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Zoning board approves three variances to legalize deck at 42 Wesley Avenue
Summary
The Beacon Zoning Board of Appeals granted three variances — rear‑yard, side‑yard and lot‑coverage — to Deborah Joyce, who built a deck after a 2024 permit that later failed to close out. The board cited the existing construction, a prior variance on the lot and the building department's oversight when weighing the factors.
The Beacon Zoning Board of Appeals on June 16 approved three separate variances requested by Deborah Joyce to legalize a deck at 42 Wesley Avenue and allow the sale of her home.
Joyce told the board she obtained a building permit in 2024, built the deck to the approved plans and only discovered when attempting to close the permit that the finished work did not meet setback and lot‑coverage requirements. “I am currently trying to sell my house, and I do have a buyer, but it is holding up the sale of my house,” Joyce said at the hearing. The buyer’s agent, Ben Loving, also testified the deck does not intrude on neighbors’ privacy and urged the board to approve so the sale can proceed.
Chair Jordan Haugen led the board through the statutory balancing test for each request. The board found the rear‑yard setback (35‑foot requirement; deck/stairs 13.2 feet from the line, 21.8‑foot variance requested) and the 2.1‑foot side‑yard variance would not create an undesirable change in neighborhood character given the lot’s slope and the deck’s existing footprint. On lot coverage, staff presented a 2006 area variance that had previously increased the parcel’s allowed coverage; the new deck would raise coverage by about 2.81 percentage points (roughly 140.6 square feet). Members concluded the modest additional coverage was acceptable in context.
Legal counsel and the building inspector confirmed that municipal policy requires applicants to pay outstanding fees and meet timing milestones (building permit, commence work, obtain CO) but that the board can grant extensions. Counsel advised the board about conditions that typically void variances; the board agreed to reflect an extended timeline in the minutes so Joyce can obtain a CO if the variances are issued and fees are paid.
The board took separate motions and unanimous roll‑call votes to grant the rear‑yard, side‑yard and lot‑coverage variances. The motions included standard timing conditions and a directive that the minutes record counsel’s recommended timeline language.
The decision means Joyce may complete the administrative steps needed to obtain a certificate of occupancy and proceed with the sale, provided outstanding fees are paid and the board‑ordered conditions are met.
