Tuesday night the Plymouth Board of Zoning Appeals denied the Special Use request of Teresa Figueroa de Rosas and Jose Rosas for a two-family residential unit at 434 Nursery Street.
Planning consultant Ralph Booker said the home is in a traditional residential zoning district where a two-family residential use is a special use that must be approved. He also noted that on the application the renovation work has already been completed and tenants are living in the structure.
Carrie Rosas spoke for the husband and mother-in-law, owners of the property. They are investors and purchased the home in October and completed the construction work in December. She said work primarily included some new windows and drywall work. When asked if a building permit was acquired for the work Rosas said they type of work they did didn’t require one.
During the public hearing a letter was ready from neighbor Lindy Rippy who was not in favor of the idea noting that many of the homes are no longer owner occupied and many landlords don’t take pride in their properties. She said parking was an issue and that the area was turning into a slum area.
Another neighbor, Larry Hatcher said parking is a major issue and the changes in the home do not uphold the city standards.
Building Inspector Keith Hammonds explained that a duplex requires a special drywall, separate heating systems, separate electric and separate water shut offs. Booker also noted the code requires the lot to have 4,000 sq. ft. per residence and this lot is only 6,745 sq. ft.
The BZA unanimously voted to deny the request for a special use to allow the duplex.
