Scituate Zoning Board Approves Two Minot Neighborhood Raise-and-Rebuild Projects

SCITUATE -- February 19, 2026, Scituate Zoning Board approves two Minot-area raise-and-rebuild projects and adopts new application standards. The Zoning Board of Appeals voted unanimously at its February 19 meeting to grant special permit findings for the Ferry Family Realty Trust at 36 Grasshopper Lane, allowing demolition of a 572-square-foot guest house and construction of a 1,309-square-foot replacement, and for Paula White at 18A/20 Mitchell Avenue, where an 840-square-foot 1927 home will be replaced with a 2,052-square-foot, three-story structure brought into full FEMA flood-zone compliance. Engineer Gregory Morse of Morse Engineering represented both applicants, arguing each project corrects existing setback nonconformities without creating new ones. Attorney Bruce Isidore, appearing via Zoom on behalf of abutters at the Grasshopper Lane property, argued that recent state ADU legislation has fundamentally altered the neighborhood context for "substantially more detrimental" findings, warning that Minot's dense, small-lot neighborhood could soon see "every lot having two houses on it." The board also adopted a revised application form requiring standardized drawing sizes, simplified floor plans, and detailed zoning data grids.