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2024-01-11 OPS Report v5 24_Corticelli and 198_Nonotuck Nathan Chung, Land Use Planner ▪ NChung@NorthamptonMA.gov ▪ (413) 587-1262 Staff Reports for ZBA 01/11/2024 5th revision, 01/10/2024 Covered in the reports ● 24 Corticelli St: ZBA Special Permit application for converting a garage with a nonconforming left-side setback into additional living area and adding a deck behind it. Key details are in green highlights. ● 198 Nonotuck St: ZBA Special Permit application for further encroaching into the nonconforming right-side setback. Applicant revised setback measurements after measuring using survey pins on 1/9/2024. Notable updates to the report are in purple highlights. - Please proceed to the next page - Staff Report for 24 Corticelli St PERMIT TYPE PUBLIC HEARING DATE OWNER EXISTING USE ZBA Special Permit 01/11/2024 Felix Harvey (Also the applicant) Two-family home PROPERTY ADDRESS/PARCEL ID/ZONE/LOT SIZE 1. Address: 24 Corticelli St, Florence, MA 2. Parcel ID: 22B-037 3. Zone: URB 4. Lot size: About 12,880 sqft (per Assessor’s records) (Leftmost photo: Left-side setback of 24 Corticell. Middle: 24 Corticelli from the front. Right: 24 Corticelli from the left side) APPLICATION URL Direct link to the pending application (*Parent folder link if you have trouble using the direct link. Locate the application folder by Parcel ID: https://northamptonma.gov/pending) Summary of Request The applicant is the owner-resident of a two-family house on 24 Corticelli St. The second dwelling unit is in the basement. The house has an attached garage on the left-side, looking at the house from Corticelli St. The garage has a nonconforming left-side setback of about 6 feet. The applicant proposes to convert this garage into additional living area and add a deck behind it. The applicant proposes to make the following changes: 1. Convert the attached one-bay garage into additional living area for the ground-floor unit by remodeling it into a second living room, second bedroom, and attic storage. The number of required parking spaces for the two-family house is 3 (2 for the house on the first floor and 1 for the one in the basement), and it currently has 3 spaces. The garage has 1 space and the driveway has 2. By converting the garage into living space, the number of parking spaces goes from 3 to 2. According to the Director of Planning, the ZBA cannot provide zoning relief for this violation via the special permit. The applicant is considering asking for continuance to address this issue. Not considering the parking space violation, the conversion from the attached garage to living area creates a new greater left-side setback violation since attached garages are allowed to have 10’ side setback rather than the 15’ for living areas. The violation would normally be a part of the ZBA review for potentially granting of zoning relief via the special permit under 350-9.3A(10). 2. Install a deck behind the above-mentioned garage. The dimension will be 8-feet wide and 10- feet deep. It will have a left-side setback of about 9 feet, which encroaches more than five feet into the required setback and encroaches less than the existing setback. If the deck proposal was a standalone application, it would require a Finding permit per 350-9.3A(7). Similar to the 350-9.3A(10) special permit requirement, the board must find that the expansion “will not be substantially more detrimental to the neighborhood than the existing nonconforming nature of the structure, lot and or use.” The Board may consider each component of the application separately. Applicable Laws The Zoning Ordinance can be found here: https://ecode360.com/13265306. Each reference has direct links. • URB zoning attachment (Link) on minimum parking for residential use: “1 space per 1,000 ft2 gross living area (round up). No more than 2 spaces required per unit.” • URB zoning attachment on allowing side setbacks for attached garages to 10’ rather than 15’: “The side setback may be 10 feet for the garage only when not used as living area.” • 8.3A, existing spaces (Link): “Parking or loading spaces… shall not be decreased or any way removed from service to the use originally intended to be served, so long as said use remains, unless a number of parking or loading spaces is constructed elsewhere, such that the total number of spaces conforms to the zoning requirements.” • 8.8D, parking requirement (Link): “Parking shall not be located within five feet from the front lot line for residential uses…” “For all residential uses in all residential districts except for URC, parking for more than two vehicles shall not be permitted within the front yard setback.” • 9.3A(7) and 9.3A(10) (Link): Triggers for Finding and Special Permit requirements. Compliance with Zoning The parking space violation resulting from the garage conversion prevents the ZBA from approving the conversion. More under “Details on Parking Requirements” below. TYPE REQUIREMENTS EXISTING NON- CONFORMITIES PROPOSED CONDITIONS Parking Minimum number of parking space: 1 space per 1,000 ft2 gross living area (round up). No more than 2 spaces required per unit. The current gross living area reported by the applicant is 1,010 sqft for the first unit and 450 sqft for the second unit in the basement. The total number of required parking spaces is 3 per the zoning ordinance. Potentially none. The applicant has three spaces. The required width for each parking space is 8.5’, requiring 17’ total for two spaces side-by-side. The staff does not know the width of the existing spaces. The proposal increases the first unit’s living area by 325 sqft for a total of 1335 sqft, still requiring 3 spaces. The applicant’s proposed garage conversion reduces the number of parking spaces to 2 open spaces. Front yard setback may only have parking for a maximum of two vehicles per zoning. There