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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMN-BZA-1979-07-02 i I BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS COMMON COUNCIL CHAMBERS 1 CITY OF ITHACA, NEW YORK I li JULY 2, 1979 I TABLE OF CONTENTS MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS, ITHACA, : NEW YORK - JULY 23, 1979 Page APPEAL NO. 1259 KEn Butler & Mark Kielman 2 503 Chestnut Street APPEAL NO. 1259 Executive Session 4 A APPEAL NO. 1261 John H. L. Fuchs 5 603 Spencer Road APPEAL NO . 1261 Executive Session 14 APPEAL NO. 1262 Ferdinand A. Stanchi 16 107 First Street i APPEAL NO . 1262 Executive Session 19 APPEAL NO. 1263 Harold & Miriam Scheraga 20 212 Homestead Terrace APPEAL NO. 1263 Executive Session 21 APPEAL NO. 1264 Dale & Gary Loomis 22 312 Second Street APPEAL NO . 1264 Executive Session 32 APPEAL NO. 1265 Richard T. Mellen 33 112 Parker Street APPEAL NO. 1265 Executive Session 35 APPEAL NO. 1266 David & Seymour Turk 36 329 College Avenue APPEAL NO. L266 Executive Session 42 CERTIFICATION OF RECORDING SECRETARY 43 �I i 1 ,I j BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS CITY OF ITHACA, NEW YORK it COMMON COUNCIL CHAMBERS JULY 2 , 1979 �iCHAIRMAN MARTIN: Let me call to order the July meeting of the Ithaca Board of Zoning Appeals . The Board meets and acts under the provisions of the Ithaca Zoning Ordinance, the Ithaca City Charter, the Ithaca Sign Ordinance and a few others that give us a bit of authority. Let me outline, for those of you who are coming new to the Board meeting, the procedure that we follow. It is a very simple one. We hear the cases in the order in which the appeals have been filed, we ask the appellant, the person seeking relief from the Board, to present the case and to respond to any questions that members of the Board may have , we then in- vite anyone else present , who would like to present evidence in support of the variance or of the appeal , to speak, then invite those who want to speak in opposition to a particular case to do SO . After hearing all of the cases in public session, the Board , then goes into executive session to deliberate, to reach its I ( decision and then we reconvene in public session to announce the results . Our proceedings are not governed by strict rules of vidence - we do ask that those who speak, first of all come to the front of the room, identify themself clearly by name and address so that we know who we've got, not only for those of us listening but that it gets clearly on to the record, and then limit their remarks to the issues that are in front of the Board. Present this evening are five out of six members of the Board: Ms. Natalie DeCombray Dr. Martin Greenberg Mr. Morris Angell Mr . William Wilcox Chairman Peter Martin Mr. Thomas Hoard, Bldg. Comm & Secy to the Board Mrs . Barbara Ruane, Recording Secy BSENT: Mr. Joseph Gainey HAIRMAN MARTIN: Under our Ordinance four affirmative votes are required for any variance so that that means that even with one erson absent you must have four and that means , this evening, four ut of five . Mr. Hoard, what is our first case? I! 1 - 2 - SECRETARY HOARD: The first case Mr. Chairman is Appeal No . 1259 : i Appeal of Ken Butler and Mark Kielm n l for an area variance under Section !� 30. 25 , Columns 7 , 11 , 12 and 13, to �I permit conversion of a single-famil it dwelling at 503 Chestnut Street to a two-family dwelling. The propert which is located in an R-2a (resi- dential) use district, is deficient in minimum required frontage , front yard set back, and set back of both side yards . i MR. BUTLER: So what we are trying to do is - CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Alright, could you identify yourself, I mean, I know we've got it on a piece of paper, we 've got to have it on tape MR. BUTLER: I 'm Ken Butler. MR. KIELMAN: I 'm Mark Kielman. CHAIRMAN MARTIN: And your addresses are? MR. BUTLER: 503 Chestnut Street. CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Alright. MR. BUTLER: Okay, what we want to do is just change the house enou h so that the two of us can live there. You see, he has a wife and a child and I 'm not married, so we need two different units to live in. , CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Alright, at the moment, it' s one unit? MR. BUTLER: Yes . CHAIRMAN MARTIN: And what kind of rearranging are you going to be doing on the inside? What kinds of rooms are you going to have on the inside when you are done? MR. BUTLER: Same number of bedrooms as it started with. CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Which is how many? MR. BUTLER: Three. CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Three bedrooms. MR. BUTLER: Right. It' s just that one - the dining room downstairs is now becoming a bedroom and upstairs one of the bedrooms is turni g into a living room. CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Alright. So that you will end up with three bed- rooms . The upstairs unit will have two bedrooms and downstairs will . . . MR. BUTLER: One . CHAIRMAN MARTIN: One bedroom. The off-street parking situation at - 3 - the property is what? You say on the application that you've got j1plenty of room - where is it? ,,MR. BUTLER: It' s behind the house. You see we have a very long lot I !but it' s not very wide . That' s why we don' t meet the requirement because it' s narrow but the lot itself is 300 ft, maybe 289 or 309, something like that. CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Alright, and so the point is that the lot is of ! ample size but its just the-wrongly configured . . . . MR. BUTLER: It ' s the wrong shape . ! CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Yes, alright. And that it won' t have - -- - how close is it to adjacent houses? MR. BUTLER: One of the houses - it' s very close - it' s within 20 feet. The other house, its like about 120 feet, on the other side . So one side there is a very large space and on the other side it ' s a small space. CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Are there further questions? DR. GREENBERG: I presume you are putting in a kitchen? MR. BUTLER: Yes , a bathroom downstairs and a small kitchen upstair . Basically it' s just a stove and a sink. DR. GREENBERG: No bathroom upstairs? MR. BUTLER: The bathroom is already up there. . CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Further questions? Things that you haven' t said here on paper or in the hearing that you would like to bring up? MR. BUTLER: We 've written most of it down. We just want to make fit so we can live there - we are already living there but we want to make it separate . CHAIRMAN MARTIN: If there are no further questions , then that' s it. Thank you very much. MR. BUTLER: Thank you. CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Is there anyone else present who would like to present testimony in favor of the requested variance for Butler and Kielman? Is there anyone who would like to speak in opposition to the requested area variance? We' ll move on to the next case. 4 - I BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS j COMMON COUNCIL CHAMBERS CITY OF ITHACA, NEW YORK I JULY 23, 1979 iI EXECUTIVE SESSION APPEAL NO. 1259 : CHAIRMAN MARTIN: I move that the Board grant the area variance requested in case 1259. MR. WILCOX: I second the motion. FINDINGS OF FACT: 1) The creation of a two-unit dwelling i will not add to the exterior dimen- sions of the structure or add to the number of bedrooms in it. 2) While the lot is deficient in front and side yards it is a very deep lot and has adequate off-street parking. 3) According to testimony presented there is no evidence that the second unit will have adverse effects on the neighborhood. VOTE: 5 Yes ; 0 No ; 1 Absent. Area variance granted. 5 i' BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS COMMON COUNCIL CHAMBERS CITY OF ITHACA, NEW YORK JULY 2 , 1979 SECY HOARD: The next appeal is Appeal No . 1261 : Appeal of John H. L . Fuchs for a use ! and area variance and a special permit under Section 30 . 25 , Columns 2 , 3 , an 11 , to permit conversion of an existilLg garage to a dwelling unit and a wood- working shop at 603 Spencer Road. Th property is located in an R-2b (resi- dential) use district where a maximum of two dwelling units are permitted OIL a property, and where a home occupation requires a special permit. The appel- lant is proposing a total of three dwelling units on the property, and i requesting a special permit for the i woodworking shop. The property is al! o deficient in minimum required front yard. MR. FUCHS: I 'm John Fuchs , the owner and resident of 603 Spencer Road and just to briefly restate what I 've written in the appeal , which I think is fairly thorough - at this address at 603 Spencer Road, there are two buildings , one being a house with two apartmen s in it and the other being a large 2-one-half story cinderblock garage which was originally built , I believe, with the idea in min of eventually having an apartment above this thing because it is divided into rooms which are easily recognizable as a kitchen, living room, etc. and the sheetrock is already on the walls and the windows are in place and everything. CHAIRMAN MARTIN: How recent a building is the garage? MR. FUCHS: I 'm afraid I don' t really know when it was built and apparently there are no records of previous appeals on . . . CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Alright, how long have you gwned the property, I mean, you've . . . MR. FUCHS: I've owned the property three months now. CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Alright. MR. FUCHS: And I bought the property with the dream in mind of - myself being a carpenter and a cabinet maker - of being able . . . CHAIRMAN MARTIN: How was the upstairs being used the upstairs o the garage being used when you bought it? I mean, how was the prior owner ? i j - 6 - i I 'I MR. FUCHS: It was not being used. �I CHAIRMAN MARTIN: It was not being used? �IMR. FUCHS: The loft of the garage, the third floor - what there is you can actually stand up, up there - was being used to house pigeons, which smell very bad. And the house had been inhabited o both sides, but one side was fairly uninhabitable when I acquired it and I have recently fixed that up and now have a tenant in the smaller side of the house. The house is divided into a one-bedroom apartment and a two-bedroom apartment . I 'm currently living in the two-bedroom apartment, and renting out the one-bedroom apartment . I hope to move into the apartment above the garage when I fix that and rent out the two-bedroom apartment as well . There is ample parking because the garage is a - is two bays wide and the driveway is the full width of the garage. It goes all the way down to the street which is , if I recall the map, something like 75 to 80 feet from the front of the garage. And also there is parking on the other side of the house. There is room for two foreign cars or on American car. CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Alright, now, separating out - you are asking us for several different kinds of relief under the Ordinance, at least, one is for a use variance which would allow you to have thr e units on a lot that is zoned for two? MR. FUCHS: Correct. CHAIRMAN MARTIN: What are the reasons for your being entitled for such a variance? The argument, as I understand it is that you've got a building that is already set up for a residential unit, and it' s hard to make . . . MR. FUCHS: I would not be able to properly utilize this building to its maximum efficiency if I were not allowed to do this . This space would be a would give me only more storage than I could possibly use. CHAIRMAN MARTIN: And the house the residential structure cur- rently is - you bought it in bad shape? i MR. FUCHS: This is the original handman' s special, to be sure . CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Now the other thing that you are asking for is a II I' I - 7 - special permit to allow you to use the shop as a home occupation? �i MR. FUCHS: Correct. CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Tell us a bit about what you are going to have - what kind of equipment and what kind of things you will be doing in there? MR. FUCHS: The equipment will basically be small non-industrial woodworking tools - a small table saw, 8" and a radial arm saw and a band saw and a lathe - basically home workshop type tools . CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Now will it also be possible to use it for a garage, when you are using it for a shop or does that preclude its use for a garage? MR. FUCHS : That will. Already my truck doesn' t fit in to it be- cause of its height. f CHAIRMAN MARTIN: So what - the parking then will be outside but t ere still will be ample parking outside without the garage? MR. FUCHS: Yes . It' s a very long , wide driveway, as well as parking on the other side . CHAIRMAN MARTIN: And your application indicates that the noise will not carry significantly? MR. FUCHS: I don' t believe it will , the nearest house, I believe you can see from the map , is something like 75 feet away from the garage and the the closest neighbors , I have gone around and asked them personally and I believe you should have a copy of a letter that I approached them with which they signed, saying that it did not bother them and they indeed urged you to approve this appeal . CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Are there further questions? MS. DE CQMBRAY: You don' t intend to have any signs up saying that you are a cabinet maker? MR. FUCHS : Yes I do, I intend to have a small sign - no larger than five square feet , of course, in accordance with your . . . MR. ANGELL : Do you need it? MR. FUCHS: No , it' s just my ego - I ' d like to have a sign. MR. ANGELL: Did you purchase it , John, with the intention of using l the garage as your workshop and would it present a hardship to you to go out and rent another building? - 8 - ! MR. FUCHS: It certainly would. First of all it is very important I for me to reside where I work, I believe to be able to get the maximum working day in. Also , I did buy it with that in mind. I had no idea that I was in violation with any sort of zoning to go ahead and just do it - I thought a home operated business of this or i was perfectly legal . When I cam home one day and found Mr. Stickler peering in my window and informed me otherwise. CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Now the unit you plan for the top of the garage will have two bedrooms , living room, kitchen, bath? MR. FUCHS: Yes. CHAIRMAN MARTIN: You plan to live there and rent out the two unit in the other building? MR. FUCHS: Right. It should also be pointed out that this is a very large lot and it could be considered a double lot really, it has great depth and width. CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Are there further questions? You' ll have a chan e to talk . . . You just want to ask a question? Alright . LADY FROM THE AUDIENCE: When you get finished. CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Do the Board members have any questions? Do you have anything further that you want to add before we hear from others? MR. FUCHS: I think my application really states it fairly thoroug ly CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Alright. Now, are there any present this evenin i who would like to speak in favor of the requested package of variances that are being sought in this case? Alright , we have, and let me read into the record the following statement signed by four individuals : "I the undersigned, being an owner-resident of a house neighboring 603 Spencer Road, do fully understand that John Fuchs , owner of the house and garage at 603 Spencer Road, has intentions of living upstairs in the garage and converting the downstairs of the garage to a woodworking shop. "I have absolutely no objections to either of these plans and do hereby recommend that the Zoning Appeals Board allow him to do so . ' "Signed: Ronald L . Pluck 577 Spencer Road I - 9 - I LaRose Meyer 602 Spencer Road Genevieve Linderman 602 Spencer Road Barbara Huntington 607 Spencer Road" CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Now I ' d like to invite those who wish to speak in opposition to do so, but understand there is one person with questions. If you have objection to coming up to the front please give us your name and address and speak loudly so that we can get your views and questions on the tape. MRS. SLOVIK: I 'm Bernice Slovik and I have two places across the road from his place. CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Alright. MRS. SLOVIK: Do you have a letter that I submitted, given to the Zoning Board? SECRETARY HOARD : There was a letter Mr. Chairman, which the zonin - oh, here it is. CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Alright, I do have yourletter and I will read it into the record at the appropriate point. MRS. SLOVIK: Do you want to read it first? CHAIRMAN MARTIN: You would like me to read it now? Alright. It is signed by you to the Board Members. "Board of Zoning Appeals City of Ithaca County of Tompkins State of New York "Board Members : "We at 604- 608 Spencer Road have been notified of a request for a variance in the matter of John Fuchs at 603 Spencer Road, Ithaca. "I should like at this reading to object to the granting of any variance in the neighborhood that reflects commercial use in our residential zone. " I feel that any variance would depreciate the value of my two properties . Since I am a widow, I derive a good share of my income from these properties . "Further, I question the future of our residential neighborhood with increased traffic, use of power tools on the premises and the appearance of a commercial-type building - -together with waste and storage of materials on the subject premises. "Sincerely, /s/ Bernice W. Slovik 11704 South Plain Street "Ithaca, New York " CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Now you have a question or further statement you want to make? i1 l+ - 10 - ii MRS. SLOVIK: Only that I don' t like to see it go commercial be- cause if something should happen - may I just say this in my own �I i words? CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Please do . MRS. SLOVIK: If something should happen that he does something else, the next person that takes it, they are going to go in and scream hardship - so it gets a spot commercial , right? The whole street is not commercial - if all of Spencer Road were made com- mercial, the value of your property would double , but if you are going to spot commerical places - you see that . . . CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Well if he is granted a special permit to have a woodworking shop it would be as a home occupation subject to all the limits which include that he' d have to be living on the pre- mises . So it is not the same thing as granting a variance for any commercial use. MRS . SLOVIK: Well one of the things , I guess , that bothers me tre - mendously is that the property is in a very run down shape. In fact it was owned by the welfare and it