Scituate Planning Board Splits Zoning Hearings, Adds Grandfather Clause for Deck Rules

SCITUATE — January 8, 2026 — Scituate Planning Board continues contested zoning and stormwater hearings to January 22 after builder uproar. The board voted unanimously 5-0 at its January 8 meeting to close most sections of two public hearings tied to the April 13 Annual Town Meeting warrant, but continued the most disputed items — deck-and-stairway setback language in Zoning Bylaw Section 620.4 and impervious-surface permit thresholds in Stormwater Bylaw Sections 4.A.1 and 4.A.2 — after designer Kerri Johnson of Custom Home Designs told the board that the Building Commissioner had already denied her building permit application for 50 Oceanside Drive, citing a bylaw that had not yet been voted on. Engineer Greg Morse argued the existing threshold requiring a stormwater permit whenever impervious area increases by 25 percent, regardless of total lot coverage, forces owners of small ranch-style homes into $20,000 to $30,000 in engineering and construction costs while large-house owners building the same garage owe nothing. The board agreed to draft a grandfather clause shielding projects with permits received before April 15, 2026, and directed Town Planner Karen Joseph and MS4 consultant Nicholas Cohen of Horsley Witten Group to develop a counter-proposal tying permit triggers to net lot coverage rather than percentage increase. In separate unanimous votes, the board approved a 766-square-foot ADU at 28 Hatherly Road for owners Jonathan and Maria Ricci and endorsed revised plans for two multi-family buildings at 799 and 801 Country Way.