A Request for a Variance

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I didn't get the letter, but one of my neighbors who did get it send me a photo of it. It was a request to support a variance to reduce the secondary side yard setback from 17.5 feet to 7 feet for a new home to be built at the corner at Wessyngton and Cumberland.  There's a duplex there now; it's been a while since I knew any of the people living there.

The variance request went before the MLPA Zoning Committee a week ago Monday.  Once we saw the site plan, it was clear that the 7 foot setback was not from the curb but from several feet inside the curb; the proposed house will be similarly placed on the lot as the existing house, although it will be facing Wessyngton.  There will be about a 15 foot setback from the curb, unlike the 35 feet setbacks for other houses on this side of the street.

A lot of us from Wessyngton Road came to the zoning committee meeting.  The spokesperson for the developer that was requesting the variance said that the more than 3,000 square foot house that they proposed to build would be in the style of an English cottage that would fit into the neighborhood.  (I am unaware of other English cottages on our street, but maybe I've missed something.)  There were questions about the trees that would have to be removed for the two car garage and the driveway. The speakers for the developer said they'd distributed some letters; they hadn't heard much back, they said.  There was a neighbor who was supportive, they said, and maybe they said (I'm not sure) there was one on Cumberland who had expressed a concern about rental houses.  The neighbor they'd said was supportive was there in person, and he said he was being misquoted, that he'd said he'd have to see the plans.

But there were a lot of us there from Wessyngton Road, and there were questions about sidewalks and a suggestion that they back off on the comments about rental houses.  And there were questions from the zoning committee members about why the house couldn't be farther from the curb, and about the trees that were going to have to be removed.  They ended up forwarding it to the MLPA board contingent on having the elevation and the footprint of the house on record with the city, and to see if a sidewalk was feasible.

Last night it went to the MLPA board and the developers' team was back to present it again, this time with the updated plans that had been submitted to the city.  They were talking among themselves before the meeting, and one of them was saying that the neighbors (that would be us) had come to the zoning meeting because we didn't understand what was proposed, and once we saw the plan we were all fine with it.  I told him that that at least some of us still had some concerns about having a house facing Wessyngton so much closer to the curb than any other house on the street.

The board ended up approving it.  One of the neighbors was strongly in favor of it, and one was strongly opposed.  The rest of us didn't say much.  It seemed pretty much inevitable.

Since then, I've done some thinking about what's really important to me about my street.  Honestly, the houses -- whether they are new English cottages or 1950s ranch houses or the apartments that used to be at the other end of Wessyngton -- don't matter that much.  What matters are the people who live in them; it's the people that make the neighborhood a good place to live.  Some of them are renters and some of them are homeowners.  Some of the renters have been some of the best neighbors, over the years, like our friend Mark, who was the best guitar player on the street.

So, fine, they can build whatever they want. Just find us a really good neighbor to buy the house.

Extra points if they can play guitar.