is going to take a tremen- dous amount of money for him to bring that up and you take propert es thatsomebody has put back into for fifty years - I just have a fear I of it , of his doing this, because my two properties have been kept up very very well . MR. FUCHS: May I respond to this? CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Yes. Let ' s see, are there others who want to speak in opposition or put questions to Mr. Fuchs? (none) Alrigh , then I ' ll invite you to respond. MR. FUCHS: Okay. Well , first of all , basically I have two appeal of course, the one being to be allowed to operate my home operated woodworking shop and the other to basically fix up the place and continue to complete the garage structure as it was originally 1 intended into a dwelling and garage - well , not garage in a sense but a woodworking shop, and I think each of these projects are I going to help each other. At the - she didn' t say it tonight - but I at the Planning Commission meeting, she noted that one of her houses at Spencer Road, which is indeed in excellent shape, had been owned i III !I - 11 - �I i! by a cabinet maker who had his shop on the premises and I think that a resident cabinet maker can only improve the appearance of a place . MRS . SLOVIK: When you get finished I ' ll tell you a little bit - now I am free to speak and I wasn' t free to speak the other night. CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Excuse me, I 'm going to let Mr. Fuchs finish - do you have anything further that you want to say? MR. FUCHS: I have quite a few plans for the property. I admit th facade of both buildings right now is less than appealing, but, hopefully when I 'm done . . . . CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Without getting into the full details I understand from your application the things you've said, that you intend to substantially upgrade the property and now one of the arguments yo are making is that you need to be able to live there and have your woodworking shop there to make it possible? MR. FUCHS : Oh, absolutely. Well, I need to have my woodworking shop also to be able to make a living to be able to afford to do any of this . CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Alright , I understand that. �I MR. FUCHS: That ' s the main point . CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Alright. Now Mrs . Slovik do you have something further that you would like to add? MRS. SLOVIK: Yes , could I just ask you one question? This is a lady who used to live here when she was a child. She knows a lot about the place. We were just wondering did you say there was a bathroom already in the garage - over the garage? MR. FUCHS: No, there is no plumbing in the garage yet. CHAIRMAN MARTIN: No, I mentioned that as something that was on the plans for the garage. MRS. PROTTS: May I speak? CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Please say who you are and where you live . MRS. PROTTS : I 'm Gertrude Protts and I lived there my stepfather built the apartment over the garage Frank VanDyne - and he couldn' t go any farther because they wouldn' t allow him to blast and this was the only way they figured that they could get utilities in the I, upstairs, so he stopped the apartment right there. There is no �I I I� ii - 12 - j sink - or he put a sink in but he couldn' t put any plumbing in. CHAIRMAN MARTIN: It' s clear from the application that has been �i filed that there are - I mean, he has not said that there are i utilities there - he would like to be able to put utilities in there. MR. FUCHS : Utilities have been extended in the street already expressly for that building. The sewage and the water has already been . . . MRS. SLOVIK: Uri to the building? MR. FUCHS: No , not up to the building - it ' s in the street but it' s already got separate connection for it and first thing when I get the okay from the Zoning Appeals Board, hopefully, I will go ahead and try to get somebody with a humungous back hoe to go ahead and cut through all the shale and get up there. CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Alright. Mrs . Slovik? MRS. SLOVIK: Now, I 'm going to tell you what I couldn' t tell you the other night . I know so much about it because when my dad had the shop it was years and years ago and in order for us to have a small garage there - that' s how I own the other property becaus I had to buy all of that property to the Elmira Road, come in from the back part - you could only have a sign like this with ou name on the tree - so I know quite a bit about that zoning up there. MR. FUCHS: Thank God for progress. MRS . SLOVIK: I 'm against it - that' s how I happen to know . . . CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Okay. Is there anything either of you wants to add that bears directly on the issue that we have to confront with the home occupation and the use variance required for the upstairs and also the area variance because of the inadequate shale of the front of the lot? MR. FUCHS : I may deny them a beautiful front yard but you ought to see the back yard. �) CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Alright. MRS. SLOVIK: Yes , it goes right into a bank doesn' t it? CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Mrs . Slovik do you have anything further that I i - 13 - i I� bears directly on our issue? MRS. SLOVIK: One other thing I want to ask - when you said that I there was another business in there, didn' t you? II MR. FUCHS: Yes . MRS. SLOVIK: You said before. If it was , did they have a legal I right to be in? MR. FUCHS: I haven't the faintest idea. MRS. SLOVIK: . . . . somebody that was fixing their own cars that lived across the street. MR. FUCHS: I haven' t the faintest idea about that. MRS. SLOVIK: There hasn' t been an established business in there that I know of. CHAIRMAN MARTIN: No and I didn' t hear it being argued that there was . MRS . SLOVIK: No , I just wanted to ask . . . CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Okay. Is there anyone else who would like to be heard on this case? We ' ll move on then to the next. MR. FUCHS : Excuse me, can I ask one more question? CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Why, yes . MR. FUCHS: When do you say you are going into private session and then you are going to reconvene . . . ? CHAIRMAN MARTIN: We go into executive session and then when we have made up our minds we reconvene . MR. FUCHS : You mean this all happens this evening? CHAIRMAN MARTIN: This very evening. MR. FUCHS: Okay. i I� - 14 - �I BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS COMMON COUNCIL CHAMBERS CITY OF ITHACA, NEW YORK JULY 2 , 1979 i EXECUTIVE SESSION APPEAL NO. 1261 : CHAIRMAN MARTIN: I move that we grant the use variance and the area variance and the special permit requested in case 1261 . MS. DE COMBRAY: I second the motion. FINDINGS OF FACT IN SUPPORT OF THE USE VARIANCE : i 1) The structure in which it is proposed a ,j �f living unit will be built on the second flo r has already been built with such a plan in l I� mind. 2) The lot is a large one and the resulting density is not likely to have an adverse impact on the neighborhood which is close to and affected by commercial development on Elmira Road. 3) There is adequate off-street parking. FINDINGS OF FACT IN SUPPORT OF THE SPECIAL PERMIT: 1) The Board finds that subject to compliance I, with all the conditions for a home occupa- tion he appellant n o do t pp t does of propose t anything that is likely to have an adverse impact on neighbors and in relation to the i total property will be incidental . In granting the special permit, the Board stressed the need for compliance with all the conditions for a home occupation includ- ing, in particular, the requirement that there be no exterior storage or other indi- cation of the home occupation outside of the building with the exception of a sign i i - is - it i that complies with the Sign Ordinance . j� FINDINGS OF FACT IN SUPPORT OF THE AREA VARIANCE: 1) We find that none of the proposed changes in the buildings will change any of the lot deficiencies and in relation to the total i size of the lot pose no problems for neighbors . VOTE: s Yes ; 0 No; 1 Absent . Use & Area Variances granted. Special permit granted. i i I i I - 16 - i� BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS COMMON COUNCIL CHAMBERS CITY OF ITHACA, NEW YORK I JULY 25P 1979 i SECRETARY HOARD: The next case Mr. Chairman is appeal No. 1262 : Appeal of Ferdinand A. Stanchi for an area variance under Section 30. 