Planning Board Continues Chestnut Street Permit Dispute

Planning Board · Meeting of July 7, 2026

Belmont's Planning Board continued a disputed Chestnut Street construction case after neighbors said an 11-inch wall shift was never approved. Director of the Office of Planning & Building Chris Ryan said the applicant "was not in the right for delaying and not coming to the planning board proactively," while Inspector of Buildings Ara Yogurtian acknowledged, "Honestly, I do not recall" whether staff had been notified before the change was made. Resident Rose O'Neill told the board "eleven inches is not de minimis." The board voted 5-0 to continue the 45 Chestnut Street case to July 21, 2026.

In the same meeting, the board approved, 5-0, a 644-square-foot accessory dwelling unit at 709 Belmont Street and a second-story addition at 125 Channing Road, and continued cases at 62 Vernon Road to August 4 and 7 Broad Street to July 21 over concerns about oversized dormers.

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• Who Was There
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Source: the Planning Board meeting of July 7, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

Checked against the record: before publication this article was automatically compared with the meeting transcript. It was corrected where it differed.