Panel OK's Patrick's subdivision request
A zoning board in the Berkshires yesterday approved a proposal by Governor Deval Patrick to subdivide his 77-acre vacation compound so that he can build another house on the property, an official in the town of Richmond said.
The property, with an estimated worth of more than $2.8 million, includes a 10-room house with five bathrooms, a carriage house, pool, and a tennis court.
A lawyer representing Patrick spent two hours last night seeking Zoning Board approval for the first of several steps required to use 10 1/2 acres of the land to build a two-family home.
In a phone interview, Richmond zoning officer Craig Swinson said five of six board members voted to approve the governor's proposal. The other board member, whose property abuts Patrick's land, recused himself.
Swinson said several neighbors raised concerns about how the proposal would affect their property taxes. He said it would have a neutral effect on local property taxes.
Patrick's home had been assessed at $1.4 million when it was under construction and before the pool, pool house, and tennis court were finished, Swinson said.
The governor now must seek approval from the town's Planning Board to split the property and share the driveway with the other lot. 