Rockport zoning board denies Eden Road addition without prejudice so the owners can return with a smaller plan; porch and deck permits approved

Rockport's Zoning Board of Appeals said no, for now, to a two story studio addition that would have stood less than 2 feet from the back lot line of a house on Eden Road. At the owners' request the board denied the petition without prejudice on Wednesday, Oct. 28, which lets them come back with a different plan instead of waiting two years.

The board met on Zoom for just under an hour. Five members sat on every case: Acting Chair Britta Cahoon, Tacy SanAntonio, Laura Moisin, Erin O'Connell and Richard York.

What happened

• The board denied the Eden Road addition without prejudice, 5 to 0, after members said the addition was too close to the rear lot line. The owners can file a new plan.
• A bigger front porch at a house on Ocean Avenue got a special permit, 5 to 0. It sits in the left side setback about as much as the house already does.
• A deck on a cottage at Laurel Acres got a special permit, 5 to 0. The deck is 8.5 feet from the lot line where 15 feet is required.
• The board approved its Oct. 8 minutes. Its next meeting, the last of the year, is Wednesday, Dec. 2.

Eden Road: too close to the line

The owners want to replace a small mudroom at the back of their house with an addition holding a larger kitchen, a half bath, a sauna and an art studio big enough for large sculptures. The board first heard the case on Oct. 8 and visited the property on Oct. 12. Read what the board heard on Oct. 8.

At the closest point the addition would be 1 foot 8 inches from the rear lot line, and a little over 2 feet at the other end. The town's rule for that district is 15 feet. Behind the line is a strip of land the owners have the right to use, and past that is Oakes Lane, a road that exists only on paper.

The owners' attorney reminded the board that the house was built in 1895 and sits 113.2 feet back from the road, that the neighbors on the other side of the addition wrote letters in support, and that with the addition the lot would be 12 percent covered where 15 percent is allowed. She said the state's new variance standard asks the board to weigh the benefit to the owner against the public interest and lets it consider new housing. The studio has water and a drain line, so it could later become a small apartment.

Cahoon said the site visit did not change her view. "I'm still struggling with putting such a large two story addition less than 2 feet from a lot line," she said. She said the state standard asks what a practical difficulty is, and "to me, I'm seeing a self created hardship."

Moisin said she was "struggling with the same issues." She asked whether the addition could leave more room at the back, and whether building that close could get in the way of housing that might someday go in behind the lot. Other members said the distance bothered them too. One called it "a very large ask." One asked where cars would park, and one raised a point the board has made before about sheds: a building right on a line is hard to paint and maintain without going onto someone else's land.

What the owners said

One owner said the easement behind the house gives them use rights but not building rights, so no one can build there and there is room for two or three cars. The far end of the addition would be about 20 feet from Oakes Lane and the near end about 7 feet, she said, so there is room to maintain it. The owners offered to shorten the addition by 4 inches to reach 2 feet from the line. Cahoon said 2 feet was still too close for her, and that she might be more comfortable at something like 8 feet, though she said no one on the board had settled on a number.

The owners said they could not redesign the addition and get new cost estimates in a month, and that they had hoped to build this winter, before the summer rental season. Their attorney explained the choices: continue the hearing to Dec. 2, or ask for a denial without prejudice. A plain denial would mean a two year wait before the same plan could come back, and the board said the petition could not be withdrawn once it had been published and heard. The owners asked for the denial without prejudice.

Cahoon said she is open to an addition that goes into the setback, just not that close. "If we could improve that cut," she said, "we would appreciate seeing that."

Ocean Avenue porch and Laurel Acres deck

The two other cases took about 15 minutes together. On Ocean Avenue, the owners want to enlarge a small screened in porch at the front of the house. The new porch would go into the left side setback a little less than the house already does. The builder presented, no one from the public spoke, and the board approved special permits for the side setback and lot coverage.

At Laurel Acres, the owners want a deck along the back of a cottage, following the line of the house. The deck would be 8.5 feet from the lot line where 15 feet is required. The neighbors on both sides sent letters in support, and a Thatcher Road resident spoke in favor. Cahoon noted the lot is in the single residential district, not District A as the application said, which does not change the permit needed. An uncovered deck that lets water through does not count toward building coverage under the town bylaw, she said. Members said a rendering the owners sent with the application made the case easy to picture.

What was decided

• Ocean Avenue porch, special permit for the left side setback and lot coverage: approved 5 to 0, from the meeting video.
• Minutes of Oct. 8: approved 5 to 0, from the meeting video.
• Laurel Acres deck, special permit: approved 5 to 0, from the meeting video.
• Eden Road addition, variance and special permit: denied without prejudice, 5 to 0, from the meeting video.
• Adjourned at 6:57 p.m.

What happens next

• The board will write up each decision and file it with the town clerk. A permit takes effect after the appeal period.
• The Eden Road owners can file a new application with a smaller addition or more room at the back. It would go through the usual notice and hearing.
• Wednesday, Dec. 2, 6 p.m.: the board's next and last meeting of 2026, on Zoom. Check the Agendas page.

Where to find the records

• Agenda for the Oct. 28 meeting.
• Recorded Zoom meetings, where the town posts the recording. Minutes will be posted in the town's document portal.
• Zoning Board of Appeals page, with members.

Earlier coverage: Rockport zoning board will visit Eden Road home before ruling on addition close to lot line (Oct. 10), the first hearing. Meetings the week of Oct. 26 (Oct. 25), the week's calendar.

How we did this: Cape Ann Current watched the meeting online on the town's recording. Votes are as heard on the recording and are labeled from the meeting video until the board's minutes confirm them. These are our meeting notes, not the board's minutes.