Whitman ZBA Sends Rye Hill Duplex Plan Back for Redesign

WHITMAN — June 29, 2026 — Whitman Zoning Board continues 14-unit Rye Hill Street duplex hearing, citing fire access and density concerns. The Zoning Board of Appeals voted 5-0 at its June 29 meeting to push Case No. 7 — a proposal by USA McQuinn Realty Trust to build seven duplex buildings on a 3.309-acre parcel at 25 Rye Hill Street — to August 17, after the Planning Board voted 4-0-1 against the project and Whitman Fire Rescue Deputy Chief Nicholas Grasso raised a state fire code requirement that the 20-foot-wide, 150-plus-foot driveway include a full apparatus turnaround. Vice Chair Richard Blosz said he saw "no reason to reduce the 40 feet to 21 feet other than to let the applicant build more units and make more money." The project needs two variances — one to allow multifamily use in the A1 zone and one to cut required building separation from 45 feet to 21 feet — along with site plan approval. Residents of an adjacent 44-unit condominium complex told the board the Route 58 intersection cannot safely absorb 20 additional daily vehicles.