Tella Letter - Appeal No. 2022-007 March 11, 2022
Jacob Dewey, Chair
Zoning Board of Appeals
Town of Barnstable
200 Main Street
Hyannis, Massachusetts 02601
Via Email: anna.bri tam&town.barnstable.ma.us
Re: 26 Hidden Lane, Osterville, MA 02655—26 Hidden Lane, Osterville,Massachusetts
AAAeal No. 2022-007
Dear Chair Dewey and Members of the Board:
My wife and I have applied for a variance to allow for the construction of a pool at 26
Hidden Lane, Osterville, Massachusetts (the "Property"). This petition is scheduled for a hearing
before the Zoning Board of Appeals (the "Board") on the March 23, 2022 hearing agenda, and
we respectfully submit this letter in support.
The Property
The property which is the subject of this petition is a single-family home located at 26
Hidden Lane in the Village of Osterville. The Property is shown on the Town of Barnstable
Assessor's Map 140 as Parcel 203 and Lot 2 on Plan Book 254, Page 94. See Exhibits 1 and 2.
The Property is comprised of approximately 12,590 square feet and is situated within the RC
Zoning District and the AP Groundwater Overlay Protection District.
In 2015,my wife and I were looking for a property in Osterville for our family. With
young children, it was important to us that the new home either have a pool or the possibility for
a pool. At our viewing of the Property, the listing real estate broker from Sotheby's International
Realty showed us a binder with a copy of an engineer stamped plan which showed that the
possibility for a pool existed. See Exhibit 3 (notine that this elan is also on file with Town of
Barnstable Building Denartment in connection with the demolition/rebuild permit that was
issued to construct the new home). We loved the Property and based on the broker's
representation as well as seeing a stamped plan, we closed on the home in October 2015. See
Exhibit 4.
Last year we decided it was time for our family to put in the pool and were shocked to
discover that our engineer said we could not. Sullivan Engineering & Consulting, Inc.
determined that lot coverage with the pool as shown was in fact 23.89%, not 19.6% as shown on
2014 plan. Compare Exhibits 3 and 5.
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Proposed Pool and Appeal No. 2022-007
As shown on the site plan prepared by Sullivan Engineering & Consulting, Inc.
("Sullivan") we are proposing to construct the same dimension pool as was represented to us
when we purchased the Property in 2015 and shown on the plans filed with the Town of
Barnstable Building Department in connection with the demolition/rebuild permit. See Exhibit
5. The proposed pool complies with all setbacks in the RC District. See Exhibit 5. However,
the proposed pool exceeds the lot coverage of what is allowed.
With this Petition, we are respectfully seeking variance relief from Section 240-
91H(l)(b)[1] which requires that lot coverage by all buildings and all structures shall not exceed
20%. As shown on the site plan, the proposed pool is the same dimension as what was
represented to us. A literal enforcement of the requirement of the Zoning Ordinance would
result in substantial hardship to our family, financial or otherwise, as we would have to locate
another property with a pool, and respectfully submit that the requested relief may be granted
without substantial detriment to the neighborhood effected. We have discussed the proposed
pool with our neighbors and attach the letters we have received in support. See Exhibit 6.
We thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely
Srikanth and Brighid Tella
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