Ranck Residence

   Sixteen Harvard Place was the last home to be built on that steeply sloped street.    There were objections from the neighbors for the variance necessary due to the slope of the property. 

     Ted Smith, architect, defended his house plan before the Zoning Board of Appeals at the mid-May meeting.   Sometimes, he said, that the last lot in a  neighborhood becomes  very important to the community and thought of as a community property.     The zoning variance he was asking for was from the required 30 foot setback.  He wanted a 10 foot setback to put the garage so it wouldn’t have to be built on stilts.    The house itself would be further back than the 30 foot setback.   

  The members of the zoning board of appeals discussed the proposal and viewed the letters of protest from the nearly residents and decided to table the discussion until the next meeting.   

   Looking at the house, you can see the garage is much more than 10 feet back from the street and there’s a bridge across the ravine to reach the front of the house from the street.     I can only guess that Ted Smith had to come up with another solution and place the garage in the back of the lot.    

    You can view all the proceedings of that particular zoning board of appeals meeting on the  library’s Old News  website  at  https://aadl.org/node/316203