25 , i Column 11 to permit conversion of the second floor at 107 First Street to a i second dwelling unit. The property is located in an R-3b (residential) use district and is deficient in re- quired front yard. MR. STANCHI : My name is Ferdinand Stanchi , I live at 302 Park Place and I would like to have permission to appeal only the second j floor, an addition to enlarge a bedroom and build a kitchenette an a dining room. CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Alright, now is this going to change the outside of the building you are going . . . . MR. STANCHI : No sir. Everything is inside. CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Alright. MR. STANCHI : The only thing I am going to do on the outside is the steps that go into it from the driveway they got no parking space for more than two cars - depends on the size of the car . CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Alright. And so what additional space is this going - it' s not going to make any additional space in the building but it is going to create in the kitchenette and . . . MR. STANCHI : The kitchenette, a dining room and enlarge the bedroom. CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Enlarge the bedroom on the second floor? MR. STANCHI : All the rooms - they would have , each individually i going to have windows according to the Code. CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Alright, at the moment it is a single family house how many bedrooms does it have? MR. STANCHI : Well , three and one-half. I would say three and one den and then one and one--half bedrooms and one large kitchenette - I mean kitchen. CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Kitchen. MR. STANCHI: And a dining room. CHAIRMAN MARTIN: And the only zoning problem, I mean - two units E - 17 - iI are permitted in the district - the only zoning problem is the lot rl fi size? MR. STANCHI : Well the lot is quite big . !I CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Alright are there further questions? DR. GREENBERG: Do you have a parking problem also? MR. STANCHI : No sir. DR. GREENBERG: Well the cars would have to be one behind the other? MR. STANCHI : Yes . There is no parking space - Mr. Hoard told me last time that it was permitted but it still is enough parking space on the street. MS. DE COMBRAY: And there is going to be a staircase going outside? MR. STANCHI : Yes ma' am from the side of the building. That ' s the only thing that is going to be built on the outside. That was what the inspector suggested when he inspected the house. CHAIRMAN MARTIN: How large is the front yard? The front yard is the zoning problem? MR. STANCHI : Yes sir. CHAIRMAN MARTIN: How big a front yard is it? MR. STANCHI : Mr. Hoard has the dimensions . SECY HOARD: Well it requires a ten foot set back and they have a six foot set back. i CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Okay. Are there any further questions? Do you live in the property or you own it and rent it? MR. STANCHI : No sir. I intend to buy the property if it is oka , of course. iCHAIRMAN MARTIN: Anything you want to add about your plans or that you think may not be clear? f MR. STANCHI : No, the only thing I can say is that I amoin to g g improve the property by at least fifty percent once I buy it. CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Any further questions? MR. STANCHI : And then in the future I intend to put a new apart- ment , I mean siding - to improve it and also the front porch I am going to put - you know - to prevent or save energy and I in- i - 18 - ing in, tend to put panel/ in the future too on the inside - downstairs . CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Okay. I think that ' s it. And I understand what I you intend. MR. STANCHI : That ' s what I intend to do. I 'm going to improve the place. CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Okay, thank you. Is there anyone else who would like to be heard on this case in favor of the requested variance? MR. STANCHI : That ' s what I intend to do - I tend to improve the place. CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Okay, thank you. MR. STANCHI : Thank you. CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Is there anyone else who would like to be hear on this case in favor of the requested variance? Anyone who would like to speak in opposition? We' ll move on to the next. i i - 19 - t BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS COMMON COUNCIL CHAMBERS CITY OF ITHACA, NEW YORK i I JULY 2 , 1979 EXECUTIVE SESSION APPEAL NO. 1262 : CHAIRMAN MARTIN: I move that the area variance requeste in case 1262 be granted. MR. WILCOX: I second the motion. I FINDINGS OF FACT: 1) The only respect in which the lot fail to comply with zoning requirements is in the front yard which is six rather I� than 10 feet. The proposed conversion to a two-family dwelling will not signi - ficantly affect the occupancy or other- wise have adverse impact on the neigh- borhood. The shape of the lot and the location of the building make it impos- sible to comply with the Ordinance and add a second unit. The second unit will not add to the deficiency. VOTE: 5 Yes ; 0 No ; 1 Absent. Area variance granted. !i i i - 20 - BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS i; COMMON COUNCIL CHAMBERS CITY OF ITHACA, NEW YORK l JULY 2, 1979 l SECRETARY HOARD: The next appeal is no . 1263: Appeal of Harold and Miriam Scheraga for an area variance under Section 30. 25 Column 14 to permit construction of a screened porch at 212 Homestead Terrace . The property is located in an R-la (res- dential) use district, and would be deficient in the minimum required rear yard when the porch is constructed. MR. SCHERAGA: I 'm Harold Scheraga and I live at the stated resi- dence . You have the map which shows the rather ample space on the whole lot which supports a brief excerpt which I will read from my original appeal. "Our closest neighbors, the McDaniels , agree to this proposal . Since there is much area on our lot to i the north and south of our house, the openness of the property (characteristic of our neighborhood) would be preserved, and our proposal would thus observe the spirit of the ordinance and would not change the character of the district . In fact, our house is well shrubbed-in and hidden from the Woodcrest Avenue (and from the western) side. " CHAIRMAN MARTIN: I found your applicationquite thorough and have no questions . Does anyone else have a question? No questions . Is there anyone else who would like to be heard on this case , either in favor or in opposition? We will move on to the next. I I, 1 �I li - 21 - i+ III BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS ii COMMON COUNCIL CHAMBERS CITY OF ITHACA, NEW YORK i JULY 2 , 1979 I I ii EXECUTIVE SESSION APPEAL NO. 1263: CHAIRMAN MARTIN: I move that the area variance in case 1263 be granted. ` MS. DE COMBRAY I second the motion. FINDINGS OF FACT: 1) The lot is a large one . The only reason why the proposed porch creates a problem with the yard dimensions in the Ordinance is because of an orien- tation of the building required by fill . 2) The porch will not bring this building too close to the neighbor or otherwise create a problem in the neighborhood. i i VOTE: 5 Yes ; 0 No ; 1 Absent. Area variance granted. i I� i 22 - 1 BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS COMMON COUNCIL CHAMBERS CITY OF ITHACA, NEW YORK JULY 23% 1979 SECRETARY HOARD announced the next appeal to be heard. Appeal No . 1264 : Appeal of Dale Loomis and Gary Loomis for an area variance under Section 30 . 23 , Columns 11 , 12 and 14 to permit conversion of a barn at the rear of 312 Second Street to a dwelling unit. The property is located in an R-3b (residential) use district , and is deficient in required front yard, side yard, and rear yard. MR. LOOMIS: My name is Gary Loomis and I reside at 3100 N. Trip- hammer Road with my wife Ange . The property at 312 Second Street is co-owned by my wife, Ange, myself and Dale Loomis and we are proposing, in terms of the variance, and I ' ll read from the original letter which was sent to surrounding people. "The remodeling of the barn structure at 312 Second Street should pose no character change of the property, if anything, it would help to clean up the appearance of the property. The only outwardly sign of construc- tion would be several windows installed. "At the time of work we would be repairing approximately fifteen foot of foundation on the north wall of the apartment house fol- lowed by painting and trimming. "As for off- street parking, there is available parking for up to seven automobiles . That would allow for individual access to each automobile. The total property would have five to six tenants on it . (Maximum of six as we established last week) "The basic reason for the appeal is the existing structure does not have any clearance on either the north or south side of the property nor does it have twenty-five foot in the back of the property. It has approximately four foot on the south side, ap- proximately six foot on the north side and approximately fifteen foot on the west side ." CHAIRMAN MARTIN: How is the barn presently being used? MR. LOOMIS: The barn presently - when we purchased the property which was approximately seven years ago , the barn was a horse ,bar - i � I II 23 - i I was what it was and it had no access to the upstairs and it was I I partly full of hay and filled with garbage . We cleaned out the 11 i barn and then we went ahead and made some changes that were neces- sary in the wiring because there was no 110 or any kind of wiring back there for lights and at the time I was self employed and needed a place to operate my business out of so we used the - after i wiring up the garage through Bear Electric and at the time we did the wiring we had the intentions of putting the apartment in some time in the future and so during the course of that time we laid out the electrical outlets and such to provide the electricity for an apartment , should we decide to go ahead with it and then from that point on I had operated my business from that premise until approximately 1975 - on November of 1975 when Veraxon Industries became Veraxon Electronics and that ' s when we moved to 1319 Meck- lenberg Road and then we moved from there up to Triphammer Road - 3100 N. Triphammer Road where the home of former Lansing Home Furnishings was. CHAIRMAN MARTIN: So that at the moment nothing is going on there? MR. LOOMIS: No, nothing. We have no business operating from ther it is used for nothing more than just a work shop downstairs . CHAIRMAN