Somerville ZBA Approves Windsor Road Heat Pump Variance, Continues Bartlett Street Shed Case

Zoning Board · Meeting of June 3, 2026

Somerville's Zoning Board of Appeals approved one heat pump variance and delayed a contested shed case at its June 3 remote meeting. Chair Orsola Susan Fontano presided as the board voted 5-0 to grant applicant Sasha a hardship variance at 29A Windsor Road, allowing a heat pump compressor to be installed less than two feet from the side property line under Somerville Code of Ordinances Section 243, with conditions set in a May 14 staff report. In the second matter, case planner Alvaro Esparza apologized to applicants Raymond and Barbara Estrella of 39 Bartlett Street, disclosing that city staff had missed a required lot-coverage figure on their survey plot plan, and recommended a continuance.

Member Ann Fullerton said on the record, "as of today, I don't see the hardship for number one," referring to the site-conditions criterion of the three-part hardship test, while Vice Chair Anne Brockelman pressed for confirmation that state building code may require a fire-rated rear wall because the shed sits within three feet of the property line. The board voted 5-0 to continue the Bartlett Street shed case to June 17, directing the Estrellas to submit a hand-drawn schematic and a finished-exterior rendering, and asking Esparza to provide a supplemental memo with lot-coverage data and a fire-code determination.

In the full story:

• Background and stakes
• The question before the body
• Substantive content
• The deliberation
• Procedural outcome
• Implications and what is next
• The complete report — 2,126 words

Source: the Zoning Board meeting of June 3, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.