Zoning Board OKs Townhouses Under New Housing Law
Zoning Hearing Board · Meeting of September 15, 2026
Norwood Zoning Board clears a housing-law test case and three home additions in one night. The board voted 4-0 to grant a 50-foot frontage variance for two townhouses on a long-vacant lot, applying a new state law that requires weighing housing production against neighborhood detriment. Board member Shannon called the lot "an opportunity to take what's just a vacant plot right now and put something more productive on it." Separately, the board approved a special permit letting Peyman Francis run a small home cookie business from his Lenox Street apartment, with no on-site retail or advertising allowed, plus permits for an 802-square-foot second-story addition at 4 Greenwich Road and a rear addition at 33 Richland Road that increases that home's habitable area by 68 percent.
All votes were unanimous.
In the full story:
- Who Was There
- Organizations And Documents Referenced
- The complete report — 2,726 words
Source: the Zoning Hearing Board meeting of September 15, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.
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