Minutes 2026-03-19

Town of Portsmouth
Zoning Board of Review
2200 East Main Road/Portsmouth, Rhode Island 02871
www.portsmouthri.gov
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ZBR MINUTES REGULAR MEETING MARCH 19, 2026

MEMBERS PRESENT: Vice Chairman Benjamin Furriel, Secretary Sue Horwitz (joined the
meeting at 7:07pm), Andrew Kelly (joined the meeting at 7:10pm), Paul Laurienzo, Marco
Dimattino – Alternate 1, and Paul Maleck – Alternate 2.

MEMBERS ABSENT: Chairman Eric Raposa

OTHERS PRESENT: Aaron Lindo, Assistant Town Planner; Kristen Black, Planning
Technician; Heather E. Raposa, Recording Secretary; and Giovanni Cicione, Town Solicitor

Vice Chairman Furriel called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. in the Town Council Chambers.

I. ROLL CALL: See Members present/absent above.

II. MINUTES

a. MOTION: Mr. Maleck made a motion to approve the February 19, 2026, Zoning
Board Minutes as written; seconded by Mr. Dimattino

b. VOTE: 4-0 (Vice Chairman Benjamin Furriel: YES, Paul Laurienzo: YES, Marco
Dimattino: YES, and Paul Maleck: YES).

III. NEW BUSINESS

Public Notice – Administrative Review

a. Richard Pellechio (applicant and owner) for property located at 138 Sherwood
Drive; being Tax Assessor's Map 46 Lot 19 (Zoned Residential, R-20). The
Applicant seeks a Dimensional Modification for substandard frontage to create
a new lot (Article IV, Section B).

Public Notice – Zoning Board Review

b. Lauren Charbonneau (applicant and owner) for property located at 150 Rhode
Island Boulevard; being Tax Assessor's Map 4 Lot 145 (Zoned Residential, R-
10). The Applicant seeks retroactive Dimensional Variances to locate a chicken
coop less than 50 feet from property lines (Article V, Section I (6)).

Lauren Charbonneau, 150 Rhode Island Boulevard, would like to keep her chicken
coop. The coop is located in her fenced backyard, but there is nowhere on the

Town of Portsmouth
Zoning Board of Review
2200 East Main Road/Portsmouth, Rhode Island 02871
www.portsmouthri.gov
2

property that would satisfy the ordinance of having the coop 50 feet from all
property lines.

Vice Chairman Furriel asked what Ms. Charbonneau does with the coop and if she
has any roosters. She replied that she has seven hens, no roosters, and uses the
chickens for eggs for herself, family, and some neighbors.

Mr. Maleck asked how long the coop had been there and why she decided to place
it where she is. Ms. Charbonneau replied the coop has been there since June 2025.
In her backyard, there is an above-ground pool, swing set, and concrete patio,
because of that, there were not many options on where to place the coop in the yard.

Mr. Maleck stated there is a concern from a neighbor that rats could come and take
what Ms. Charbonneau is feeding her chickens. He asked if wire was installed
under the coop. Ms. Charbonneau replied that there is wire buried under the coop
and it also goes around the coop. She has not seen any rats personally. Everything is
covered, the food and water is raised off the ground, and the food itself is stored on
the backside of the coop where the nesting boxes are.

Mr. Maleck asked if Ms. Charbonneau was concerned about the safety of her
chickens because of the possibility of a coyote. She replied that she is not. She does
not think the coyotes can get in the coop because of the wire that is underneath and
surrounding the coop. Portsmouth has coyotes, but she has not seen any evidence of
them trying to hop her fence and get in the coop.

Vice Chairman Furriel opened public comment.

Eileen Pollina, 97 Islington Avenue, abutter, opposed the coop. She stated that she
is the closest abutting neighbor to the coop and that her and other abutting
neighbors have experienced a significant increase in a rat population, which was
noticeable after the coop was built. Other concerns are runoff onto Islington, which
is known for having pitch issues with stagnant water and noise from the coop. She
is also concerned because the coop is nowhere near the 50 foot from the property
line requirement. During the meeting, she provided 10 abutting neighbor signatures
with their rejection of the proposal in a letter.

Secretary Horwitz joined the meeting at 7:07pm.

Discussion on distance between Ms. Pollina’s house and the coop.

Mr. Maleck asked for clarification on how the coop is impacting water on Islington.
Ms. Pollina replied there is a history of pitch and drainage issues on Islington,
which results in puddles of water sitting on the road. She believes the coop is not in
an ideal location, being close to the street and sewer drain.

Town of Portsmouth
Zoning Board of Review
2200 East Main Road/Portsmouth, Rhode Island 02871
www.portsmouthri.gov
3

Mr. Kelly joined the meeting at 7:10 pm.

