Wayland ZBA approves Rice Spring Lane addition over abutter objection

WAYLAND -- December 10, 2024, Wayland ZBA approves contested Rice Spring Lane addition 5-0 over abutter objection. The Zoning Board of Appeals granted Michelle Bellatier a special permit to replace an attached one-car garage at 31 Rice Spring Lane with a two-car garage and master suite, allowing the structure to sit 18.3 feet from the north line versus the existing 22 feet. Builder Ted Gowdy walked members through more than a half-dozen rejected design alternatives; abutter Pamela Kimes of 33 Rice Spring Lane urged the board to hold the existing setback, citing "spaciousness" and lost daylight to her art studio. Chair Thomas William White said the roughly three-foot shift would not be "substantially more detrimental." The board also approved a front-yard variance for Judith Blanchard Kennedy at 4 Emerson Road, special permits for Albert Zagami at 15 Sylvan Way and for David Wei and Claudia at 18 Bald Rock Road, and disclosed it has settled a July open meeting law complaint.