Plympton ZBA Denies Bloomquist Two-Family Permit, Refers Bartlett Kennel Case to Counsel

PLYMPTON — April 14, 2026 — Plympton's Zoning Board of Appeals denied without prejudice a two-family conversion permit and referred a disputed commercial kennel renewal to town counsel at its April 14 meeting. Acting without Chair Suzanne Jaffarian, the board voted unanimously to deny Arthur Bloomquist's special permit application to convert his single-family home into a two-family dwelling by adding a new 926.75-square-foot, one-bedroom unit, finding that the town's conversion bylaw requires an existing structure — not new construction — and directing Bloomquist to secure Board of Health, Conservation Commission, and building department approvals before returning within one year. On kennel licenses, the board renewed permits for four personal and hobby kennels and the commercial kennel of Michael O'Neill without objection, but continued the renewal application of Amber Bartlett, operator of an overnight dog boarding and daycare business at 8 Elm Street, after Planning Board Chair and zoning attorney Ann Sobolewski argued that Bartlett's original 2019 special permit was constructively void because the town's annual town meeting removed overnight boarding from the schedule of uses the day after the application was filed. Bartlett, who says she invested nearly $200,000 in the business in reliance on a constructive grant issued by then-Zoning Enforcement Officer Ken Thompson, told the board that overnight boarding accounts for a substantial portion of her business, with roughly 12 to 15 dogs boarded nightly over six years of uncontested operation. The board continued the Bartlett hearing to May 20 at 6:30 p.m. pending a town counsel opinion.