By Adam Swift
Residents in the Grandview Road neighborhood raised concerns about the potential construction of a two-family duplex home at 18 Grandview Road during last week’s Zoning Board of Appeals meeting.
Elmer Castillo is looking to build the duplex next to the home he owns on the adjacent property he owns at 24 Grandview Road.
The proposal requires several special permits and variances from the ZBA for lot size, frontage side yard setback, combined side yard setback, front yard setback, and off-street parking as well as maximum requirement for lot coverage.
Several nearby residents raised concerns about the impact the project would have on traffic and parking in the neighborhood, stormwater runoff, and its proximity to neighboring homes.
Rebecca Edmondson-Korom, the attorney representing the property owner, said the lot at 18 Grandview has been vacant since its creation by a subdivision plan in 1988.
She said nothing is changing to the existing house at 24 Grandview.
The proposal calls for the creation of two three-bedroom, 2-½ bath units with underground tandem parking.
There is a 35-foot proposed curb cut to access the lot and the parking, according to Edmondson-Korom.
“I have some concerns with the property built so close to our property with privacy, noise, losing sunlight on that side of my house, and I also have concerns about parking, even though it is off-street,” said abutter Valerie Green.
Although the parking is not on the street, Green noted that the street is very narrow and it could create issues when residents are backing out of 18 Grandview. She added that there will also be a loss of two parking spaces on the street as a result of the curb cut.
In addition, Green said there are already issues with sewer runoff on the street, and that additional development would only add to it.
A petition from 26 residents from Grandview and the surrounding area also raised a number of the same concerns.
District 1 City Councilor Todd Taylor spoke in support of the residents who voiced their concerns.
“Looking at this … it seems like a pretty heavy lift for this,” said Taylor. “There are a lot of things that need to be granted, especially the lot size.”
The project goes before the Planning Board for a recommendation on March 25 and is back before the ZBA for a potential vote on April 8.
The ZBA also held an initial public hearing on a proposal for 82-84 Marlboro St. at its meeting last week. The applicant, Carolina Linares, is seeking to add two new three-bedroom units to the existing two units at the address by adding two additional stories on the existing footprint of the building.
ZBA members did question why there was a request to add two floors instead of just one additional floor for a three-unit building. Linares noted that a four-story project would still fall just under the height restriction in the zoning district.
That project will also be before the ZBA on March 25 and back before the ZBA on April 8.