Carver ZBA Seeks Legal Opinion Before Deciding on 2002 ADU Ruling Amendment

CARVER -- July 23, 2025, Carver Zoning Board continues ADU hearing after discovering its own 2002 decision complicates the case. The Zoning Board of Appeals voted unanimously at its July 23 meeting to continue a special permit hearing for David Baston of 15 Pleasant Street to August 6, after board members unearthed a November 2002 ZBA decision granting Baston a special permit for "an accessory apartment for an elderly family member", a ruling that, because it was never appealed, now stands as the legal status of the existing roughly 680-square-foot in-law addition on the property. Baston has been seeking permission to add a new 1,448-square-foot ADU for approximately 18 months, but Building Commissioner Rod Palmer testified that classifying the existing addition as a first ADU would require a full NFPA sprinkler system for the three-unit property, cost-prohibitive, Palmer said, because the property has no town water and no nearby hydrant. Chair Gray said he will seek a town counsel opinion on whether the board can legally amend its own 2002 decision to re-characterize the existing addition as expanded living space, a move that would clear the way for a single new ADU without triggering three-unit fire code requirements.