Hadley ZBA Grants Garage Variance, Resolves Decades-Old Affordable Housing Parking Dispute

HADLEY -- March 4, 2026, Hadley Zoning Board clears two property matters and continues a third at its March 4 meeting. The board voted 3-0 to grant a front-setback variance at 15 Kennedy Drive, allowing owners James Hafner and Kelly Aiken to build a 24-by-24-foot detached garage as close as 20 feet from the front property line, against the 50-foot requirement, because a pre-existing septic system installed three years before the project was planned restricts placement of the structure. In a separate action, also 3-0, the board found that a reduction in required parking spaces at the University Crossing and Woodland Crossing affordable housing complex at 30 to 38 Greenleaf Drive, from 294 spaces under a 1990s Chapter 40A comprehensive permit to the 252 actually on the property, constitutes an insubstantial amendment, clearing the way for a compliance letter the current ownership needs to complete a pending sale. A third matter, a public hearing on the former Howard Johnson property at 401 Russell Street, was continued to March 26 at 7:30 p.m. after Town Counsel was unavailable for the second consecutive meeting date.