Zoning Board of Appeals Meeting
Public hearing: Housing Support Inc. applied for a Chapter 40B comprehensive permit to add 8 assisted living units via four duplexes plus an administration/maintenance building at 276–280 Main St.; the ZBA authorized Stantec for peer review, authorized staff to prepare a contract, and referred the project to multiple City review bodies for comment.
The Zoning Board of Appeals held a public hearing on a comprehensive permit (Chapter 40B) application from Housing Support Inc. to add eight assisted independent-living units at 276, 278, and 280 Main St. The applicant presented plans showing four duplex “cottage” buildings (880 sq ft each, one-bedroom units), a larger administration/maintenance building, and a reconfigured parking layout increasing on-site spaces from 13 to 23 with one electric vehicle charging station. Engineering materials described stormwater measures (catch basins, separators, and subsurface infiltration systems) intended to maintain or reduce existing runoff, and utilities work including new 8-inch sewer and water mains; the units are proposed as all-electric with heat pumps and heat-pump water heaters. The applicant said no interior changes are planned for the three existing buildings and that one unit would be made accessible; code and life-safety items (including removal of two exterior fire escapes) were discussed with the applicant’s code consultant asserting the building will meet applicable standards and has fire suppression.
Numerous abutters spoke with concerns about resident eligibility and safety, CORI/background screening, possible impacts to neighborhood character and property values, stormwater and flooding (including impacts to Bartlett Place and private yards and pools), tree removal and fence changes (including alleged encroachment), dumpster location, street width (proposal reduces driveway access to 20 feet), construction staging, and existing water-main reliability. The applicant clarified the current housing: Bartlett House (276 Main St.) has 14 rooms, a white building on Main St. contains three 2-bedroom veteran units, and 280 Main St. is a four-bedroom group home; proposed cottages would each be leased to one person and the program uses CORI checks to screen applicants (with limited exceptions related to recovery). The Board voted unanimously to retain Stantec as peer reviewer, authorize the Office of Community and Economic Development to prepare scope/contract documents for Stantec, authorize the peer review to start upon receipt of funds and plans, and to send the project to the Technical Review Committee, Planning Board, Historical Commission, and Design Review Committee for comment. The public hearing was continued to the ZBA meeting of May 22, 2025.