68 Highland ave STATEMENT OF HARDSHIP STATEMENT OF HARDSHIP FOR
68 HIGHLAND AVENUE
The owners of 68 Highland Avenue are a young family who have moved to Salem and seek
to convert their existing 1-family residence to a 3-family residence to help generate additional
income for the continued improvement and maintenance of this large structure.. This building
conversion work will all take place inside the structure, and requireS no exterior renovations or
expansion of the structure's footprint, building height, and no reductions or changes to its
existing set-backs. The locus is in the R-3 (Multifamily) District under the City of Salem Zoning
Ordinance and Map, where a 3-family residence is allowed. To do so, the petitioners seek the
following variance approvals:
1. A variance from the lot area/dwelling unit requirement of 3,500 SF per unit to allow a lot
area ofABOUT2,033 SF per unit;
2. A variance from the on-site parking requirement of 5 parking spaces for 3 units, to allow
a total of 4 spaces for the 3 units, and
3. A variance from the requirement that a 2-way driveway primarily for overnight parking
with incidental daytime use must be a minimum of 12 feet wide, to allow the existing
driveway, which varies from 10.5 wide at the street, narrows adjacent to the structure
and widens to 14.2 feet at the rear, to serve the 3-family use.
These are very modest requests for zoning relief. All are effectively requests for dimensional
relief, that the CourtS have held may be granted and sustained on relatively slight grounds.
This locus is subject to special conditions and circumstances that affect the land and
building, which do not generally affect other lands and the same district and neighborhood.
Although the property is zoned so that the proposed 3-family use is allowed, the small size and
shape of the lot prevent the applicant from complying with this requirement for any more than
the existing 1-family use. The narrow shape of the lot, together with the location and size of the
existing structure prevent all of-street parking spaces be located at the rear of the property, and
to use the existing driveway, which has apparently served the property for over 100 years,
despite the fact that it is not uniformly 12' wide.
This locus is located in a heavily developed portion of Highland Avenue, surrounded by the
entrance to Salem Hospital directly across the street, the large commercial and apartment
complex known as Heritage Drive and Heritage Plaza beside and behind it.
Because of all of these circumstances, the literal enforcement of the Ordinance would
involve substantial hardship to the applicant by making it financially unfeasible to use it as a 3-
family to generate the additional income pay the expenses and maintenance costs associated
with this structure.
The City of Salem is badly in need of additional safe and renovated housing units, such
as those that the applicant proposes. The locus is in the R-3 District which was created to allow
for such use. For these reasons, the relief requested may be granted without substantial
detriment to the public good, and without nullifying the or substantially derogating from the
intent or purposes of the Ordinance.