Mashpee ZBA Dismisses Oyster Way Buildability Appeal for Lack of Jurisdiction

Zoning Board · Meeting of July 23, 2026

Mashpee ZBA dismisses Oyster Way buildability appeal on jurisdictional grounds, continues major 40B hearing. The Zoning Board of Appeals voted unanimously Thursday to deny Appeal AP 2026-29, filed by attorney Tanya Trevisani on behalf of three Sandalwood subdivision abutters — Jeffrey Tomchick, Mark Khan, and John Clark — who argued that lots at 22 and 26 Oyster Way are unbuildable under a 1973 subdivision plan and that River Road fails to meet the 150-foot frontage requirement. The board found it lacked jurisdiction because the abutters' May 12 enforcement request was a frontage determination rather than a proper zoning enforcement request under MGL Chapter 40A Sections 7 and 8, a position backed by both Town Planner Brian Tobin and town counsel.

The board also continued to August 12 a 40B hearing for On Commons LLC's proposed 65-unit, 17-affordable-unit development at Route 28 and Job's Fishing Road, directing the applicant's traffic consultant Jeffrey Dirk of Vanasse Associates to submit responses to roughly 30 peer review comments — including new summer traffic counts planned for July 25 and July 28 — by August 5. Chair Ron Bonvie closed the meeting with a briefing on state budget bill changes effective July 1 that replace the three-part variance hardship standard with a "practical difficulty" test and for the first time authorize residential use variances in Massachusetts.

In the full story:

• Background and stakes
• The question before the body
• Substantive content
• The deliberation
• Procedural steps and outcome
• Implications and what is next
• The complete report — 3,831 words

Source: the Zoning Board meeting of July 23, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.