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Barrington Planning Board backs building-permit referral for Maynard and Butterworth basement finish
Summary
The Barrington Planning Board voted to ask the Select Board to approve a building permit for homeowners seeking to finish a basement on a Category 3 private road and advised modest maintenance steps; no public comments were recorded.
The Barrington Planning Board on April 21, 2026 voted to ask the Select Board to approve a building-permit application for homeowners seeking to finish a basement on a Category 3 private road.
Chair Driscoll opened the item and described the permit as a request for Benjamin Maynard and Kelly Butterworth (Map 2-11-9) to finish a basement. An applicant told the board they bought the house in July and plan to add a home office, workout area, library and bathroom in the lower level. "We bought the house, July," the applicant said. "We're just adding a home office down [in the] basement, some workout area, a library, and a bathroom."
Board members asked whether the private road serving the property met the town's standards. Town staff had reviewed photos and, according to members, the road "looks in pretty good shape" compared with other private roads. One member noted the application included a request for a waiver; another said, based on Mark's review, the situation meets the town policy standard described in the record as "16 2 and 2," and therefore a waiver was not required. The board suggested modest upkeep such as cleaning the road edge and removing saplings to improve access but did not make maintenance a condition of the referral.
Marcus Katkin moved that the board ask the town to send a letter to the Select Board approving the application; the motion was seconded and taken by roll call. Chair Driscoll indicated the applicants were cleared to proceed to the Select Board. Public comment was opened and no one chose to speak.
The next step is for the applicants to appear before the Select Board; members said there is typically a several-week lead time and suggested mid-May was a reasonable target to get on the Select Board agenda. The board also noted staff is working on broader revisions to private-road guidance, which may affect future permit reviews.
Meeting minutes recorded the motion and second; specific roll-call tallies were not provided in the transcript.
