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.