is no room to create additional spaces in the driveway. The ZBA cannot provide zoning relief to the parking space violation via the special permit. Setbacks Minimum side setback for attached garages: 10’ Minimum side setback for principal structures: 15’ Left-side setback for the attached garage: ~6’ (~4 encroachment into the required minimum) Left-side setback for the proposed garage-to- living-space conversion: ~6’ (~9’ encroachment into the required minimum) Left-side setback for the proposed deck behind the living space: ~9’ Details on Parking Requirements According to the Assessor’s Property Card, the permit for the second dwelling unit in the basement was approved on August 10th, 2018. The zoning ordinance at the time had the same parking requirement, requiring 3 spaces – 2 for the first unit and 1 for the second unit. The house has the one-bay garage and two open spaces in front of the garage. Parking spaces for the same dwelling unit can be in tandem. The proposed garage conversion would remove the garage parking space, leaving two open spaces in the driveway, which is one less than required by the current zoning ordinance. Zoning ordinance 8.3A has strict languages about not reducing the number of parking spaces below the required minimum. Other Issues None. Staff Decision Recommendation ● The board would not be able to provide zoning relief for the parking space reduction below the required number of spaces. The applicant is considering asking for continuance to address this issue. Otherwise, if the application stays the same, the Board would need to deny the application. Staff Report for 198 Nonotuck St PERMIT TYPE PUBLIC HEARING DATE OWNER EXISTING USE ZBA Special Permit 01/11/2024 Louise & Michael Martindel. Applicant is their contractor Valley Home Improvement Inc. Single-family house PROPERTY ADDRESS/PARCEL ID/ZONE/LOT SIZE 1. Address: 198 Nonotuck St, Florence 2. Parcel ID: 23A-290 3. Zone: General Industrial (GI) 4. Lot size: About 9,121 sqft (Per assessor’s records) (Left photo below: 198 Nonotuck from Nonotuck St. Right: 198 Nonotuck from the right.) APPLICATION URL Direct link to the pending application (*Parent folder link if you have trouble using the direct link. Locate the application folder by Parcel ID: https://northamptonma.gov/pending) Summary of Request The applicant, the contractor for the owner, proposes to add additional living space on the first floor and an additional bedroom on the second floor to the rear of the existing single-family house. The current right-side setback looking at the house from Nonotuck St is nonconforming at about 9’. The applicant originally reported the nonconforming setback as 6’ based on MassGIS, which is not authoritative. The Planning Director requested measuring using survey pins on the property, and 9’ is the measured setback. Due to the right-side lot line and the house not being parallel, the addition will be closer to the right-side lot line than the existing house. The proposed addition reduces the right-side setback from about 9 feet to about 5 feet, resulting in a new zoning violation. According to the applicant, expanding into the left- side of the house is not a viable option due to the driveway being there. Due to the new zoning violation, the project requires a ZBA special permit per 9.3A(10). The board must find that the expansion “will not be substantially more detrimental to the neighborhood than the existing nonconforming nature of the structure, lot and or use.” Applicable Laws • Section 2.1, Definition of Setback: “Said setback shall be measured perpendicular (at right angles) to the lot line.” • GI zoning attachment on setbacks and uses (Link) • 9.3A(10): Trigger for special permit requirements. Compliance with Zoning *Note: GI zoning district has 0’ minimum frontage requirement, so the structure has a conforming frontage. Measurements are approximate. TYPE REQUIREMENTS EXISTING NON- CONFORMITIES PROPOSED CONDITIONS Use Allowed uses in GI include manufacturing, non- medical offices, and corporate back offices. It does not allow for residential uses such as single-family homes. The current use is a single-family house. Same. Setbacks Front: 20 feet minimum Front: ~1’ Front: Same Side: 15 feet minimum Rear: 20 feet minimum Right-side: ~9’ Right-side: ~5’ (According to the applicant, this is the setback from the roof overhang, not the wall of the house. If so, it gives more area for maintenance.) Other Issues None. Staff Decision Recommendation • Though the subject parcel and the abutting residential parcel are in the GI zone, wherein many non-residential uses are allowed by right, the Board could consider the expansion’s visual and privacy impact to the residential abutter to the southwest. • Consider what the setback will be for the addition. Would any parts of it such as the eaves encroach further than the 5-feet setback? • Consider the applicant’s plan for constructing and maintaining the addition with the ~5’ setback. For reference, in Reduced Lot Line developments allowed in urban residential districts, 5’ setback is the threshold for requiring a five-foot maintenance easement per 350-6.13B. • How would the addition handle the roof water? According to the applicant the water will be diverted into the backyard. Verify with the applicant. • The board can consider whether requiring a survey and an easement as a condition is needed based on the narrowness of the setback. ☐ Approve ☒ Approve with Conditions ☐ Deny Staff Condition Recommendation The following conditions and others determined by the Board based on public hearing comments. 1. All elements of the structure, including roof eaves, shall have a minimum 5’ setback from the west/southwest property line. 2. The owner shall not add egress doors to the west/southwest side of the house. 3. All roof runoff shall be directed toward the rear lot and contained on site.