Case No. 2026-0046 Madequecham Valley Road House Relocation and Second Dwelling

At a glance

Based on auto-generated captions; names and details may be misheard.

What: a request for front-setback relief to move an eroding house back from the coastal bank and add a new second dwelling on the same lot.
Where it stands: continued to November 19, 2026; the board supports moving the existing house but not the new dwelling's proposed spot.
Next: the applicant is to return with an updated plan after talking to the owners, engineer and architect.

Attorney Arthur Reid presented for the owners, with the project engineer present.
The existing house is about 61 ft from the top of the bank and erosion continues; it would move back more than 100 ft, with a 204 sq ft addition, and the driveway would be extended inside the lot.
A new second dwelling is proposed in the north-east corner, about 4 ft from the front line (the relocated house is about 18 ft from it); the front setback is 35 ft.
The road is a 40 ft paper road that ends at the lot; the land to the north and east is owned by the Land Bank and is not expected to be opened.
The applicant said a compliant second dwelling could be built today but would likely mean a return for more relief as erosion continues.

Members were comfortable with relocating the existing house, since the board has long encouraged moving as far from the bank as possible.
Most objected to a brand-new two-story building so far into the setback beside another two-story building, saying the second dwelling should read as secondary.
Discussion of the new variance standard (practical difficulty instead of substantial hardship) and whether it covers new construction an owner could place elsewhere.
Ideas raised: rotate the buildings to follow the lot line, pull the new dwelling behind the parking, swap the two locations, and show the Historic District Commission approved footprint (a T shape) on the site plan.

Continued to November 19, 2026, by unanimous vote, with a request for an updated plan.

Video: https://youtube.com/watch?v=6p7jYuqnryc
The posted agenda for this meeting was not available when this page was written.

About 34 minutes across 1 meeting (from transcript timestamps; approximate).

Meeting	Minutes
2026-10-15 - Zoning Board of Appeals	34

2026-10-15 - Zoning Board of Appeals — Heard; no objection to relocating the existing house, but concerns about the new second dwelling in the front setback; continued to November 19 (unanimous).