Brockton Zoning Board Approves 12-Unit Main Street Apartment, Denies Copeland Street ADU

BROCKTON -- December 9, 2025, Brockton Zoning Board approves five petitions and unanimously rejects an accessory dwelling unit conversion at its December 9 meeting. Acting with four members after one absence, a posture requiring unanimous votes on every petition, the board approved a 12-unit residential apartment building for 733 Main Street, a previously denied project scaled down from 21 units, with 18 parking spaces and a deed restriction tying an off-site David Street parking lot to the building. The board also approved egress-stairway special permits at 20 Custer Street and 50 Farrington Street, a frontage variance for two new single-family homes at Plot 32 Bellevue Avenue, and a use variance to convert a large Prospect Street structure into a four-unit building with a stipulated post-and-rail fence to protect front-yard green space. The sole denial was the ADU petition at 223 Copeland Street, where Chair Galligan cited the city council's ordinance requiring a 15-foot side yard setback, far exceeding the 4.4 feet available, and rejected Attorney Jim Burke's argument that state ADU law should override local requirements; Burke warned the city's ordinance conflicts with state statute and will require a council fix.