Mr. Maleck asked Ms. Pollina to clarify (from her letter she sent in) about the
screeching she hears since there is no rooster. Ms. Pollina replied she hears chicken
noises that sound like screeching to her and can hear them clearly from upstairs in
her home.

Vice Chairman Furriel closed public comment.

Ms. Charbonneau also submitted a letter of support for the coop signed by three
abutters: the house directly across the street from the chicken coop, owned by the
Boyd’s; the property north of hers, the garden area owned by Mr. Cabral; and the
property to her west, owned by Nancy Silva and John Braga.

Ms. Charbonneau commented that with the concern of runoff, her property is higher
than the street and does not cause runoff. The coop is covered, so there is no rain in
the coop, nothing is running off from that. With the concern of rats and coyotes
from the coop, Ms. Charbonneau commented that they live in Common Fence
Point, there are rats and coyotes already. It is a marsh area. She has not seen any
rats in her yard, has not seen a single dead rat, and has not had any neighbors
complain to her about rats. She was surprised there were additional signatures
opposing the coop as she had talked to some neighbors before putting the coop in.
With the concern of the noise, Ms. Charbonneau reiterated there are no roosters,
only hens, and they are no louder than birds chirping in the morning.

Mr. Laurienzo asked if there was anywhere else in the yard where the coop could be
placed. She could move it closer to the pool. She cannot move it in the center of the
property because there is a well cap there. But no matter where the coop is moved,
because of the 50-foot requirement from all property lines, the coop will need a
variance. There is some space closer to the house directly south from where the
coop is currently located, where it could be relocated.

Discussion on relocating the coop.

The Board discussed the new opposition letter sent in that night by Ms. Pollina,
with the 10 abutters who oppose. Ms. Horwitz noted that the 10 abutters have
multiple family members signing separately, which reduces the number of objectors
to 7. Ms. Charbonneau asked, since she had not seen this letter, where the list of
neighbors who signed the letter lived and was curious how close those neighbors
are to the chickens.

Mr. Maleck read the letter sent in from the Pollina’s that night. “Dear Town
Officials, as abutting neighbors, we write to express our opposition for the presence
of a chicken coop located at 150 Rhode Island Boulevard in Portsmouth, Rhode

Town of Portsmouth
Zoning Board of Review
2200 East Main Road/Portsmouth, Rhode Island 02871
www.portsmouthri.gov
4

Island. There are many objections to the coop’s existence on the property. It is not
well maintained, attracts rodents, contributes to waste runoff and health concerns, is
disruptive, and greatly under the 50 feet requirements from any property line. It is
not a necessity and therefore should not be approved for the aforementioned
reasons. It reflects the homeowner’s disregard for neighbors and irresponsible
property use. Please find below the names, addresses, and signatures of the abutting
neighbors who all wish to affirm their opposition. Karen Roberts, 106 Islington
Ave.; Alon and Kathy Berry, 114 Islington Ave.; Lisa Keshura, 105 Islington Ave.;
Paula Connolly, 170 Rhode Island Boulevard; Brett and Eileen Pollina, 97 Islington
Ave.; Kayla and Sean Desmond, 115 Islington Ave.; and Dave Roberts, 106
Islington Ave. Thank you for your attention in this matter.”

Mr. Maleck asked Ms. Charbonneau if any of the neighbors she had checked with
before installing the coop were in that letter. She replied she had talked to Eileen
Pollina’s husband, Brett. She had discussed the coop with the neighbors
immediately surrounding the area, versus going up and down the street.

Mr. Dimattino asked if the chickens are free range or if they stay in the coop. Ms.
Charbonneau replied they stay in the coop and their run.

Attorney Cicione asked if a notice of violation drove this petition. Mr. Lindo replied
a notice had been sent out and Ms. Charbonneau reached out and wished to apply
for the variance.

Vice Chairman Furriel polled the board to see how they were learning. Mr. Maleck
would approve with conditions. Vice Chair Furriel would also approve with
conditions. Mr. Laurienzo would approve with conditions depending on what the
conditions are. For him, the conditions would be making the people who are
offended by the chicken coop happy. Mr. Dimattino agrees with the rest of the
board. He believes there are ways to mitigate. Ms. Charbonneau does not have a
property big enough to fit the 50-foot requirement, but the residents of Portsmouth
have a right to have chickens. The chickens can be moved down or moved to the
other side of the property, where she had spoken to the neighbors who had no issues
with them, and they would then be further away from the neighbors at 97 Islington.
Vice Chair Furriel added that the people who are objecting are well outside the 50-
foot boundary, even if the lot were big enough for the chicken coop 50-feet from
the boundary, the neighbors would not like it.

