Charlton ZBA Approves Smith Road ADU Variance, Defers Commercial Garage Appeal

CHARLTON — April 7, 2026 — Charlton Zoning Board approves Smith Road ADU garage variance and defers commercial garage dispute to May 19. The board voted unanimously Tuesday to grant a variance allowing James and Linda Pietro of 39 Smith Road to attach a two-car garage approximately 400 square feet larger than permitted under the town's accessory dwelling unit rules, with Building Commissioner Kurt Meskis confirming the revised plans now comply with the 1,250-square-foot ADU cap and include required fire-rated separations. A more contentious appeal by Nelson Burlingame of 186 Burlingame Road — who is fighting a Meskis opinion letter holding that his large commercial equipment garage became an impermissible principal commercial use when Burlingame subdivided his lot in September 2025 — was continued unanimously after members said they needed more time to analyze whether the pre-existing nonconforming status of a garage built around 1987 survives a lot split; a decision is required before June 24. The board also issued a supplemental special permit unanimously for Dmytrii Moshxivskiy at 48 Stevens Park Road, whose near-complete lakefront cottage reconstruction triggered a return visit after workers discovered there was effectively no foundation under the building's southeast corner — "the circumstances all changed when they started construction," Meskis said — with the new permit explicitly additive to the original September 3, 2025 grant.