21 Webb Street Statement of Grounds and Hardship (Original) City of Salem
Zoning Board of Appeals
93 Washington Street
Salem, MA 01970
STATEMENT OF GROUNDS FOR SPECIAL
PERMIT AND VARIANCE FOR 21 WEBB STREET
This Application requests that the Board issue a Special Permit for the purpose of
constructing a Bed and Breakfast, as permitted in the R-2 zone under Section 3.1 of the Salem
Zoning Ordinance.This Application further requests that the Board issue a Dimensional Variance
for the purposes of constricting said Bed and Breakfast where the proposed structure does not meet
the rear and side yard setback requirements,nor height requirement.
Factual Background:
The only current structure on the approximately 9,945 square feet lot is a single-story six-car
garage with no residential units. The rest of the property consists of an otherwise empty
blighted lot surrounded by a chain-link fence. The lot is located within the R-2 zone and the
Coastal Resiliency Overlay District (CROD), with a significant portion of the lot being in a
FEMA AE Flood Hazard zone, along the lot's side of frontage.
The lot and the garages thereon presently remain unused for their commercial rental use.
The structure on the lot is currently nonconforming. It consists of a side yard setback of 0.6
feet there 10 feet is required, and a rear yard setback of approximately 2.4 feet where 30 feet
is required.
The proposed structure meanwhile will have 5 foot side yard setback and a 3.3 foot rear
yard setback.
Special Permit Grounds for Relief:
The specific grounds for granting the Special Permit are that this proposed change will not
be substantially more detrimental to the neighborhood than the existing condition of the
property, taking into account the following factors:
a) This proposal fills a community need for tourist accommodations. A Bed and
Breakfast provides an additional temporary lodging option for visitors to Salem that
does not require as much volume as a hotel. Furthermore, it is a consolidated form of
lodging, with on-site management, offering an option that is likely to be less
obtrusive than some of the neighboring residences used as short-term rentals (e.g.
AirBnB).
b) Assuming a Bed and Breakfast comports to the requirements of an inn for the
purposes of parking, only seven parking spaces are needed, where nine are provided
on site and any increase to neighborhood traffic will be negligible.
c) Adequate public services and municipal utilities will be made available to all proposed
units.
d) There should not be any significant impact upon the natural environment or surface
water drainage;Applicants are working with engineers to ensure full compliance for
the purposes of CROD site plan review.
e) Because the planned Bed and Breakfast will convert a blighted lot into an
aesthetically landscaped piece of land and because the architecture is intended to
conform to local designs, there will be no negative impact to the existing
character of the neighborhood.
f) The proposed Bed and Breakfast is likely to generate business for the City by way of
tourism and is also likely to increase the assessed value of the property and overall value
of the neighborhood, thereby increasing real estate tax revenue.
Variance Hardship:
Due to the small size of the lot and the environmental limitations created by CROD and the
FEMA Flood Hazard Zone, the proposed structure must be built at the rear of the lot, roughly
where the current garages exist. Because of these conditions, enforcement of the dimensional
requirements would cause the lot to be undevelopable and poses a practical and financial
hardship to the Applicants.
Under the circumstances, the relief to allow a use otherwise allowed by special permit and
meeting community needs is not against public interest or adverse to the intent and purposes of
the Zoning Ordinance.
WHEREFORE, the Applicants respectfully request approval of the specified relief.