeowners, said the project connects an addition to the existing house and reconstructs a reduced-size garage so the work can meet setback requirements without a land swap. "The latest plan entails demolishing the 2 car garage and incorporating a smaller, what I might call, one and a half car garage in order to maintain the 10 foot setback," he said.
Several neighbors, including Holly Grogan of 83 Grandview, opposed the plan or asked the board to examine stormwater and massing impacts. Grogan said the proposal would take up much of the backyard, could increase runoff toward her property and the street, and that an informal land-swap mentioned by the applicant was not a currently filed proposal.
The architect acknowledged the project will exceed the 350-square-foot net impervious threshold that triggers stormwater review and said the team intends to provide an engineered plan for subsurface infiltration, likely near the driveway work. Board members emphasized that a formal, engineered stormwater-management plan approved by the town engineer must be submitted as a condition of approval. The chair also proposed and the board supported maintaining the existing 11.2-foot side-yard separation adjacent to 83 Grandview and agreed that any proposed lot-boundary exchange would be treated as a separate application and is not before the board now.
Board members discussed whether the addition meets the 'in harmony' and dimension-and-setbacks tests for "large additions" and noted the project attempts to step massing toward the lot center and limit impacts at the property edge. Given that the applicant agreed to engineered stormwater mitigation and a small revision to side-yard dimensions, the board voted to close the public hearing and will prepare a decision that includes the stormwater and setback conditions; the final vote on the written decision is scheduled for July 28.
