Zoning board falls one vote short on Howell Road lot

In this report: Key decisions · Next dates · Full report · Sources

What happened

The Zoning Board of Appeals split 3-2 on Matthew Roman's request for a variance to build a one-bedroom house on an 8,300-square-foot lot at Lot 27, Howell Road, well under the 20,000 square feet the 1941 bylaw required. Four of five votes were needed, so the motion failed; a repeated roll call gave the same 3-2 result, and the presiding member said the vote closed the matter. The building inspector supported a variance, while neighbors opposed it, saying the wooded lot screens homes from a nursing home's floodlights.

Key decisions

• 🏠 Variance for house on undersized Lot 27, Howell Road. The motion to approve the variance failed because four affirmative votes were required. A repeated roll call gave the same 3-2 result, and the board closed the matter without granting the variance. (Vote 3-2). Read case details

Next dates

• Dec. 7: Next meeting; 2027 meeting dates to be considered

Research this meeting with Townbrief AI: “Did the Zoning Board of Appeals grant the variance for Lot 27, Howell Road (Case 26-13)?” Ask this question

Full meeting report

The complete, section-by-section account of the meeting, 1,407 words, for members.

Checked against the record: before publication this article was automatically compared with the meeting transcript. It was corrected where it differed.