MARTIN: You mention last week and a total occupancy of six. Last week was the planning Board - this week it' s the Zoning Board. Could you explain to us that occupancy and how it fits I between the house and the barn? MR. LOOMIS: Yes, the property as it is right now - we 've had - in the past seven years - has been my wife and myself and our child living downstairs in the house. Okay? We ' ll just talk about the house right now. Upstairs my brother and he was married prior - it was his wife at that time, and then we also had on and off for the past seven years we have had, I believe, five people that rent a room from us up there. So we 've had six people on and off that property over the course of the last seven years. I believe it has been five people and then what has happened now is my wife and I have - because my business is located at 3100 N. Triphammer Road, I was very fortunate to be able to pick up the property right i t; - 24 - next door so that cut down on the gas because of the gas situation is pretty heavy so it cut down on our driving. So I bought - pur- chased the property up there and it was just that the downstairs j of the house is kind of small - it' s just a two bedroom house with just nothing more than a large , you know, decent sized living room and a decent sized kitchen and that' s the size of it , so for three people it becomes a little crowded after awhile and so we decided to go ahead with the property, buying - purchasing the property an then at that time the upstairs - my brother and I were talking about doing something with the barn and my brother suggested moving out there in the barn cause that would give him more room also if we were to make the upstairs barn into property and that would, of course, provide income with the house operating as two different units as they are right now. So at that point we kind of laid out plans for that and so - going back to the number of people in our property - basically we aren' t modifying the amount of people on our property at all we have got, as of July 1st, we've got the downstairs rented out with two young ladies and my brother and his girl friend is living upstairs and they would be moving to the garage in back and we ' d be renting the upstairs as our present plans are for one person would be moving in upstairs . CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Alright , the unit you plan for the barn - what will it have in it? MR. LOOMIS: It will have a . . . CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Kitchen, bathroom, one bedroom? MR. LOOMIS: Yes . CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Living room? I MR. LOOMIS: Yes. What it is - it' ll be an open cathedral type living room and then that will assume approximately one-third of the building I should say, in total . Okay? The upstairs. Then the other two-thirds of the building , the third floor which acts as the loft _ which is actually a loft , to be a very large bedroom, is what that amounts to . Then the downstairs will have a - like a dining room/kitch-enette type of thing and then adjacent to that will be a decent sized bathroom. �I I 25 - I' I CHAIRMAN MARTIN: How will you have access to the upstairs? rI (� MR. LOOMIS : Okay. The upstairs has access through the front door I of the - right in the center of the garage - I call it a garage - it' s a barn, is a front door and that is the access to the upstairs . It goes through the - there is a set of wide stairs which goes up to the second story which is where the apartment will be. CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Questions? MS. DE COMBRAY: What about heating? MR. LOOMIS: Okay, right now there has been a gas heater back jthere ever since we put in the business that I had back there five years ago - or seven years ago I guess it was and that is a gas heater. I assume at this point that that heater is going to have ( to be removed and probably a gas furnace - you know - something of ( a little more substantial value will have to be put in there as fa as I know. I don' t know to be honest with you, I would have to get somebody that knows more - that knows heating. I don' t know heat- ing , I need somebody that knows heating. CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Further questions? I MR. ANGELL : Who put in the stairs? MR. LOOMIS: Who put in the stairs? I did. There were no stairs in it before but we had to knock in order to get the upstairs - you had to knock a hole in the floor to get a set of stairs up there. There used to be a ladder on the outside of the building going to a barn door that just opened up. The building is approxi- mately the date of the building is approximately 1870 to 1875 - some place in that area. i CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Alright now the property is zoned R-3 which permits I 11the number of units you want . The problem is with the yard dimen i cions in the various sides . Tell us about what is how close to you on those various sides . Do you have too narrow a side yard on both sides? , MR. LOOMIS : Okay. Actually it states in the appeal as written up here on the Planning Board where it says notice of meeting. It said something about the front yard and the side and rear yards . As far as I know it is not deficient in the front yard but it says . . . ( iI II it 26 - j�CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Our chart says eight feet (81 ) rather than ten. SMR. LOOMIS: Okay, the front yard extends - the building sets back , about 70 foot or so - 70 - 80 foot maybe from the street itself. Now the problem is the side yards . It ' s an existing building with existing lines and those existing lines - one side of it - let ' s see, the south side has only got about - approximately four foot on that side. And the north side is approximately six foot (61 ) and then the back side, which would be the west side - that has about 15 ' . SECRETARY HOARD: Okay, it ' s the existing residence that is too close to the street so that gives you a front yard deficiency. MR. LOOMIS : Oh, yes , okay, the existing residence - yes that is where it has always been. It has always been like that. CHAIRMAN MARTIN: But the property in which you - I mean the build- ing in which you are asking for permission to put a second unit is too close to the property line on two sides - the back and the side, right? MR. LOOMIS : That is correct, right. CHAIRMAN MARTIN Now what other structures are close to that, I mean, are there other peoples houses that are close to that barn? MR. LOOMIS : Okay, there is - the only - let 's see , there is one structure that is approximately 15 to 20 feet away and that would be the property on the Wilkinson' s property which is on the north side, excuse me, on the south side. And that' s a garage - it' s a one-car garage . And then in back of our property there would be a house that would be a substantial distance away - 150 foot maybe - 100 , 150 foot away. Then on the north side, on either north and south sides both of the next door neighbor ' s houses , which are the Hackleys and the Wilkinsons - their houses are approximately, lets see Hackleys house is about 15 to 20 feet away from the sides of our house and then on the other side, the Wilkinsons - they are approximately 25, let' s see, approximately 20 to 25 feet away, approximately - on the side. Our driveway is on the south side. CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Are there further questions? MS. DE COMBRAY: If you weren' t permitted this or if you weren' t granted this variance how would you use the barn? i - 27 - i MR. LOOMIS: Excuse me? i! SIMS . DE COMBRAY: How would you use the barn? MR. LOOMIS : We would have a residence . . . in terms of what , I don' t follow you. ; MS. DE COMBRAY: If you are not granted this variance. MR. LOOMIS: If we are not granted this variance? MS. DE COMBRAY: Would you continue using it as a garage? MR. LOOMIS: Well it would be used as a garage or to pile junk in or something. That 's why, - basically we just got through cleaning out - we took out over 22 truck loads of junk that was - has been accumulating in the barn since I 've been there - not that I 'm a junk collector but you know how things - you know, you have a ten- dency to collect things . I just got through cleaning out a lot of stuff - I 've been throwing a lot of stuff away. The building is - as a matter of fact - the building is an excellent structure , the roof is in excellent shape there is no , in fact when we moved to the property, the only repair that was necessary to that building when I purchased it was - I had to jack up the center of the build- ing because it became sway-back - as buildings do as the years go by and I jacked up the center of the building approximately 6 inches in order to break up - to take the sway-back out and then I pur- chased approximately $100. 