24C-197 7 Adare Complaint Response 2015-03-10 (2)
John Hoops
16 Massasoit Street
Northampton, MA 01060
re 7 Adare Place 24C-197
March 10, 2015
Dear Mr. Hoops,
I can understand your concerns about the house under construction at 7 Adare Place.
When the owner presented the design in 2014, I reviewed it for compliance with the table of use and dimensional regulations for the URB district. I've attached a copy of those regulations.
The house complies with all the mandatory requirements of the URB district. The design is unusual, but it has a covered entry, a front door that faces the street, the attached garage
comprises less that 30% of the front facade and is set back 20' from the front lot line, the house meets all required front, side and rear setbacks and the height of the building (as
defined by zoning) is well below the maximum allowed for single and two family dwellings. These are the objective requirements for dwelling units, and compliance with these specific
requirements determines whether the building is allowed.
Zoning defines building height in chapter 350, section 2.1:
HEIGHT The vertical distance from the average finished grade of the adjacent ground to the top of the structure of the highest roof beams of a flat roof, the deck of a mansard roof,
or the mean level of the highest gable or slope of a hip roof. (see diagram 2, below).
​Based on this definition, the height of this house is ~25'; well below the 35' height allowed by the table of use and dimensional regulations.
As far as being consistent with the block faces in the neighborhood, there are a number of buildings within several hundred feet that we had to consider, including the YMCA, Lander Grinspoon,
B'nai Israel, the Survival Center and DPW garage, the Northampton Water Department, Nuttleman Florist, and several dwellings of substantial mass and various heights.
A zoning regulation like 350 Attachment 6 does not give design control in the way regulations for historic or central business districts do. This neighborhood is not an historic district.
Our plan reviews are based on the objective zoning requirements; we cannot use subjective evaluation in these reviews.
I affirm my decision to issue the building permit for 7 Adare Place and will take no further action concerning your complaint.
Massachusetts G.L. 40A, §§ 8 and 15 provide for appeals. The appeal must be taken within 30 days of this decision. An appeal under § 8 is made to the permit granting authority; in Northampton,
the Zoning Board of Appeals. More information about the appeal process is available from the Office of Planning; (413) 587-1266.
Respectfully,
Louis Hasbrouck
Building Commissioner
City of Northampton
(413) 587-1240
lhasbrouck@city.northampton.ma.us
cc Office of Planning and Sustainability