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Date: 12/29/2021
BELCHERTOWN – During the Belchertown Planning Board’s Dec. 14 meeting, the board discussed a special permit for 10 South Main St., which would allow the owner to convert an existing garage into a duplex, therefore changing the zoning from business to residential.
The site’s owner, Joshua Kenney, said there would be no additional building outside of a renovation.
“At 10 South Main St. I have the main building and then there is a barn and carriage house that is separate. I would like to fix that up and then convert it into two rental units,” he said.
When asked if the duplex would require a demolition of the existing garage, Kenney said it would be a simple remodel.
“The two garage bays, the walls are going to be completely reframed, but the roof system was replaced at some point. On the left-hand side most of the original structure is in good shape and I would like to keep it. There are a couple places in the floor that are cracked and need to be replaced. The siding and stuff on the outside are rather shoddy to be honest,” he said.
Kenney added that the main building currently houses five rental spaces to two businesses so it would be an extension of his rental offerings.
“We had trouble renting any of those spaces as commercial space, so we went to residential and we have been having good success renting it as a residential space,” he said.
John McLaughlin, an attorney from Green Miles Lipton, LLP who represents an abutting family, said the permit would be against the town bylaws.
“For the use that is going into the structure, he lists that he is building a two-family home. What he is doing is building a two-family home in the backyard of an existing home. Your bylaws do not state that you can have two primary uses on one lot,” he said. “Your bylaws simply do not allow that.”
Board Vice Chair Michael Hofler said he was in favor of the permit.
“From my perspective you have a non-conforming building, but the current use is conforming, and the proposed use is conforming if he gets a special permit, so if he converts it from the current storage to any approved use, that to me is within the scope of his rights,” he said. “He is not building from scratch, and he is not asking to convert it to a non-conforming use.”
Disagreeing with Hofler, board member Daniel Beaudette said he was against the permit.
“This is a business zoned area and if he wants to keep it in a business use then God bless him, but if he wants to change it to residential use, we have enough residential property in town, thank you very much,” he said. “This is an argument that has been made in the past that we should not be eroding our business zone areas by allowing them to be converted to residential use.”
Beaudette added the town needs to preserve business spaces.
“I think it is wrong to expand the use of the property to residential when it is already zoned for business and Belchertown needs to conserve its business use areas, especially right there in the middle of town,” he said.
Board Chair James Natle said he was also against losing business space in town.
“In the heart of town, when you are right on the corner of South Main Street and Maple that is the very heart of the center of town. I understand we are not a high business use type of town, but I certainly do not want to see more of it being lost,” he said. “Once you convert it, it is gone.”
With a 2-2 split vote, the board did not recommend the Zoning Board of Appeals move forward with the special permit application, but that board will still have the opportunity to approve the permit.
The Planning Board next meets on Jan. 11.