Arlington ZBA Accepts Appleton Street Driveway Variance Withdrawal, Advances Two Addition Permits

ARLINGTON — July 14, 2026 — Arlington's Zoning Board of Appeals accepted the withdrawal of a variance application for a second driveway at 355 Appleton Street and closed public hearings on two separate addition projects at its July 14 remote meeting. Chair Christian Klein led a five-member straw poll that found unanimously that the applicants at 355 Appleton — who sought a flat, front-yard parking space to replace a steep basement-garage driveway — could not satisfy the first of four required variance criteria under Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 40A Section 10, with Co-Chair Patrick Hanlon stating the sloped driveway was "a generalized problem" not unique to the property and that "man-made changes to topography" created by the house's design could not support a variance. Member Roger DuPont advised the applicants that a formal denial would preclude a similar application for two years, prompting the withdrawal. The board then voted unanimously to close hearings on a mudroom addition at 15 Janet Road — where applicant Saul Moscowitz agreed to add a side window at the board's suggestion — and a 1,181-square-foot rear addition at 87 Grand View Road, where abutters raised stormwater and massing concerns; both decisions, to include a stormwater management condition and a requirement to maintain an 11.2-foot side yard setback at 87 Grand View, are scheduled for final vote on July 28. The board also announced the departure of Associate Member Bradley Baranowski, who is relocating out of Arlington.