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ZBA approves garage addition and future ADU at 31 Mill Road due to lot constraints
Summary
The Keene Zoning Board of Adjustment granted a variance allowing a 34-foot setback for an attached garage and future accessory dwelling unit at 31 Mill Road, finding unique site constraints (wetland buffer, easement, septic) created hardship.
The Zoning Board unanimously approved ZBA 26-8, permitting an attached garage to be located 34 feet from the front property line where 50 feet is normally required in the rural district. The applicant, Britney Allen, said the property is a triangular 1.5-acre parcel constrained by wetlands, a National Grid easement and septic/leach-field locations that leave no practical buildable area outside the setback.
Planner Evan Clements explained that the lot predates the city’s surface-water protection ordinance and that the application provides a 29-foot-11-inch separation from the wetland edge — one inch shy of a 30-foot target but within a de minimis determination by staff. The board found that the spirit of the ordinance would be observed, that denial would impose unnecessary hardship given the lot’s unique constraints, and that the proposed addition would not diminish surrounding property values. The ZBA approved the variance as presented, with the motion to approve made and seconded during deliberation.
Britney Allen told the board the two-story garage with an accessory dwelling unit above would connect at an existing door and is intended to provide space to house family members; she said the exterior design matches the existing home and will not change neighborhood traffic patterns or utilities. Staff confirmed the property is served by city water and that required building and operational permits would still be obtained.
