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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2001-02-06 TOWN OF DRYDEN ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS Page 1 of 7 TOWN OF DRYDEN ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS FEBRUARY 6 , 2001 AGENDA : ( 1 ) Casey Gaul MEM . PRESENT : Acting Chairperson Anne Everett , Stuart Berg , Oers Kelemen , and Nick LaMotte . ALSO PRESENT: Henry Slater, Lloyd Bell , Casey Gaul , and Joni Flannery LEGAL COUNSEL : Randy Marcus R,r,kr**vr«,.+r,tir,4,t,rrwr*****«**,inr*,ryr, rr,ixi.,tx«*,r, errnt,ray.,e,r,r,k�,k,►******,rr*x****w*wy,«x � ( 1 ) Casey Gaul Acting Chairperson Anne Everett opened the hearing of Casey Gaul of 483 Hunt Hill Road , Freeville who was asking the Zoning Board Of Appeals for a variance that would allow him to leave in place a 31 ' X 8 ' shed which he built in error too close to Hunt Hill Road . This action was in violation of SEAR Section 617 . 5-C- 12 (set back ) . Chair Everett read the applicants file into the record and opened the floor for discussion . L. Bell : I am a neighbor. As far as I ' m concerned he helped to keep the house from falling down . When Mrs . Stevens owned this house the front part was beginning to sag down , it was getting weak . Then it was empty for about four years . So probably doing what he did , he strengthened the structure on the front . O . Kelemen : Do you own this land or is it under land contract? C . Gaul : It is under land contract . The owner of the house has passed away . It hasn 't gone through probate so actually there isn 't any owner I guess . H . Slater: The state owns it then . Isn 't that correct Randy? R. Marcus : Yes that's correct. Your zoning law itself does not state that the owner has to consent to appeal . J . Flannery : I have a statement from Mary Armstrong , she is the niece who will own it once it goes through probate . She gave me a slip giving us permission to get a permit if we needed to . O . Kelemen : On the second page of your application , you talked about tearing the porch down and rebuilding it . Is that the addition that we are looking at? C . Gaul : (referring to the photos of the house on file) the addition is this here . This is the main structure of the house . From here to here it is all rotted out and it slants about four http : /Ywww. drydeti . ny. us/ZBA02 -6-01 . litm 7/ 1 /03 C TOWN OF DR.YDEN ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS Page 2 of 7 inches from the house . It' s an upper and lower porch , but it's sagging pretty good . A. Everett : You said this is a shed . What does it house? C . Gaul : All my carpentry tools . The main structure of the house is plaster and lathe . So no matter what I store in the basement , from walking upstairs in the house , it gets loaded with plaster. J . Flannery : No one lives in it (the shed) it's just a storage shed . C . Gaul : Just storage . Lumber, pipe , construction tools . A . Everett : Does this need to be signed or anything ? (Referring to the permission slip from Mary Armstrong) , J . Flannery : ReMax has the original copy with my signature and her signature . She was suppose to mail it to me , but this is as far as she got with that . We purchased this property through ReMax , we thought everything was free and clear. S . Berg : So you are in the process of purchasing this property ? J . Flannery : For the past two years . C . Gaul : It' s under a land contract . It' s suppose to be in Mary Armstrong 's name , but she doesn 't want to assume the dept of the lady who left her the house . She is trying to work something out with Medicaid to pay off this dept and then it will be transferred to her name and then transferred to our names . J . Flannery : In the meantime all our mortgage payments are going into escrow through ReMax . R . Marcus : None of this (referring to the paper work that Mr. Gaul and Ms. Flannery presented) really refers to getting a variance . On the other-hand I can 't find any statement in the rules of procedure that says the applicant has to be the owner. H . Slater : Wayne Armstrong left his message with me today that he is in favor of it and he might show up . That would be Mary Armstrong' s husband . I know he isn 't an owner either but since I had it I thought I would contribute it. R. Marcus : It's definitely the case that there are municipalities that have a rule that says either the owner has to be the applicant or if the owner is not the applicant then the owner has to give written permission . I just don 't find it in either your zoning ordinance or in your rules of procedure . A . Everett : There is a paragraph here that says " it is agreed that the buyers Casey Gaul and Joni Flannery will be allowed