00 worth of large old barn beams and restressed the whole bottom side of the barn to bring the level of the structure back up to its proper shape where it should be . And the property is an old property - it' s an old - it ' s the oldest as far as I can tell - according to the Tompkins County Library - that I can find out, but that property is the oldest property on Second Street. CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Any further questions? Anything you want to add Mr. Loomis? MR. LOOMIS: No, I don' t think so. CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Okay. Thank you very much. Is there anyone else who would like to speak in favor of the requested variance? Is there anyone who would like to speak in opposition? i i i - 28 - IPAULINE WILKINSON: I 'm Mrs. Pauline Wilkinson and I am the pur- chaser, I don't quite own yet - my residence at 310 Second Street. We've been there since August of 1977 and I 'm here representing some families from the neighborhood - my husband is not able to be here - he is in Massachusetts. I am here for the Lovitts and I am also speaking for the Quicks , I've also talked to the Capalongos who are residents across the street on the corner and I 've also spoken with the Hackleys and most of those people that I have talked with are against the idea of having another dwelling crowded i into Second Street. We are very overcrowded right now - we have a lot of problems in the neighborhood, with the major problem is a couple of absentee landlords who rent their homes - their two- unit dwellings to anyone . They don' t keep up their property and they also are not concerned with the quality of people living there . Not that these people don' t have a right to live where they choose, because they do and it' s up to other people in the neighborhood to try to control some of their behavior too which I am trying to do . I took some pictures this weekend which sort of show some of the congestion and I present them to you. CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Are these pictures you can leave with us? MRS. WILKINSON: Yes you can have them. I think my major objection is really overcrowding, especially since the surrounding area does not meet the legal requirements. We are on the border of a highly commercial area - we are on the border of a low income multi-unit dwelling area and we are also bordering the Gymnastic Center - the e is the Begeacre Restaurant right in our neighborhood - there are gutted homes in our neighborhood - there are some very nice homes in our neighborhood. I would like to see the trend towards people taking care of the properties they have , putting their money into them to try to make it a better place to live in. As you said, it' s a three unit zoned area. T didn' t purchase my home to be next to a three unit area. I had no idea that there was some possibility of this at all and this is our first experience in purchasing a hope so perhaps next time I will be better prepared. Another major objection I have is the driveway. The driveway borders my drivewa - 29 - li hand it ' s a very narrow area. As far as safety, I 'm really not con- i Icerned with the quality of people that are living there - it ' s just I that there is more potential for accidents - there are children running around, across the street, etc . it ' s an awful lot of cars going in to little tiny area. My property is only 50 x 100 feet - that includes the driveway. At the present time there are seven (7) cars parked in the driveway and some of them are in use, some of them are not in use - I think perhaps they are being stored there . I feel that to try to get into the neighborhood the type of people we should, we should limit the amount of units that there are, try � to attract people who will stabilize the neighborhood and also have some space for us to breath. One of our biggest problems in this country is we over-utilize everything and people get very unhappy and very tense and I just think it is a poor way to live . Some ( people move out to the country to get away from it all while others have to suffer in the city. I don' t really want to go into subjec- tive factors because there are some that I could go into but I think that' s being rather snide and derisive but there are things that have bothered me about the people that are planning on doing this . I have a little map basically of what the area looks like if you wanted to look at that - basically of our street and how it does border all the commercial areas . It's just a rough drawn map and I talked with. the Mayor today M I had a meeting at 1 : 00 o 'clock and he didn' t show up for it, so he called me on the 'phone at work. He was going to get back to me - I didn' t really know if he could offer me much help but I sort of needed someone to talk to. He was supposed to call me back, I left work and I haven' t been home since so perhaps that was part of the problem. My real estate agent that sold us the house was supposed to give me a letter saying that it would really negatively affect the future sale of my home . I told him the meeting was tomorrow so I don' t have the letter but his name is VanDyke Billings , Jr. and he works for Gallagher Real Estate and I ' d be glad to present the letter at a future time. I guess basically that's all I have to say. !� CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Okay, now our role, as I 'm sure you understand I J I i' 30 - is a limited one as I 've already indicated the property is zoned ; for three units and the problem is with the dimensions of the lot. Your point is that the lots are all tight together there and that jthe additional unit makes potentially more people, and that, there fore , it would have adverse affect on the neighborhood to allow the additional unit and given the size of the lot. MRS . WILKINSON: Well plus the parking, basically I will be living next to a parking lot because there are seven cars there now and if they get any more people upstairs and they have cars - they can' t even get in and out of their driveway anymore . I don' t thin that that is such a terrific idea. If my children were playing in that area and someone didn't see them because of all the cars - I guess I ' ll probably have to put a fence up, I have no choice. CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Are there questions? MR. WILCOX: Do you have a letter signed by the Capalongos , the Lowitts , and other . . . ? MRS. WILKINSON; I did not get I 'm not that guttsy a person, I didn' t get a petition together. I was advised that it would be a good idea but basically I just talked to them personally. The CapalongcBssaid that - she did say that she is moving out of that home to where I don' t know - and she felt that she really shouldn't put anything down on paper. We just had a phone conver- sation. Actually it ' s Mr. Cacciotti that lives and owns that property -- they are leasing out the store . MR. WILCOX: Were there any official replies from neighbors? SECRETARY HOARD: I have none. CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Any further Questions? Thank you and we will hold on to your pictures if that ' s all right . Is there any one else who would like to speak on this case in opposition to the requested variance? We' ll move on to the next case . DALE LOOMIS: I would like to make a few comments, sir, in favor. CHAIRMAN MARTIN I have already asked for those in favor. MR. LOOMIS : I did not hear, sir, all I heard was opposition. CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Alright - well if I missed you then I ' ll, give� o Y g a chance - would you come forward? i �i 31 - I� MR. LOOMIS: Thank you, my name is Dale Loomis , I am Gary Loomis ' s t �i brother . . . j CHAIRMAN MARTIN: So you are the co-appellant in this case? I! MR. LOOMIS : Yes. I am the landlord that intends on residing at 312 Second Street so there will not be an absentee landlord con- dition so long as we live there. I would also like to comment on overcrowding. As my brother mentioned earlier - over the past seven years - at least five of it, has had six people on the property. So the actual number of adults or the actual number of people living on the property would not change at all - there would still be six occupants . As for the driveway condition - there is fence that delineates the property division between the two proper- ties and in one area the grass extends over onto our driveway wher our driveway picks up and at times we have driven on our own land and destroyed part of our own grass by driving off the edge of our driveway but we do not make it a point and never drive on anyone else' s land specifically. As it stands , our driveway is capable of having two cars pass side by side - in other words cars could park alongside of the house which we don' t usually do - we leave that open but another car would be able to drive on the driveway proper by the two cars. So the driveway is not excessively narrow. Another comment is that we are intending on increasing the equity lof the property and as a result increase the basic taxes for that property. We want to improve the property if we could get no functional use from the garage structure then we wouldn' t be very inclined to put a lot of money in it to increase its outward ap- pearance or to make it look better. We wouldn' t be able to since we could get no functional use out of it. With it set up as a residence - a place to live - and with landlord residence there I am very cautious about the people that I would like to live near , me - I do would not want my car hurt at all by someone parking near it so as a result I am very cautious as to the type of people we have rent there and I guess that ' s it, sir. CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Alright. Any questions of Mr. Loomis? Thank yo . Alright. I believe that concludes our hearing of this case or is there someone else that I 've overlooked? We ' ll move on to the nex Ij II - 32 - I I BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS COMMON COUNCIL CHAMBERS j CITY OF ITHACA, NEW YORK JULY 2 , 1979 i I� EXECUTIVE SESSION APPEAL NO. 1264 : DR. GREENBERG: I move that the area variance in case number 1264 be denied. CHAIRMAN MARTIN: I second the motion. FINDINGS OF FACT: 1) To grant the variance in this case would cause an adverse effect on the `I neighborhood. 