11 Felt Street Petition FormDominick Pangallo
Mayor
CITY OF SALEM, MASSACHUSETTS
ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS
98 WASHINGTON STREET, 2ND FLOOR
SALEM, MASSACHUSETTS 01970
Brennan Postich, Staff Planner
Phone: 978-619-5685
Stavroula Orfanos, Director of Inspectional Services
Phone: 978-619-5641
Zoning Board of Appeals Application
Application ID: ZBA-25-41 Date submitted: October 2, 2025
TO THE BOARD OF APPEALS:
The Undersigned represent(s) that they are the owner(s) of a certain parcel of land located at:
Address: 11 FELT STREET Zoning District: R-1
An application is being submitted to the Board of Appeals for the following reason(s):
Application to convert existing garage into an ADU apartment by adding upper floor addition and exterior stairway.
For this reason, I am requesting:
[ true ]Variance (s) from provisions of Section 4.1.1 of the Zoning Ordinance, specifically from The rear yard width is only 3.9 feet where
5 feet are required, and one side yard is only 4.12 feet, where 5 feet are required..
[ true ] A Special Permit under Section 3.2.8 (Accessory Dwelling Units) of the Zoning Ordinance in order to Applicant seeks a finding by
the majority of the Board that converting the existing garage to an ADU apartment in accordance with the plans submitted will not be
substantially more detrimental to the neighborhood than the existing garage.
[]Appealing a Decision of the Building Inspector:
[] Comprehensive Permit:
Current Property Use: 1-family and garage Are Lot Dimensions Included: Yes
The Undersigned hereby petitions the Board of Appeals to vary the terms of the Salem Zoning Ordinance and allow the project to be
constructed as per the plans submitted, as the enforcement of said Zoning By-Laws would involve practical difficulty or unnecessary
hardship to the Undersigned and relief may be granted without substantially derogating from the intent and purpose of the Zoning
Ordinance.
Statement of Hardship (for Variances):
The proposed ADU apartment is an allowed use in this R-1 District. Because the parcel is nonconforming as to lot size (5,662 SF where
15,000 SF are required), and the existing and proposed rear yard width will be 3.9 feet, where 5 feet are required, and the proposed side
yard width on one side will be 4.12 feet where 5 feet are required, the finding and dimensional variances are required. The proposal
is to renovate the existing garage as it sits by adding a second-level addition with the same pre-
existing rear and side-yard yard widths as exist. There will be no expansion of the garage footprint.
The ADU ordinance requires a finding by the Board acting on a majority vote that the accessory dwelling unit will not be substantially
more detrimental to the neighborhood than the existing noncomforming garage structure.
Grounds for the yard-width Variances:
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To have to move the existing garage a foot or less on 2 sides to comply with the yard width requirements would be very expensive,
wasteful and prohibitorily expensive. The existing conditions of the size, shape and existing conditions are unique to this property, and
the enforcement of the lot width provisions of the Ordinance would constitute a hardship, financial and otherwise, to the applicant, and
would probably prevent the applicant from constructing the ADU dwelling unit. Salem is badly in need of increasing it's housing stock, so
this proposal to add a new and code-compliant dwelling unit can be approved without substantial detriment to the public good, and
without substantially derogating from the intent of the district or the purpose of the ordinance.
Statement of Grounds (for Special Permits):
Grounds for ADU Finding:
To approve the finding that the proposed ADU will not be substantially more detrimental than the
existing structure to the neighborhood, the Board can find that:
a. the social and economic need of the community for more new safe and code-compliant housing
will be served by the proposal;
b. the ADU ordinance does not require on-site parking, and adding one dwelling unit using the
existing curb cut and driveway will not be detrimental to traffic flow and safety on Felt Street;
c. adequate municipal utilities and public services already serve the primary dwelling, and are
adequate for the ADU;
d. no change in the grade, topography or building size are proposed, and the design and materials to
be used for the garage renovation are either the same or complimentary to the existing design and
materials, so there should be no impacts on the natural enironment, including drainage;
e. the design and materials proposed are consistent with the neighborhood character, and
f. new temporary construction jobs will be created by the proposed work, and the real estate
assessment of the property will increase and additional real estate tax revenue will be created for the
City.
Petitioner: Meredith E. Flanagan
Address: 11 Felt Street, Salem, MA 01970
Telephone: 978-491-8920
Email: meredith.flanagan@gmail.com
Signature: ________________________________
Date: ____________________________________
If different from petitioner
Property Owner:
Address: ,
Telephone:
Email:
Signature: ________________________________
Date: ________________________________
If different from petitioner
Representative: William F. Quinn
Address: 27 Congress Street, Salem, MA 01970
Telephone: 781-718-1355
Email: billquinnlaw@gmail.com
Signature: ________________________________
Date: ________________________________
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