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Town Government & |
Departments: Zoning Board of Appeals
About Us The Board of Appeals holds public hearings on applications for zoning variances and special permits and decides appeals of administrative decisions of the Town's zoning officials. Zoning hearings are generally held on Thursday evenings in the Central Meeting Room of the Town Hall, 210 Central Street. Staff is available Monday through Thursday to assist you in the application process and to answer zoning questions.
The Board of Appeals has three regular members, appointed to 3-year terms, and nine associate members appointed to 1-year terms.The Board of Selectmen makes all appointments. 2007 was another busy year for the Board.A total of seventy applications were received, resulting in over one hundred hearings being held, which included many joint hearings with the Planning Board.The Board granted twenty-one residential Variances.Projects included new construction/additions/reconstruction to dwellings and garages, sheds, and conversion to living space.In addition to the residential Variances the Board also approved a height Variance for the construction of a new elementary school to be built on the site of the former East Elementary School and a use Variance for a new indoor personal sports training facility in the Industrial Park District.Variances are authorizations to use land or structures in a manner that is otherwise prohibited by the Zoning By-Law. The Board heard applications on twenty-three Special Permit requests. Special Permits are authorizations to use land or structures for a specific use which is expressly permitted by the Special Permit, provided general guidelines as detailed in the By-Law and specific conditions arising from the review process itself are met. Special Permits are designed as a flexible tool to assure that the use is in harmony with the intent and purposes of the By-Law. Among those approved include Hingham Federal Credit Union's drive-up ATM as part of their move to a new location on Downer Avenue, construction of a new bank building including drive-up windows and ATM on Lincoln Street and Hingham Municipal Light Plants installation of a temporary anemometer at the town landfill site for the purpose of evaluating this and other sites for a possible wind turbine. Some of the more closely followed Special Permits included approval of a 130' cell tower on the land owned by Aquarion Water Company on Main Street and approval of modifications to the Mixed-Use Special Permit issued in 2003 for the redevelopment of the Hingham Shipyard, modifications that included changes to the layout of the 150 for-sale units planned for the Roseland/Lennar portion of the site and changes in layout and uses (cinema and health club) of the western portion of the site being developed by Samuels & Associates. The Board also approved numerous requests for signs, including Old Derby Animal Clinic's new building on Recreation Park Drive and a comprehensive signage program for the Samuels & Associates retail/residential portion of the Hingham Shipyard site. Appeals are reviews of the decisions or orders of zoning officials by the Board of Appeals. The Board may uphold, reverse or modify the official's decision. The Board heard one Appeal in 2007. Friend Street residents appealed the issuance of a building permit for construction of a new single family dwelling on a lot. This Appeal was denied by a split vote of the Board. At the time of the writing of this report the Board is engaged in hearings on four Comprehensive Permit Chapter 40B applications, which could add twenty affordable housing units to the Town's Subsidized Housing Inventory. Those hearings may be affected by the outcome of the Town's appeal to the Supreme Judicial Court of the State's counting of affordable rental units at Linden Ponds. In July the Board welcomed new regular member Joseph Fisher, who replaced Victor Popp who remains an associate member. The Board also welcomed new associate member William Ramsey. In August Zoning Administrator Jane Santosuosso resigned and in September longtime Administrative Secretary Suzanne Letizia-Eddy was appointed to replace her. In November the Board welcomed new Administrative Secretary Karen Clancy to the office staff. The Board would like to express its thanks for the support, cooperation and assistance we have received from all Town departments during the past year. The Board also would encourage all interested citizens to attend its hearings, which are generally held on selected Thursday evenings at Town Hall. SUMMARY Applicants:70 Stephen J. McLaughlin, Chairman Suzanne Letizia-Eddy, Zoning Administrator
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