Board grants 5-foot side-yard variance for ADU at 23 Cottage Ave after applicant narrows request

The Old Orchard Beach Board of Appeals approved a 5-foot south side-yard setback reduction for a proposed accessory dwelling unit at 23 Cottage Ave on Aug. 31, after the applicant agreed to eliminate an external deck and staircase that had complicated the request.

Bernadette, the owner of 23 Cottage Ave, said the request was for a front setback reduction from 20 to 17 feet and a side setback from 15 to 9 feet to accommodate an ADU; Tom LeChants, who identified himself and said he would help the applicant, described the layout and explained the front deck provides second-floor access. The board urged the applicant to consider removing the external deck/staircase to address path-of-egress concerns and reduce the scope of variance requests.

After that narrowing, a member moved to approve a 5-foot reduction on the south side yard (the board characterized this as the single setback to be voted on). The motion passed on a roll-call vote; the clerk told the applicant documents would be ready for pickup, and the applicant was advised about recording the decision.