to enter the premises at the address , to do fix up work to the house , clean up and mow the yard . This is being done at no liability to the seller. The http ://w«rv . dryden . ny . usrZBA02 -6 -01 . htm 7/ I f03 TOWN OF DRYDEN ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS Page 3 of 7 buyers are doing this at their own expense . " So it says to do fix up work to the house . There was further discussion regarding neighborhood reactions and whether the owners of the house in question had been notified, and were for or against the granting of a variance. It was determined that the owners had been notified and that they had contacted Henry Slater informally stating that they had no problems with the variance . Since they were not present at the hearing it can be inferred that they are in agreement. A . Everett : Henry , you have here : "The site , 483 Hunt Hill Road is located at the intersection of Hunt Hill Road and Midline Road . As Mr. Gaul is addressed on Hunt Hill Road , this becomes the front yard , which requires no structure to be constructed closer than 70 feet from the center of Hunt Hill Road . The addition , which placement is reflected by page #4 of the attached zoning permit, indicates the setback is 35 feet. What I do not know is , whether or not 35 feet is the distance from the center of the road or the edge of the road . " H . Slater : In any event if fails . He is fine with Midline Road , and he is consistent with the house that ' s there . The house predates zoning ; therefore he just built this consistent with the house . He wasn 't aware that he needed to seek a permit from the Town of Dryden and one of the other people in the office observed the construction and notified him in writing and he (Casey Gaul) had to do something about it . S . Berg : Is there a foundation under that shed ? C . Gaul : There are footers . There is no foundation . A . Everett : It is parallel or flush with the house ? It doesn 't extend further out toward (Hunt Hill Road) ? C . Gaul : Correct . A . Everett: So Henry , my question is ; this would be a variance request of 35 feet. Is that what you are saying ? H . Slater: Let me ask you a question ( to Casey Gaul), When you said the house was 35 feet from the road . Did you mean from the edge of the road or the center of the road ? C . Gaul : There isn 't any yellow line so I just guessed the center. H . Slater: Okay , he is talking about the center of the road so it is substantial . But it is consistent with the existing house . R . Marcus : Henry , are you saying that the part of this shed that is closest to the road is no closer than other parts of the house already? ® H . Slater: That is correct. http ://www . dryden . ny . us/ZBA02 =6 -Ol . htm 7r1 /03 TOWN OF DRYDEN ZONING 130ARD OF APPEALS Page 4 of 7 S . Berg : This diagram is not clear to me . I don 't see where Hunt Hill Road is on this diagram . Casey Gaul pointed out Hunt Hill Road on the hand drawn diagram. So it' s the edge of the shed that is close to the road and not the front? C . Gaul : That' s correct. S . Berg : Clearly this did not go any closer to the road than the house is already because it looks even with the house . C . Gaul : Right, actually it sets back an inch or more . A. Everett: When did you build this shed ? C. Gaul : September 2000 A . Everett : How many acres do you have on that property? C . Gaul : The property is across Hunt Hill Road also . On the house side it is approximately 1 . 9 acres . It's right around 3 acres , both sides together. S . Berg : Can you describe your plans a little better? You said you are going to take that porch down . What do you plan to do there ? C . Gaul : I plan to take the porch down and re-build it . It ' s got to be at least 4 to 6 inches off. It's leaning considerably. It's pulling the roof off of the side of the house . So we have major leaks in it . S . Berg : So you would tear out the porch and create a new porch similar. What about the shed ? C . Gaul : Eventually I will apply for a garage permit, and replace the shed . For now I need the shed for my tools as well as for support for the porch until I can replace it. A. Everett : Does anyone else have anything to add ? S . Berg : I do have an e-mail that came to me from someone on Hurd Road . I would like to read that and insert it into the records . This is from Robin Seeley on 332 Hurd Road , which is not within the distance that would normally be notified . She was not notified , so I ' m not sure exactly how she knew about it . (See file) . At 8 : 12 PM Chair Everett closed the public hearing and invited the applicant to stay during the deliberations or to call. Henry Slater in the morning for the results . A . Everett : Can we get a quick