Front Street resident Pete Smith was startled when a stray ball from Tabor Academy’s baseball field struck his car in October. He joked that, luckily, the damage was limited to a dented roof.

“If I was a little bit older than my eighty years I would have had a heart attack,” Smith said.“I think something's got to be done there. There could be an accident.”

He spoke to members of the Zoning Board of Appeals on Thursday after Tabor officials requested a variance for the field's backstop, asking for permission to lengthen the overhang to prevent more foul balls from escaping.

That stray ball was one of two that has landed on Smith’s car (a third struck Smith’s wife’s car) since the backstop was installed without ZBA approval in 2011.

At the time, Tabor officials argued that state law made it and other educational institutions exempt from a range of local zoning bylaws.

“I don’t know how we can pick and choose what rules we do and what rules we don’t enforce,” said member Kate Mahoney. “I’d love nothing more than for this to be amicably resolved for everyone.”

Head of School John Quirk’s request comes years after the town and Tabor fought a legal battle over the installation of athletic turf fields, field lights and the backstop.

He is looking to mend the rift between Marion and Tabor that the construction created, which board members acknowledged.

“He inherited this mess,” said board member Betsy Dunn. “He wasn’t here a week before he came to the Board of Health to right the wrongs that had been done.”

Following discussion, the board continued the public hearing to Thursday, Feb. 11. Quirk and Tabor's Chief Financial Officer Chris Winslow are expected to return with plans detailing the proposed changes.

During the hearing, board members debated the variance and whether safety issues trumped the fact the backstop was installed without regard for town bylaws.

Without the variance, the backstop must be removed.

In September of 2012, Building Inspector Scott Shippey denied the school a building permit to construct the backstop. He said that it failed to meet local zoning bylaws.

Despite the cease-and-desist letter, the backstop was completed.

Quirk said he hoped the board would approve the variance and allow the backstop to remain without a costly removal and reinstallation.

He recognized that if the board decides otherwise, “that would be a significant expense, and of course, the school is prepared to meet its obligation.”

Shippey said with the school and town back on good terms the board might consider letting Tabor use a one time “get out of jail free card.”

“We have a great relationship with them right now, and I’d hate to see that deteriorate,” Shippey said, adding that denying the variance might do more harm than good.

“My main concern is safety,” Shippey said. “Taking it down and putting it up elsewhere could be worse.”

Mahoney agreed that safety is a major concern, but he said the board can’t ignore the fact the backstop was built illegally.

“If this request was from someone anywhere else in town, would we act differently?” she asked.

Shippey said the board could use its discretion.

Member Marc Leblanc agreed in the interest of safety.

“If we fight them, this could continue for another four years without a solution,” Leblanc said. “We could issue a determination to correct the safety issues and then we’re not waiting another four, five or ten car roofs later. We could solve it now.”