Hubbardston zoning board unanimously approves variance for garage at 101 Williams Road

The Town of Hubbardston Zoning Board of Appeals voted unanimously March 31 to approve a variance allowing a garage addition and related interior work at 101 Williams Road.

The board approved allowing a reduced side-yard setback recorded by the chair as 16.9 feet to accommodate the proposed two-car garage and modest interior additions. The applicant, Matthew Nolan, told the board he is a mechanic and said the additional space would provide storage and a place to work on vehicles. "I'm a mechanic by trade... just being able to tinker on my own stuff, more storage," Nolan said.

The board discussed site constraints, including significant ledge and restricted topography at the property. The chair said that the lot "has a lot of ledge" and that the requested location was "very restricted of where they could put anything," arguing the proposal appeared reasonable without large-scale blasting. Neighbor Robert Richard, speaking on behalf of his daughter (the record owner, Dawn Marie Rasker), said the owner supports the project: "My daughter... is the actual owner of the property. She said she's gonna approve of this."

A board member moved to approve the variance and another member seconded. The board conducted a roll-call vote and the chair announced the motion passed unanimously. Staff later explained procedural next steps: a 21-day appeal period follows the vote; if unappealed, staff will record the variance at the registry of deeds and the applicant must obtain a building permit before beginning construction.

The vote, as announced by the board, approved the variance and the hearing was closed. The board also reminded the applicant to consider roof overhangs and how those dimensions could affect future transactions or building approvals.

The variance takes effect after the statutory appeal period if no appeal is filed; the applicant may apply for a building permit after the recordation step described by staff.