sense of the Board ? N . LaMotte : I don 't see that this is different from many other requests we get where there is a pre-existing structure that is too close to the road and the proposed addition does not offer any further encroachment than what we already have . O. Kelemen : I am just wondering why the shed couldn 't be detached and put http : /hwww .dry(ien . ny . usiZBA02-6-0 Lhhn 7i 1 /03 TOWN OF DRY' DEN ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS Page 5 of 7 somewhere else on the yard . The type of stuff that is being stored there doesn 't need heat or electricity . N . LaMotte : He mentioned that it is helping to support the porch . O . Kelemen : That ' s true too . Overall I am for granting the variance . S . Berg : I agree that it helps support the porch . I was also thinking that at such time that the applicant replaces that porch that would also require a variance correct? R. Marcus : It is usually the case that if you are simply replacing something that is within the original footprint you don 't need a variance . It is only if you are expanding on the original footprint that you need a variance . If rebuilding the porch doesn 't involve moving any walls out from where they currently are they you don 't need a variance . You still need a building permit. The Board discussed conditioning the variance with time for example three years from the date of the hearing. However, putting that type of condition only puts a heavy burden on the applicant. It was also pointed out that the applicant has been waiting a substantial amount of time for the settlement of the estate and has no control over the outcome. FINDINGS A. IN CONSIDERING WHETHER AN UNDESIRABLE CHANGE WOULD BE PRODUCED IN THE CHARACTER OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD OR DETRIMENT TO NEARBY PROPERTIES WILL BE CREATED BY THE GRANTING OF THE AREA VARIANCE THE ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS FINDS AS FOLLOWS : The subject site is located in an RC rural area ; other homes in the immediate area do not meet set back requirements . The applicant's house is a non -conforming pre-existing structure that does not meet current set back requirements . The addition in question a 31 ' X 8 ' shed is located on the north side of the existing house . It is flush and parallel to the west side of the house . Subject shed helps to support an existing porch that is in deteriorating condition which if allowed to collapse would be a detriment to the neighborhood . http ://www . dryden . ny . LIS./'ZBA02 .6-Ol . htm 711f03 TO 1VN OF DRYDEN ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS Page 6 of 7 Motion : S. Berg Second: 0. Kelemen In Favor: 4 Opposed: 0 B. IN CONSIDERING WHETHER THE BENEFITS SOUGHT BY THE APPLICANT CAN BE ACHIEVED BY SOME OTHER METHOD , FEASIBLE FOR THE APPLICANT TO PURSUE , OTHER THAN AN AREA VARIANCE THE ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS FINDS AS FOLLOWS : Since the house abuts wooded hills on the south and east sides , and the west side of the house is in close proximity to the road , the only possible place for the addition is on the north side . Motion : S. Berg Second: 0. Kelemen In Favor: 4 Opposed: 0 C . IN CONSIDERING WHETHER THE REQUESTED AREA VARIANCE IS SUBSTANTIAL THE ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS FINDS AS FOLLOWS : 35 feet is a substantial request . It is a corner lot and has a substantial distance from the road to the house on Midline Road . Motion: S. Berg Second: 0. Kelemen In Favor: 4 Opposed: 0 D. IN CONSIDERING WHETHER THE PROPOSED VARIANCE WILL HAVE AN ADVERSE EFFECT OR IMPACT ON THE PHYSICAL OR ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD OR DISTRICT THE ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS FINDS AS FOLLOWS : See A and B . Furthermore there will be no apparent environmental impacts . Motion: S. Berg Second: N. LaMotte In Favor: 4 Opposed: 0 Ee IN CONSIDERING WHETHER THE ALLEGED DIFFICULTY WAS SELF-CREATED THE ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS FINDS AS FOLLOWS : httP ://www .dryden . ny . us!ZBA02 - 6-01 . htm 7011 /03 TOlAfN OF DRYDEN ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS Page 7 of The topography of the land does not allow for an addition to be built elsewhere . Therefore the difficulty was not self-created . Motion : S. Berg Second: N. LaMotte In Favor: 4 Opposed: O THIS VARIANCE IS AS EXEMPT / NON -EXEMPT ACTION UNDER SEAR SECTION 617. 5 -c-. 12( set back) Motion : Grant Variance : S . Berg Second : Nick LaMotte VOTE : YES : ( 4 ) Anne Everett, Oers Kelemen , Nick LaMotte , and Stuart Berg . NO : ( 0 ) ABSTAINED : ( 0 ) DECISION : VARIANCE GRANTED http ://www . dryden . ny . us.ol,'ZBA02 -6 .0 I . htm 7/ 1 /03