Eight years and counting. ZBA extends residential renovation timeline

After some back-and-forth at the Zoning Board of Appeals, a home renovation project on Vernon Street has received permission to continue ironing out its final details.

In 2018, the board granted Donald and Marie Alexis variances to add a two-story addition to their zoning-nonconforming Vernon Street home, allowing them to build slightly into the lot’s side setbacks and exceed the maximum lot coverage typically allowed in the zone. 

Since then, the project has encountered multiple delays. In 2022, the board allowed the Alexis family to modify their plans, giving them until 2024 to complete the newly-redefined renovation. Since then, the project has returned to the ZBA for multiple timeline extensions.

When Donald Alexis came in front of the board at its Tuesday meeting to request a sixth extension, he explained that construction on the house was done, but he found he needed to go back and fix some mistakes introduced by a contractor before the house could pass the Building Department’s final inspections.

Board members expressed frustration at how long the project had taken, pointing out that the last permit extension included a clause saying the board wouldn’t extend it further. 

“I’ve done plenty of things in the city myself too, and they don’t take this long,” said board member Matt Devaux. “I’m not saying I won’t grant it, but you’ve got to get it done.”

Board member Glenna Gelineau petitioned for leniency, arguing that withholding the variances wouldn’t do anything constructive. “I don’t think it’s anything he’s done intentionally,” Gelineau said. “[Making] him reinvent the wheel makes no sense to me.”

The board voted 4–1 to extend the time period to complete the project, with board chair John Sergi voting against it.

Kingston Road renovation

The board also granted developers Scott Douglas and Callaghan McCarthy variances to add an additional floor to a house on Kingston Road, a residential crescent street off of Trapelo Road.

Douglas explained they intended to renovate the house, which already encroaches slightly into the lot’s setbacks, into a two-and-a-half-floor building and maintain it to sell later. He said they’d recently done a similar project on Piety Corner’s Maravista Avenue.

Two neighbors came up to ask questions about the project. One asked about plans to clean up and maintain the house’s backyard; one asked the board to impose conditions on the project requiring the owners to keep the yard clear of weeds, repair or replace a decaying border fence  and install privacy glass on any new second-floor windows facing her house.

Douglas said they had contracted a landscaper to keep the property’s yard clear, and planned to clean up the yard and replace the fence to make the house presentable for sale. The owners and neighbors exchanged contact information to discuss any concerns further.

The board voted unanimously to grant the variance.