Board of Adjustment Chooses Officers

The Board of Adjustment elected its officers from among its members and appointed professionals for the next year at its organization meeting Wednesday.

Mary DeSarno and Wilma Morrissey were elected Chair and vice chair, respectively, by unanimous votes before the panel took another series of unanimous votes re-appointing the same professionals to another year in service.

The board also unanimously approved a gate on a home on Schoolhouse Road, a pool on Arnold Avenue and a renovation of a commercial property on Route 35 and Marietta Road.

John Catanio, of 1422 Schoolhouse Road, asked the board to approve a 6-foot arched, wrought iron gate at the foot of his driveway. Cantanio said his driveway is on a hill and his children often ride their bikes in it. The gate was a means to keep his children from rolling out into the road, he said.

Patrick McCabe, of Arnold Avenue, pitched a plan for a backyard pool which was less than 5 feet from this neighbor’s property. After some discussion about placement, the board was able to orient the pool in a satisfactory way and the proposal was approved.

The longest amount of time was spent on renovation plans for the property owned by the Jost family, which wants to gut the building occupied by O’Shea auto repair and rebuild it with essentially the same footprint.

The board was amenable to the plans, so long as the oddly-shaped property was cleaned up of various disabled vehicles and auto parts were removed from the property before the renovation began.

A neighbor also requested a 6-foot vinyl fence to block the view of the business and dampen the noise. The applicant agreed.

The board also took some time examining the rear of the property, where disabled vehicles are sometimes parked. As a condition of approval, all vehicles parked behind the business – a total of seven vehicles will be allowed – must be registered, insured and awaiting repair. Any other storage will not be allowed, board members said.