2) The neighborhood is already congested. 3) The building in question is very close to the property line on both sides in the rear. 4) The granting of this variance will not increase , according to the appellants, the present number of occupants but it might , at any time in the future, brin about an increase in the number of occupants . VOTE: 5 Yes ; 0 No ; 1 Absent Area variance denied. I - 32 - i �j BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS { COMMON COUNCIL CHAMBERS CITY OF ITHACA, NEW YORK JULY 2 , 1979 SECRETARY HOARD : The next case is appeal no. 1265 : Appeal of Richard T. Mellen for a special permit under Section 30 . 25, Column 3 to permit use of the pre- mises at 112 Parker Street for a home occupation as a real estate office. The property is located in an R2a (residential) use district in which home occupations are per- mitted only with a special permit from the Board of Zoning Appeals . MR. MELLEN: I 'm Richard Mellen, I reside at 112 Parker Street. I am applying to be able to operate my real estate brokerage out of my home . The business meets all the requirements of a home occu- pation. I have lived on the property over four years and all of the immediate neighbors have contacted me in one way or another to let me know that they approve of what I am doing, know what I am up to. That ' s all I have to say. ( CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Alright, give us a sense of the amount of coming and going from your office? MR. MELLEN: As things stand now I work by myself out of my actual dwelling unit. And I have to confess that I didn' t know that a special permit was required so that I actually have been doing itl since January - again all of the neighbors were aware of just how the business functions and there has never been more than one part visiting meat a time. Usually I do business - actually - off my premises , CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Alright, so you have no employees? MR. MELLEN: No. CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Only yourself? MR. MELLEN: Right, although I can envision that I may need some- body to help me at some point in the future. CHAIRMAN MARTIN: And in the course of the typical day how many people would - how many clients would come to your . . . ? MR. MELLEN: To my premises? Probably on the average of less than one a day. CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Less than one a day. ,l 33 - I�MR. MELLEN: There is also quite a bit of parking there - it is a jdouble lot that I am on and there is parking for nine cars so there is a lot of space around there - a lot of lawn area and a lot of ,parking . CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Are there questions? DR. GREENBERG: Are you the only occupant of the home at present? MR. MELLEN: No it ' s actually a building that has actually five dwelling units in it. I have some pictures of it if you would like to see them. Then again, it ' s on a double - a double lot - it was built as a . . . CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Can we keep that? DR. GREENBERG: How much of your residence is used for the office space that you require? What portion of it? MR. MELLEN: I 'm not dividing I 'm not making any changes in the dwelling at all . DR. GREENBERG: Well certain portions you are assigning to the . . . IMR. MELLEN: I 'm not really assigning any specific portion to it. DR. GREENBERG: Well we have to know - I think that this is one of the provisions- of the Zoning Board - it shouldn' t occupy more than. . . CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Yes - it has to be incidental to the primary use which is as residence. We had one pet store that raised the issue rather pointedly. MR. MELLEN: Okay. Well it 's very incidental. I have no specific office space assigned. There is one room where I have a desk already and that is my office. CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Alright. We will return the colored photo and keep the black and white. MR. MELLEN; This is a picture of the sign which is 8" x 24". And it matches the color of the DR. GREENBERG: Unspecified amount . CHAIRMAN MARTIN: But a maximum of one room right? A maximum of done room? SDR. GREENBERG; Well we don' t know that either. MR. MELLEN: I use one room as office space, I guess . I mean, its function hasn't change by my doing business there. I! I - 34 - I jDR. GREENBERG: We' ll have to check your IRS return to find out . . I' MR. MELLEN: You may as well have this too, this is a copy of the survey which can be kept . MR. ANGELL: How many rooms in your apartment? MR. MELLEN: Five. MR. ANGELL: Five rooms? And how many apartments in the building? MR. MELLEN: Five. MR. ANGELL: Five apartments? MR. MELLEN: Yes, the house is 5, 000 square feet - it' s a pretty big place . It' s on three floors - three stories tall in the rear. It' s on a lot that is 140 and some odd feet by 100 feet. You can see it on the map there. The parking is actually on the second lot . CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Any further questions? MR. WILCOX: You've been there how long? MR. MELLEN: Four years . CHAIRMAN MARTIN: I think that ' s it unless you have something further you want to say? MR. MELLEN: No but I have a couple of letters here from neighbors stating their . . . . CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Neighbors saying they are not opposed? Neighbor saying they are in favor? MR. MELLEN: Right. CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Alright. Is there anyone else who would like to be heard on this case? Anyone who would like to speak in favor of the requested special permit? Anyone who would like to speak in opposition to it? We ' ll move to the next case . 1 I i i� � - 35 - I ii BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS COMMON COUNCIL CHAMBERS CITY OF ITHACA, NEW YORK I JULY 2 , 1979 EXECUTIVE SESSION APPEAL NO. 1265 : CHAIRMAN MARTIN: I move that the special permit for a home occupation requested in 1265 be granted. SMR. WILCOX: I second the motion. FINDINGS OF FACT : 1) According to the appellant ' s testi- mony there are no employees at present in the building and very little traffic drawn to it by this home occupation. 2) It has no other affect on the neighborhood and is incidental to the residential use of the premises . VOTE: 5 Yes ; 0 No ; 1 Absent Special permit granted. i i is - 36 - I i� JI BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS ii COMMON COUNCIL CHAMBERS CITY OF ITHACA, NEW YORK i JULY 2 , 1979 SECRETARY HOARD: The last case for this evening is appeal no. 1266: Appeal of David and Seymour Turk for an area variance under Section 30. 25, Column 15 to permit construction of two story building containing three stores and six apartments at 329 College Avenue. The property is located in a B--2b (business) use district, and is deficient in required rear yard. MR. DI PASQUALE: I 'm Ray DiPasquale. We've been here several times on this matter and I think probably the reason why we are back her again is because at the last hearing we were given a variance to occupy 1000 of the property but the variance as it was issued, re- stricted to a one-story building and I think . . . CHAIRMAN MARTIN: At that hearing the question was asked whether there wasn' t some possibility that there would be two and it was said - no, it wasn' t feasible and so they didn' t want a variance that would encompass a two-story building. Now you would like a two-story building? MR. DI PASQUALE: That' s right. That ' s because of the economics of this project it' s not feasible at all unless we build a two-story building and it provides at least six apartments on the second floor. CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Alright. And to save all of our time, why don' t you tell us how different this building is from the one for which the variance was granted at that prior meeting. Will it be any different in terms of its orientation in relation to the sidewalks or the thing at the corner? MR. DI PASQUALE: Nothing is different. CHAIRMAN MARTIN: It' s just got a second floor? MR. DI PASQUALE: Its just got a second story on it and this par- ticular design incorporates the some of the comments that were made in earlier presentations , such as the corner. We have already had a preliminary meeting with the Design Review Board which was this noon. It was not an official meeting because there was not a I I I�1 - 37 - Jiquorum present at that meeting but they had discussed this project i� 11prior to my being there today at 12 : 00 and some of the suggestions �f Viand comments they made were noted and we can comply with these without any trouble . ! CHAIRMAN MARTIN: And there will be six units? MR. DI PASQUALE : Six units, right. ( CHAIRMAN MARTIN: There will be one, two, three, four, two-bedroom units and two, one -bedroom units? MR. DI PASQUALE : That is correct, sir. CHAIRMAN MARTIN: An entrance to all of them will be from the front between the two stores? MR. DI PASQUALE : There is one entrance from the front and there will be an entrance from the rear. CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Another entrance from the rear . Now how will the rear one work? Because in the rear as we recall , there is a problem. The rear entrance will be to that covered walkway that will be along the back of the store? SMR. DI PASQUALE: No , the rear entrance goes directly upstairs to the apartments . MR. ANGELL: From where? CHAIRMAN MARTIN: From where? MR. DI PASQUALE: From Dryden, CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Okay, I