Meeting report · Zoning Board of Appeals
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Zoning Board of Appeals — April 13, 2026
The meeting was marked by heated deliberation over building compliance and vocal resident complaints regarding transparency and safety.
Public impact
Issues from this meeting with documented community impact.
01
Zoning Enforcement and Procedural Integrity
Decision to allow non-compliant exterior changes sets a potential precedent for how much a developer can deviate from approved plans without further ZBA oversight. Affected: Local residents and property developers
zoning change
Decisions logged
Every recorded vote, with timestamps and dissents.
Acceptance of the February 11th meeting minutes.
The motion to accept the minutes was made and seconded; the motion passed with one opposition noted by the chair (noted as 'I opposed' but contextually treated as accepted/passed).
Approved
Granting of a finding for 20 Water Street to substitute a restaurant use with a recording studio.
The finding was granted under section 3.10 of the zoning bylaw with the conditions that operational hours be 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. and exterior lighting be extinguished one hour after closing.
Approved
Direction on front door configuration
The board reached a consensus (sentiment) to allow the project to proceed with two front doors rather than forcing a return to a single-door design, citing the structural difficulty and the hardship it would cause the owner.
Approved (via sentiment)
Topics discussed
Click a topic to expand quotes and full context.
▶ 08:02 Approval of Minutes
The board reviewed and discussed the minutes from the February 11th meeting, specifically addressing the inclusion of both a full transcript and a summary to satisfy detail requirements.
Speakers: John Bounter, Brian Skelly
▶ 12:26 20 Water Street Change of Use
A request by 20 Water LLC to substitute a non-conforming restaurant use with a non-conforming recording studio at 18 1/2 Water Street. The applicant, Chris Blazak, argued the studio would have lower traffic and parking demands.
Speakers: John Bounter, Chris Blazak, Becky Kilbornne, Karine Dhy, Ken Jarvin
▶ 29:01 41 Hobart Street Compliance Check-in
A continued case regarding a previously approved conversion of a single-family home to a duplex. The board discussed whether recent changes to the building's elevation and exterior (specifically the number of front doors and roofline) were consistent with the original approved decision. Further discussion covered a discrepancy between approved plans and current construction regarding front doors and exterior appearance, plus the applicant's explanation that a single-door plan is not buildable due to load-bearing wall and header height requirements.
Speakers: John Bounter, Brian Skelly, Carissa Vitus, Karine Dhy, Ken Jarvin, Unidentified speaker
Controversy & dissent
Where the board, the community, or the agenda diverged.
Potentially controversial issues
01
41 Hobart Street Compliance and Aesthetic Deviations
The project deviated from approved plans regarding front doors and rooflines, leading to disputes over whether the building still maintains a 'residential' character. Neighbors expressed frustration over a perceived lack of transparency and the scale of unapproved changes.
Board position: The board was deeply conflicted; while they criticized the lack of procedural adherence, they ultimately reached a consensus to allow the current (non-compliant) configuration to stand due to structural hardships.
Internal dissent
Karine Dhy strongly opposed the change, arguing that the two-door configuration violates zoning bylaws by making the building appear non-residential. Becky Kilbornne advocated for the developer, citing departmental approvals and financial hardship.
high concern
Split votes
Approval of February 11th meeting minutes
Passed with one opposition
Community vs. board tension
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Action items
Who owes what, by when.
Formally state the business hours of operation (9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.) to comply with lighting bylaws.
Assigned: Chris Blazak
Consider reducing the size of the new window to better align with the residential character requested by the board.
Assigned: Applicant (41 Hobart Street)
Ensure drainage issues are addressed via the addition of gutters as previously discussed.
