Zoning Board Approves Hotly Contested House Addition

The Zoning Board of Appeals gave its approval Tuesday night to two major home construction projects overlooking the ocean. Neighbors opposed both projects.

The board approved a controversial second-story addition at 26 Coolidge Road. It also approved the demolition of the house at 33 Clifton Heights Lane and the homeowners' plans to build a larger house on the same footprint.

Both houses are within a short distance of one another in the highly regulated Shoreline District, which sets limits on the height, width and massing of houses to protect neighbors' ocean views.

Neighbors continued their months-long opposition to the addition at 26 Coolidge Road of a new master suite and office on the second floor that the owner said would improve the look of "our squat little house." After the vote, Paul Lynch, the attorney for the next door neighbor, said it was not decided if his clients would take the issue to the Land Court, which could reverse the zoning board's decision.

One neighbor objected to the new home at 33 Clifton Heights Land, but the board seemed unimpressed with Bruce Martin's claim that the new house would block significantly the views of the ocean from his house at 42 Clifton Lane.

It was the second time Steven Baratz and Leslie Sack have proposed to build a second story at 26 Coolidge Road. Previously, they had proposed to add 1,439 square feet to the second floor, which neither the Planning Commission nor the zoning board thought was appropriate. When it was clear earlier that the zoning board and planning commission would not approve the first proposal, the homeowners said they sent their architect "back to the drawing board" to reduce the size of the addition.

The new proposal is smaller and lower by about 250 square feet, said their attorney Bill Quigley. The bedroom ceiling height will now be less than eight feet to allow for a lower roof line. The new addition with an exterior height of 32 feet will still exceed the 30-foot height restriction.

Both town boards agreed that Baratz and Sack had made "a good faith" effort, said zoning board member Chris Casey, to reduce the size of the addition.

Baratz said both of the opposing neighbors live in taller houses than his. "They tower over us," he said. "Our home (with the addition) will look more like other houses in the neighborhood."

Lynch, who represented Sydney Herman at 36 Ticehurst Lane, asked the board, "So what?" if the house at 26 Coolidge Road is smaller than neighboring houses. The issue, he said, is that the addition "does have a dramatic impact on the views from the Herman property. Every house should not be doubled."

Jeff Shoreman, who owns a three-story house at 34 Ticehurst Lane, said he believes even the smaller addition would block the views from his house. At an earlier hearing, he said, "The reason we bought this house and paid what we did was for those water views."

The zoning board also approved the demolition of the house with 4,766 square feet at 33 Clifton Heights Lane and the construction of a new house with 6,576 square feet. The house, which is owned by John and Catherine Payne, has been in the Payne family for decades.

Martin objected to the construction of the new house because it would be larger than the existing house and would reduce some of the ocean views from his house. He also has been concerned that construction vehicles would block up the narrow Clifton Heights Lane. And he said earlier that he feared that the construction would clog an already slow-draining street drain.

Lynch, who also represented the Paynes, said the owner and contractor will work to make sure the drain is not clogged with construction material. The drain does back up, creating a lake-effect in the narrow lane during heavy rain storms.

Other business

In other business, the zoning board was in an approving mood at its August meeting. It agreed to the additions on several houses of new sheds, a mud room on another and the enclosure of a deck to enlarge a kitchen so that Kelley and David Howells at 25 Shetland Road can have all three of their children sit at the kitchen table at the same time, the Howells said.

The only item the board rejected was a change proposed by Catherine Ianchulev at 304 Ocean St., to enlarge the dormers from one window to two. The renovations on the house were approved earlier, but the board felt the proposed dormer change required a new hearing. It did approve adding French doors on the front of the house.