see, because of the slope of Dryden Road that ' s possible? �MR. DI PASQUALE: That' s right. CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Okay. And where is that on this side elevation? MR. DI PASQUALE : That would be right over there - that door right there (pointing to the blueprint) . CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Okay. Alright, so if you go up a stair there it I gets you onto a second floor you go down a stair and that gets you onto this back MR. DI PASQUALE: Right. There is a - that used to be the access for the exit from the stores to the outside. They have to have two ways out so that 's the second way. CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Okay. It' s not clear from the drawing whether i j - 38 - that nick in the corner is carried up into the second floor? SMR. DI PASQUALE: No, it doesn' t. 1! CHAIRMAN MARTIN: It doesn't? MR. DI PASQUALE: No, it's only from the first - it's only the first floor. CHAIRMAN MARTIN: It ' s only the first floor. Okay. MR. DI PASQUALE: No , because you see if you did that then, of course, you would lose that bedroom up there. CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Yes , that is what I was seeing. Okay. Any questions? We have been over this area several times before. MR. DI PASQUALE: I kind of apologize actually for making that a long drawn out affair of this episode but I think now- we have our act together, and this is the way we want to do it . CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Questions? SECRETARY HOARD: You know that there is still some problems with the design itself as far as light and ventilation for the habitable space? MR. DI PASQUALE: We talked with the Design Review Board today and we also checked the multiple dwelling code and we can comply with these . . . SECRETARY HOARD: Okay. MR. DI PASQUALE : The sky lights are permitted and we will have sky lights in the areas that don't have natural light from the side . SECRETARY HOARD: Yes. DR. GREENBERG: What does the basement area consist of? If I read this drawing right , which I am not good at reading . . . MR. DI PASQUALE: It' s a partial basement . . . DR. GREENBERG: It seems very, very shallow as far as head room. Is that -- do I' get the impression . . . ? MR. DI PASQUALE : That the headroom -- no it will be at least . . DR. GREENBERG: Well, it looks like it is two feet . MR. DI PASQUALE: No, it ' s just that the other spaces are quite large because we have a drop in the grade there. College A venue drops quite a bit - about three feet . . . DR. GREENBERG: So you say the headroom is ? I, i II - 39 - IMR. DI PASQUALE: Well at least seven feet. And the basement 4xtended is only about to the existing gas station where that is - I� will be the extent of it because I don' t want to get back into the lexisting retaining wall , you see. So we will just make a partial (basement - about two-thirds of the depth of the property will be I I basement. We won' t get back into the existing retaining wall and i ! that kind of . . . MR. ANGELL: Where is the garbage storage and that sort of thing? IMR. DI PASQUALE: Well , the garbage will be in - you know - just like any other apartment - there is no special garbage storage in the corridor - it ' s in individual apartments and they have to take it down at garbage collection day. MR. ANGELL: Where? MR. DI PASQUALE: In their apartment. CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Where do they take in on garbage day? MR. ANGELL: You mean they keep it in their apartment for the week and then take it out at the end of the week? MR. DI PASQUALE: Well , I don' t know where they are going to put it. It ' ll be in cans on the street then. I haven' t considered that at this point. Where do you put your garbage normally in a Ione-bedroom apartment or a two-bedroom apartment? ` MR. ANGELL: Well , certainly you take it outdoors and store it you don' t leave it in the apartment for a full week. MR. DI PASQUALE : That' s a good question. CHAIRMAN MARTIN: You haven' t made provision for that yet? MR. DI PASQUALE: No, I haven' t made provisions yet but we' ll make provisions for it . MR. ANGELL : Where? MR. DI PASQUALE: Well , I don' t know, I ' ll have to figure it out. CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Any other questions? Okay, do you have anything further you want to add? MR. DI PASQUALE: No , I think it is pretty well outlined there , in our official reason for appeal . CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Okay, does anyone else want to speak in favor of the requested variance? I i i _ I� 40 - ii SEYMOUR 11MR. /TURK: Yes . My name is Mr. Turk and I 'm one of the owners. To make it more feasible we have eliminated the complete basement. That ay we leave the old retaining wall which would save us an awful to of money and also the bank - to make it feasible - wants apartments laccording to the loan. CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Okay, so that you are into the apartments for eco - omic feasibility? IMR. S. TURK: Definitely. Before, like I say, we had consideration going a complete basement but then we would have to eliminate the old retaining wall - that would run into an awful lot of expense because there is no guarantee what they would find. But all the other little incidentals we definitely will work out . We are working with the City - you have a Review Design Board so we have to meet specifications . MR. ANGELL: Well , what I am saying is can you cut part of that storage for the apartments off . . . MR. S. TURK: I haven't gone into that we are going to work on it they were working on it - they were up there today. Let me get one thing done . MR. DI PASQUALE; We could use garbage disposals in there - I 'm not worried about it it' s not a big major problem - it can be solved. � MR. ANGELL : I think it is Ray, I think it is . You've got six apartments , you've got garbage from at least twelve people. MR. S. TURK: I 'm sure that can be worked out. MR. ANGELL : I'm sure it can. That ' s what I 'm saying. Can you take part of that apartment storage - I assume this is a storage space i the basement? SMR. S. TURK: I haven' t thought of it to be honest with you. MR. ANGELL: No , what I 'm saying is - here is your basement area. MR. TURK: Before we had a problem with the corner. I worked that out - we' ll work everything out I have to have a place to store garbage - I think it' s pretty minor . I definitely will consider it. I never even thought of it . CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Okay. So you would be - you would find most congenial a condition on the variance that the garbage problem �I ij - 41 - I 11would be worked out? im R. S. TURK: I never really thought of it. Cause I wouldn' t want i ( them to throw it down on top of me. s'CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Okay. Any questions for Mr. Turk? Anyone else ho would like to be heard on this requested variance? Anyone who would like to speak in favor of the requested variance? R. STANCHI : I happen to have an apartment house and the garbage the average people keep it for almost a week in those plastic bags and I have owned this place for just about four years and, believe e , there is no roaches , no rodents of any kind. HAIRMAN MARTIN: So you say garbage is no problem? R. STANCHI : I don't believe so, up to now, thank God. HAIRMAN MARTIN: Okay. Anyone with testimony on garbage or any I ther . . . ? R. TURK: I will supply plastic bags . . . I HAIRMAN MARTIN: Alright . Anyone who would like to speak in i lopposition? I think that concludes our hearing on this case unless I 've missed someone? We will now go into executive session, asking he rest of you to leave and we will invite you back when we reach he decision on all of these cases . i i Ii ii ii i - 42 - li BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS COMMON COUNCIL CHAMBERS ,I CITY OF ITHACA, NEW YORK Ii j JULY 2, 1979 EXECUTIVE SESSION f APPEAL NO. 1266 : CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Imove that the area variance requested in case 1266 be granted. IMS . DE COMBRAY: I second the motion. FINDINGS OF FACT: 1) In an area variance granted 5/7/79 the Board permitted the erection of a one- story structure that did not comply with the yard requirements on grounds that the size and location of the lot made it difficult to comply with them. At the time the appellant was only con- templating a one-store building and so that is all the variance encompassed. Now those plans have changed with the addition of a second story containing six (6) apartment units. The findings which warranted the variance in that earlier case apply as well to the larger structure. 2) Approval is recommended by the Planning Board which notes the need for more housing in that area. VOTE: 5 Yes; 0 No; 1 Absent. Area variance granted. i i i i - 43 - I� ij j j I , Barbara Ruane, Do Certify that I took the minutes of the Board of Zoning Appeals , City of Ithaca, in the matters of Appeals numbered 1259 , 1261 , 1262, 1263, 1264 , 1265 and 1266 at City Hall , City of Ithaca, New York; that I have transcribed same, and the foregoing is a true copy of the transcript of the minutes of the meeting and the Executive Session of the Board of Zoning Appeals City of Ithaca on July 2 , 1979 , and the whole thereof to the best of my ability. Barbara C. Ruane Recording Secretary Sworn to before me this r7 day of '�v J.`� 1979 LC . Not Vy P bl is JOSEPH A. RUNDLE Notary Public, State of New York No. 55-4507134 Qualified in Tompkins Courtly Term Expires March 30, 19