Assigned: Applicant
Notable statements
The town manager is looking at globally how all boards and committees are operating in terms of minutes and procedure... to get everyone kind of doing the same thing. — Brian Skelly · Explaining the new format for meeting minutes. ▶ 10:05
Once you put two front doors on the front, it's not residential. It's not in keeping with the requirements of that zoning bylaw. — Karine Dhy · Discussing the 41 Hobart Street conversion and the impact of adding multiple entrances. ▶ 47:45
The building inspector and the planning department approved those plans... we have to be fair to them because they've obviously spent a lot of money and want to get done with this project. — Becky Kilbornne · Advocating for the developers at 41 Hobart Street due to the conflict between the ZBA decision and building department approvals. ▶ 66:45
I think we have to be fair to them... they did talk to the building department about this plan and they did get approval for this plan. — Becky · Advocating for the property owner who was caught between different departmental approvals. ▶ 65:50
The minute it impacted the exterior of the building, you should have come back to us for approval. — Karine · Expressing opposition to the changes made to the building's exterior after the initial special permit was granted. ▶ 72:26
I will allow the second front door... future projects... I hope you think to at least poke and ask: does this need to go back before ZBA. — Speaker A (Chair) · Finalizing the decision and offering advice to developers to avoid similar jurisdictional confusion in the future. ▶ 96:01
Member positions
1 issues · 0 explicit · 1 inferred
Present
41 Hobart Street Compliance Check-in
NO
✓
Opposed two front doors as non-residential
Present
Positions marked ~ are inferred from context and may not reflect the member's explicitly stated position.
Public comment
What residents said — verbatim, with timestamps.
5
Total speakers
4
Addressed
1
Partial
0
Not addressed
Chris Blazak
Addressed
The owner of 20 Water Street requested a finding to change the use of a vacant former pizzeria into a professional podcast recording studio. He argued that the new use would have lower traffic and parking demands than the restaurant and would be more compatible with the neighborhood.
Key concern
Request to substitute a pre-existing non-conforming restaurant use with a recording studio use.
Board responseThe board asked several clarifying questions regarding business operations, signage, and parking, and ultimately voted to grant the finding.
The board approved the request with specific conditions regarding hours of operation and signage lighting.
Carissa Vitus
Addressed
The owner of 41 Hobart Street participated in a check-in regarding a duplex conversion. She explained that layout changes were made to improve the floor plan and building aesthetics, and noted that they had previously received guidance from the building inspector.
Key concern
Clarification on whether recent structural and elevation changes (specifically regarding front doors and the roofline) were compliant with the original special permit.
Board responseThe board engaged in a lengthy deliberation regarding the architectural impact and the process of reporting changes. They eventually reached a sentiment to allow the project to proceed with the two-door configuration as it stands.
While the board expressed strong dissatisfaction with the aesthetic outcome, they reached a consensus to allow the current state of the building to stand.
Sweder
Addressed
A neighbor at 33 Hobart Street expressed concerns regarding the 41 Hobart Street project. He noted that the house was essentially torn down and rebuilt, and questioned why significant changes were made without returning to the board.
Key concern
The lack of transparency and adherence to the original approved plans/structural promises regarding the foundation and doors.
Board responseThe board acknowledged the concern and discussed the failure of the process where changes were made without returning to the ZBA.
The board addressed the procedural failure, though they ultimately decided to let the current construction stand.
Neighbor
Partial
A neighbor raised concerns about a basement egress window/pit located near their property line. They expressed worry about safety and a lack of protection around the opening near their fence.
Key concern
Safety concerns regarding a basement egress pit and lack of proper protection/bulkheads.
Board responseThe board chair stated they would ask the builder about the egress/window and noted the matter was better suited for the building department.
The board acknowledged the concern and indicated they would follow up with the builder, but deferred the technical resolution to the building department/builder.
Neighbor
Addressed
A neighbor complained about the lack of gutters on the third floor of the 41 Hobart Street project. They noted that rain/wind blows directly onto their vehicles due to the roof pitch.
Key concern
Improper water drainage from the roof impacting adjacent property.
Board responseThe board chair addressed this by noting that the builder stated gutters are planned but were delayed due to winter weather/drainage concerns.
The board confirmed that the drainage issue was identified and that gutters/underground drainage are part of the planned work.
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Report composed by
grok-4.3, gemma-4-26b, grok-4-fast, grok-4.20-0309-reasoning · analyzed 2026-05-29.