Charlton ZBA Continues Smith Road ADU Hearing, Approves Pizza Shop Storage Permit

CHARLTON -- March 3, 2026, Charlton Zoning Board continues Smith Road ADU case, unanimously approves City Depot Road storage permit. The Zoning Board of Appeals voted unanimously March 3 to continue to April 7 a variance petition from James and Linda Pietro of 39 Smith Road, whose plans for a roughly 1,250-square-foot attached accessory dwelling unit with a two-car garage exceed the town's allowable ADU footprint by 450 square feet and the allowable living area by 256 square feet under rules that took effect in February 2025 under the state's Affordable Homes Act. Son Chris Pietro told the board the family has spent roughly $171,000, including $100,000 in lumber purchased before a permit was obtained, in reliance on verbal guidance received before the law changed. Building Commissioner Kurt Meskis confirmed the plans would have been approvable in July 2024 but said "nothing is a short bet until a building permit is finished." The board directed the family to drop the annexation of existing rooms into the ADU and return with a lot-specific hardship justifying only the garage footprint variance. In the second case, the board unanimously granted a special permit to the property at 9 City Depot Road, owned by Raafat Shenoda, for a 200-square-foot enclosed storage addition behind George's Pizza, finding it not detrimental to the surrounding mixed-use neighborhood.