Board approves 66 Nagel Street garage with second‑floor accessory dwelling unit

The Nashua Zoning Board of Adjustment on Aug. 12 approved a variance permitting an attached 24‑by‑32 garage with a second‑floor accessory dwelling unit at 66 Nagel Street.

Applicant Charlene Friedman said the ADU would house her mother‑in‑law and that a 4‑foot breezeway connecting the garage and house was necessary to allow a separate entrance and to preserve interior circulation. Friedman told the board the breezeway is “as small as it possibly can be while fitting a standard sized door.”

The board read a written opposition from adjacent owners William and Darlene Eldred at 56 Dexter Street, who said the addition could harm privacy, block natural light and affect neighborhood character. Friedman’s rebuttal stressed that windows facing neighbors would be limited and oriented toward a large existing maple tree and that the garage height would be similar to the existing house.

Board members said the 3‑foot encroachment is minor and that many nearby homes sit close to lot lines. Member JP Boucher and alternate Joseph Potry supported the application; the motion to approve carried unanimously. The board noted the ADU is an allowed use by statute but the structure requires the variance only because of the breezeway attachment.

Approval includes the variance from Land Use Code section 190‑16, Table 16‑3 to allow a 3‑foot encroachment into the required 7‑foot left side yard setback for the attached garage/ADU. A 30‑day appeal period applies.