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Owner of 515 Forest Lake Road counsels with Planning Board on variance in Aquifer Protection District
Summary
Attorney Steve Bonnette and property owner Denise Cooper consulted the Winchester Planning Board about whether to seek a zoning variance for 515 Forest Lake Road, which lies largely inside the town's Aquifer Protection District and a Source Protection Area around town wells.
Attorney Steve Bonnette and client Denise Cooper appeared before the Winchester Planning Board on March 16 to discuss options for 515 Forest Lake Road, a property in the Forest Lake zoning district that also lies within the town's Aquifer Protection District overlay and a Source Protection Area (SPA) around municipal wells.
LUA and the board reviewed technical constraints: in the Aquifer Protection District a single-family lot requires 3 acres and a subdivision requires 6 acres; the Cooper parcel measures 4.09 acres and contains an existing dwelling. Staff noted the SPA is designed to protect the town's well #1 and well #2 and that most of Cooper's parcel falls inside the SPA; only a small corner bordering Route 10 and Forest Lake Road lies outside the SPA. The Water/Sewer Superintendent had discussed the property with state officials, and the board said the state expects the town to police the SPA. Counsel and the owner were informed that because of lot-size requirements and SPA constraints they would likely need to apply to the Zoning Board of Adjustment for a variance if they wished to subdivide or alter use.
Counsel asked whether sewer expansion down Forest Lake Road could enable different outcomes; staff said an extension would be very expensive and is not planned. The meeting ended with counsel thanking the board for their time. The Planning Board did not direct staff to take immediate enforcement or permissive actions at this meeting; the exchange was advisory and procedural in nature.
Why it matters: the property's location in the Aquifer Protection District and SPA restricts development and subdivision: the parcel's 4.09 acres meet a single-family minimum (3 acres) but fall short of the 6-acre threshold to subdivide. Any variance or subdivision request would require review by the Zoning Board of Adjustment and consideration of state expectations for protecting town water supplies.
Next steps: Attorney Bonnette and Denise Cooper may decide whether to proceed to the Zoning Board of Adjustment; any formal application, state consultations or sewer extension proposals would be separate actions requiring additional review.