Discussion on adding a time frame condition.

Discussion on adding a condition on number of chickens and size of coop.

MOTION: Mr. Laurienzo made a motion to approve the dimensional variance with
the conditions:

Town of Portsmouth
Zoning Board of Review
2200 East Main Road/Portsmouth, Rhode Island 02871
www.portsmouthri.gov
5

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To move the coop south 45’;
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The coop will remain the same size it is now 6’x 16.5’;
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The number of hens will remain at seven;
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And the coop will remain the same distance off the east property line.
Seconded by Mr. Maleck.

VOTE: 4-0 (Vice Chairman Furriel: YES, Mr. Laurienzo: YES, Mr. Dimattino:
YES, and Mr. Maleck: YES, Secretary Horwitz and Mr. Kelly abstained as they
arrived at the meeting in the middle of testimony).

c. Cort Chappell (applicant) for Richard and Catherine Homan (owners) for
property located at 364 Narragansett Avenue (Prudence Island); being Tax
Assessor's Map 81 Lot 10A (Zoned Residential, R-20). The Applicant seeks
Dimensional Variances (Article IV, Section B) to construct an additional
garage on the property.

Cort Chappell, 171 Chase Road, presented on behalf of Richard and Catherine
Homan. The petition is on Narragansett Avenue and Landing Way on Prudence
Island. The property is in an R-20 zone requiring a 30-foot front/rear setback and a
20-foot side setback. But it is an undersized lot and follows reduced setbacks.
Landing Way is a paper road that likely will never be built because of the
topography. The proposed garage is 4 feet from the property line on Landing Lane
(16-foot variance) and 8 feet from Narragansett Avenue (12-foot variance). If
Landing Lane were abandoned, usually the two abutting properties would get half
of the paper road, which would reduce the variance needed on Landing Lane, but
the road is not abandoned requiring a 16-foot variance. When the Holman’s bought
the property, it was two pieces, and they merged it. The garage was taken back as
far as practical because of the topography. The surrounding properties are also close
to Narragansett Avenue. The Homan’s own other properties across the street, but
none of those have garages of their own.

Usually this is not allowed since you cannot have a garage without a house on a lot,
but they are allowed when the owners own a house that abuts the property.
Originally, the Homan’s applied for the garage with an apartment on the second
floor, but they were verbally told by the neighbors that the height was a problem.
Because of that, they pulled their application of the garage with the apartment and
just made it a single-story garage.

Vice Chairman Furriel opened public comment.

Jennifer Kulik, 073 Governor Paine Road, Prudence, abutter, has concerns with the
proposal. The Homan’s own property all around her property. Her concern is not
simply about building the garage, but about the scope of the request and the
precedent that it may set. From her understanding the proposal falls significantly

Town of Portsmouth
Zoning Board of Review
2200 East Main Road/Portsmouth, Rhode Island 02871
www.portsmouthri.gov
6

outside of standard zoning requirement and asks the board to carefully consider
why a variance of this magnitude is necessary. She struggles to understand the need
for a variance in this case, given that the applicants own other nearby properties that
may allow for this type of structure without requiring an exception. Recently the
Homan’s converted a garage into a home, which is a concern for her that they may
change their minds in the future. She is concerned about the long-term impact. Once
a variance is granted, it may be difficult to limit how a structure evolves over time.
Based on prior experiences with these immediate neighbors, she has concerns about
how future changes might be handled and how that could impact her property.

Eric Crane, 073 Governor Paine Road, abutter, has concerns with the proposal.
During the meeting he submitted some documents and photographs. He has
concerns with the Applicant stating that Landing Lane is not a road and never will
be a road and discussing abandonment of paper roads. Mr. Crane stated that
Landing Lane is a right of way, a way that people on the island access: Governor
Paine Road, Narragansett Avenue, the Lighthouse, the emergency dock, and the
beach. Landing Lane is not a road, never been a road, and no one thinks it is a road.
Mr. Crane is also concerned with the wording of the application. In the application,
it is stated that the Homan’s son has a small cottage across the street. Mr. Crane
feels this is disingenuous. Mr. Crane then went through all the Homan’s properties
surrounding them. He stated that based on his reading of case law and jurisprudence
in Rhode Island about variances, it has to meet certain standards, no other
reasonable alternative, and you cannot create your own need. The Homan’s had a
house with a garage, and they changed it to get rid of the garage. This created a
need, which Mr. Crane stated under the present jurisprudence in RI, you are not
allowed to do; you cannot create your own need and then ask for a variance.
Additionally, the variance is supposed to be minimal, but to Mr. Crane, the
variances requested are not minimal.

