The March 12 Zoning Board of Appeals agenda had an agenda that on its surface seemed simple and straightforward, but in the public hearings the board exercised their opportunity to ask questions and to challenge the design choices of the applicants.
The first Public Hearing was for a property on Vandewater Drive -- the site is "pie-shaped" and the age of the house is such that the current house is barely within current set-backs. The family would like to adapt their home by expanding their living area - requiring a set bak variance of 9'4". This prompted questions about why the kitchen was placed where it was in the design, the architect representing the applicant explaining that the current plumbing would be reused, saving costs and the positioning of the kitchen was important to their being able to observer their children playing in the backyard. Then there were discussions about how many rooms were "bedrooms" (Bedrooms being the key factor in determining septic size) vs. "office" or "TV Room" , whether providing a wet bar area for one of the bedrooms would be considered a "kitchen". The Architect provided explanations about how bedrooms are defined (requiring egress etc), and noting that the positioning of the septic system and water systems also factored into the placement of the addition. The amount of personal information that had to be provided to the board to explain some of the decision choices felt invasive - but the board voted 4 to 1 in favor of supporting the variance.
A Garden Shed - having been in place for 34 years on Wheeler Hill required a set-back variance of 17.4 feet to legalize the shed, enabling an estate to be settled. During the public hearing, a question about whether it could be "grandfathered in" was said no...because the code "came in in 1963". Neighbors participated and said they have had no problem with the placement of the shed. The board approved the requested variance with the condition that if the shed were to be replaced in the future, a new shed would need to conform to the current zoning code setback requirements.
A Discussion about an applicant requesting to build an 575 sf addition on Liberty Street in Chelsea, a unique property as a former church. Changing family requirements mean that additional space is needed - they are requesting a variance of 17 ' 5 3/4" for a setback. Given the placement of the current structure, built in the 1800s define the requirement of the setback variance. A public hearing has been scheduled for March 26.
An adjourned public hearing for the expansion of a barn structure on Stonykill Road was conducted. 2 variances requested for overhangs, with agreement from the applicant, were denied. A request for a variance legalize an addition to an accessory structure was approved, as well as requests for variances to set-back requirements to the original structure and the addition to the structure. The manner in which the buildings were being used (the applicant is an electrician who is an employee to a firm in Nyack NY - and stores tools and materials needed for his job), the type of doors to be installed, the nature of the applicant's work etc were questioned. The site visit also prompted questions about 2 "curb cuts" -- (the code only allows 1 curb cut/driveway), the applicant agreeing to remove the drive to the barn (the Zoning Board Administrator commenting that she saw several trucks parked there (?!?) and that there was debris on the property that the Board felt needed to be cleaned up -- giving the applicant 30 days to clean up the property. The approved variances were conditioned on the property clean-up and removal of a driveway.
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