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House behind a house with a large driveway so firetrucks can turn around not the best idea on a narrow Dorchester street, board says
By adamg on Thu, 10/19/2023 - 12:50pm
The Zoning Board of Appeal this week rejected a Wrentham Street resident's request to build a second, house behind hers, with members saying they objected to a curb cut more than twice as large as normally allowed and a long driveway wide enough that firetrucks could pull in for a fire and then turn around without having to navigate the narrow street.
An architect for Paulette Whitaker, a Boston schoolteacher who owns 79 Wrentham, said she wants to build the 3-story duplex for her family to live in, on what in Dorchester is a large overall lot - some 14,000 square feet, just with relatively short access to the street.
In reviewing the plans, the Boston Fire Department insisted on the wide curb cut and long driveway for fire safety - even if the rear house were to be fully sprinklered. But at a zoning-board hearing Tuesday, the BPDA opposed the proposal because the curb cut was too wide and the driveway, at 20 feet wide and 30 feet long, would mean too much of the lot would be covered with an impervious surface.
Two nearby residents spoke against the project, noting the city zoning code prohibits construction of a house behind another house and citing concerns about natural light.
The board voted unanimously to deny the proposal for variances without prejudice, which means Whitaker can come back with another proposal without waiting a year. Board member Katie Whewell, who made the motion, said that at 3 stories, the two-family house was too large for the area.
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Comments
really?
We really need to change this zoning..
Also natural light? Really?
Um. A quick look at street view says that all the houses on this street are 2 and 1/2 stories (meaning 2 stories + attic). Not sure why that was even relevant.
Stupid reporting mistake fixed
Board member Katie Whewell said 3 stories was too large. I should've given the post a once over before hitting Submit.
why?
I don't do it to my work email. I like having people reply to me going "what did you mean by saying xxxx". My most common mistake is incomplete
Regardless my argument still stands. 3 stories isn't that high, most buildings in this area are 3 stories. Hello Triple Deckah.
plenty of triple deckers
Wrentham is near Peabody Square. This area has 3 story buildings and 3 plus unit homes. I do agree building out the whole lot if the fire department can't service the building. Would a gravel driveway be considered?
My Mom was raised one a
My Mom was raised one a street in Brighton, where there was a house in front of another house. My Mom grew up in one and her grandparents lived in the other house.
obsessive fire safety
I don't think it makes sense to to put so much emphasis on firetruck mobility anymore. If firetrucks need to carefully reverse out of dead end streets instead of having a roomy cul de sac to turn around, then that's not the worst thing.
Don't they have hoses?
Does the fire truck really need to pull up right next to the house? I thought they had hoses for that. Seems like a new construction house with sprinklers would be much safer than the vast majority of Dorchester buildings.
Maybe my ignorance is showing
Maybe my ignorance is showing, but wouldn't FD access to the 2nd house be every bit as difficult as trying to put out a fire at the REAR of the huge triple decker across the street at 80-82 Wrentham? They have hoses long enough to get there - seems they'd be able to handle this. It's also not one of the 2-car wide one-way's, it has parking on both sides which shows it's plenty wide for the truck.
But, it's kind of a tired looking single family anyways, maybe the next rendition of this plan would be to tear existing structure down and build a 3-family, there would hardly be much grounds to object to that in this neighborhood.
Curb cuts mean loss of ….
…. parking spaces.
Parking spaces are way more important than housing. Everyone knows that.
Someone loves impervious services
There is a rule for curb cuts- you can't cut a curb if it means the loss of more spaces than the cut gains.
Upon review
The main house is a single family. Why not tear that down, maybe put up a 4 unit dwelling. The net result is the same.
Of course, there is probably some sentimental attachment to the existing house, but it's a weird lot.
we agree twice in a week?
That house is also kind of ugly. Pull it down and rebuild with at least 6 units. If you create parking with drainage (gravel, pavers), you can put six spaces off the street and give the fire department access. Can they install another fire department water pipe?
House behind a house.
There was one approved on Everett ave in Dorchester a few years ago. Even with opposition from neighbors about fire trucks not having access to the house in the back.
I live in this neighborhood
You have got to be kidding me. These requirements are overkill. People already mentioned the silliness of the height/space argument; there are big six unit 3-deckers all over the place here.
This is asinine. The neighborhood as built up in the '20s was meant to house a lot of people, in a relatively nice environment and living conditions. And the T close by. I don't see this proposal as any different from the rest of the neighborhood. Why, oh why, city agencies, during the historic housing crunch?