Ms. Kulik made a final comment that she is concerned about the paper road. She
believes the Homan’s would make it difficult for all of them on Governor Paine
Road to use the paper road.

Vice Chairman Furriel closed public comment.

Attorney Chappell came back up to address some comments brought up. The
current garage on 364 Narragansett Avenue, has no water, no bathroom, and no
plumbing. The current garage was built because there was a pre-existing foundation
of a building, so they were allowed to put this garage in its place. He added that
nothing being proposed will be claiming the right-of-way.

MOTION: Mr. Kelly made a motion to grant the dimensional variance of 12.25’
for the front yard and 16.25’ for the corner side yard. There are no alternatives on
the site to provide a second garage and a boathouse.

Town of Portsmouth
Zoning Board of Review
2200 East Main Road/Portsmouth, Rhode Island 02871
www.portsmouthri.gov
7

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The hardship is due to the unique characteristics of the property;
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The hardship is not the result of actions of the applicant;
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The granting of the requested variance will not alter the general characteristics
of the surrounding area;
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It is the least relief necessary;
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And the denial of the request for relief would amount to more than just a mere
inconvenience.
With the conditions:
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That no plumbing be installed for the garage;
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That if the property is converted into a residential property, it must come before
the Board;
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And that this lot will not be sold separately from the abutting lot, Tax
Assessor’s Map 81 Lot 6, by a recorded deed restriction in land evidence.
Seconded by Mr. Laurienzo.

VOTE: 5-0 (Vice Chairman Furriel: YES, Secretary Horwitz: YES, Mr. Laurienzo:
YES, Mr. Kelly: YES, and Mr. Dimattino: YES).

Break at 8:45 pm, back in session at 8:50 pm

d. Cort Chappell (applicant) for Michael Botelho (owner) for property located at
100 West Main Road; being Tax Assessor's Map 27 Lot 33 (Zoned Residential,
R-20). The Applicant seeks a Dimensional Variance to construct a second floor
on an existing dwelling located in the front setback (Article IV, Section B).

Cort Chappell, 171 Chase Road, presented on behalf of Michael Botelho. This is a
five-acre lot, there are no lot coverage issues. On the lot is a single-family, historic
house that is 18 feet wide and 29 feet long and is 1 and ½ stories. The ½ story is
restricted by a standard set of dormers. The proposal is to make the ½ story a full
story. The overall footprint of the building will not be changing, just the size of the
second floor. This addition will allow for the stairwell to come to code.

Michael Botelho, 78 Richmond Street, Bristol, added that other than making the
second floor a full story, nothing else is changing. The house is staying a two-
bedroom, which it was originally. This addition takes the house from 21 feet tall to
25 feet.

Vice Chairman Furriel opened public comment.

Vice Chairman Furriel closed public comment.

MOTION: Mr. Kelly made a motion to grant the dimensional variance of 14’ for
the front yard setback.
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The hardship is due to the unique characteristics of the property;

Town of Portsmouth
Zoning Board of Review
2200 East Main Road/Portsmouth, Rhode Island 02871
www.portsmouthri.gov
8

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The hardship is not the result of actions of the applicant;
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The granting of the requested variance will not alter the general characteristics
of the surrounding area;
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It is the least relief necessary;
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And the denial of the request for relief would amount to more than just a mere
inconvenience.
Seconded by Ms. Horwitz.

VOTE: 5-0 (Vice Chairman Furriel: YES, Secretary Horwitz: YES, Mr. Laurienzo:
YES, Mr. Kelly: YES, and Mr. Dimattino: YES).

ZBR Business

e. Discussion of Article XIII, Section D – Decisions and records of Zoning Board
of Review, pertaining to procedures for signing decisions.

Mr. Lindo stated that currently, the Zoning Board of Review decisions are written
by the Town Solicitor and then signed by the Zoning Board of Review Secretary.
Mr. Lindo would like to modify this procedure to allow him to sign off on those
decisions. It is not written anywhere that the secretary must sign the Zoning Board
decisions. For the Planning Board, the Town Planner signs the decisions; this would
be the same idea; the Zoning Officer would sign the Zoning Board decisions.

Attorney Cicione suggested that Mr. Lindo circulates the decisions, prior to signing,
to give everyone an opportunity to chime in with any minimal edits. Additionally,
the Board can authorize Mr. Lindo at the end of each meeting to sign off on the
decisions from that particular meeting.

Motion to adjourn made by Mr. Kelly; seconded by Mr. Dimattino.

Meeting adjourned at 9:01 p.m.

Respectfully submitted by:
Heather E. Raposa