Charlestown schedules zoning board hearing for May 21 at Silsby Library
Charlestown set a May 21 zoning board hearing on Whelen Realty LLC’s request to raise lot coverage at 182 Ceda Road from 40% to 41.8%.
Charlestown put a small but potentially consequential zoning request before its board for May 21: Whelen Realty LLC asked to increase first-floor lot coverage at 182 Ceda Road from 40% to 41.8%.
The hearing was scheduled for 6 p.m. in the Community Room below the Silsby Library at 26 Railroad Street before the Charlestown Zoning Board of Adjustment. The case was listed as Case #26-01, with Verdantas and Mike Duffy named as agents tied to the application.
The request sought a variance from Section 8.5.8.4b of the town’s zoning ordinance for Map 106 Lot 001 in the Industrial/Business (F-1) Zoning District. While the change amounts to just 1.8 percentage points, it matters because lot coverage limits shape how much of a parcel can be built on and how intensively a site can be used. For nearby property owners, that can affect the scale of future development, the look and feel of the site, and the level of activity that may come with it.
Zoning Board of Adjustment hearings like this one are where Charlestown weighs whether a project fits within the town’s land-use rules or needs relief from them. Variances and special exceptions are not routine approvals; they are the mechanisms that can allow a project to proceed under conditions that differ from the base ordinance. In a town the size of Charlestown, those decisions often become the point where private development plans meet neighborhood concerns about traffic, noise, drainage, and the long-term use of land.
The May 21 hearing also sat within a busy stretch for the town’s land-use boards. The Charlestown Planning Board scheduled a separate public hearing for May 19 at 6:30 p.m., also in the Silsby Library Community Room, for a site plan review involving the Farwell School Trustees and a proposed children’s center at 509 River Road. Together, the two notices showed that Charlestown’s development calendar was not limited to one parcel or one applicant.
The town’s zoning ordinance is currently posted as amended through March 10, 2026, and Charlestown provides separate application forms for zoning variances and zoning special exceptions. That underscores that the May 21 hearing was part of the town’s formal land-use process, not an informal discussion, and that the board’s decision could have real consequences for how 182 Ceda Road is used going forward.
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