HomeMy WebLinkAbout2003-10-07 TOWN OF DRYDEN ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS
® OCTOBER 7, 2003
AGENDA . ( 1 ) Joseph and Carol Adomiak
( 2 ) Richard Cutia , Jr. — Ithaca Produce Company
MEM . PRESENT : Chairperson Walter Matyjas, David Sprout , Stephen
Trumbull , Paul Lutwak and Oers Keleman
ALSO PRESENT : Zoning Officer Henry Slater, Recording Secretary
Penny Lisi , Applicant ( 1 ) Joseph Adomiak, Joseph
Onofrio , John and Barbara Stellick, Applicant (2 )
Richard Cutia , Jr. , Brent Maynard
LEGAL COUNSEL: Randy Marcus
( 1 ) JOSEPH AND CAROL ADOMIAK
7 : 30 PM Chairperson Walter Matyjas opened the hearing of Joseph
and Carol Adomiak of 12628 Rte . 38 , Berkshire , who are
constructing a single family residential structure at 11 Watros
Road , Dryden . The Adomiak Is are requesting relief from RB
® Zoning district Article 7 Section 703. 1 , ° Front Yard Setback" ,
of the Dryden Town Zoning Ordinance. Chairperson Matyjas
read the legal notice , the appeal and second appeal into the
record and asked Mr. Adomiak if there was anything he
wanted to add to the record .
J . Adomiak : I think you said it all . We didn 't find it out until we had the
survey done. The first survey we had done , they didn ' t want
the foundation on it so we didn ' t know anything about that .
The second survey we had done we found out we were a
few feet over. Joe can tell you how he measured it .
J . Onofrio : We measured it from the end of the foundation parallel to the
side of the foundation that is facing the east side. We had
more than 70' . Then when they did the survey, it showed we
had to measure it the other way, not parallel to the
foundation , but parallel to the road .
O. Keleman : Just a housekeeping question , there appears to be Onofrio' s
signature but I don' t see any signatures for Adomiak on the
appeal .
J . Adomiak : I don't own the home yet.
O. Keleman : I believe it' s required that the property holder does.
R. Marcus : Before we finish up, maybe you can sign it .
W. Matyjas : We' ll open it up to questions or comments from the board .
R. Marcus : You want to ask if there is anyone else in the audience.
See "A" above. Watros Road is a low traffic , dead end road .
Motion : 0 . Keleman Second : D . Sprout
In Favor: 5 Opposed : 0
E . IN CONSIDERING WHETHER THE ALLEGED DIFFICULTY WAS SELF -
CREATED , THE ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS FINDS AS FOLLOWS :
Yes , but the applicant became aware of the violation after
the fact.
Motion : S . Trumbull Second : D . Sprout
In Favor: 5 Opposed : 0
THIS VARIANCE IS AN EXEMPT / NON -EXEMPT ACTION UNDER
SEAR SECTION 617. 5 (c ) 12 & 13
Motion : Oers Keleman — Grant request
Second : Steve Trumbull
VOTE : YES : ( 5) Walter Matyjas , Stephen Trumbull , Oers Keleman ,
Paul Lutwak and David Sprout
NO : ( 0 )
ABSTAINED : ( 0 )
DECISION : VARIANCE GRANTED ,
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8 : 07 PM Chairperson Matyjas opened the floor to public comment
regarding the use interpretation for Ithaca Produce at 2025
Dryden Road .
Brent Maynard , an employee of Ithaca Produce, stated the
company was located on Dryden Road just south of Yellowbarn
Road. Richard Cutia , Jr. , Vice President of the company was also
present . Per Mr. Maynard , the business has been growing steadily
over the past few years and feels they have outgrown their current
location . The company was looking at the fish farm in addition to
the current facility however the land adjacent to the property has
become available. They are looking to construct a new warehouse
and are not zoned for their needs. Similar uses under the current
zoning are listed however a warehouse distribution facility is not
listed . Mr. Maynard stated they are at the meeting to get an
interpretation of the law to see if their type of business would be
acceptable in that zoning classification . The board asked if the
W. Matyjas : I ' ll open it up to the audience. If there is anyone present that
® would like to comment on this hearing .
J . Stellick : I guess the question that I had has been answered because
it was just a mistake in measuring it . I wondered how they
ended up with just having to build a 24 square foot structure .
I have no problem with it .
J . Adomiak : We couldn' t pin the surveyor down , that was our problem .
We couldn 't get him to come , he was very busy and backed
up and we just kept pestering him and pleading with him .
When he finally did come we already had the foundation
down .
O. Keleman : Were there any reactions from the neighborhood ?
W. Matyjas : No , I didn 't see anything . Henry , we didn't get anything
that' s not in the file right?
H . Slater : No .
W. Matyjas : I have a letter from T. G . Miller I ' ll read in . All the neighbors
were notified , the notifications are in here, but there ' s no
response . Just one question myself, typically when you set
the house, isn't the survey usually done ahead of that or the
poured section staked out?
J . Onofrio : We needed it for the closing on the loan .
J . Adomiak : The first survey we got, we took it to the bank and paid $200
for nothing because I took it to the bank and they said I had
to have the foundation on it . So, I went back to the original
surveyor and by the time I could get him out there , he was
backed up . Joe went and did the foundation and by the time
we got him out there we found out the day the house was
arriving , we called Henry out there and the house was nearly
ready to set on and we found it out . It was the time frame.
The surveyor apologized and that was one of those things
that fell through the crack. Joe measured it thinking there
was plenty of room there the way he did but the surveyor did
it that way .
S. Trumbull : It' s just 24 square feet?
J . Adomiak : Yes , it' s part of the garage.
W. Matyjas : What is the total square footage ?
J . Onofrio : On the whole house? 1 , 400 .
W. Matyjas : Any other questions or comments? Read T. G. Miller 9124103
letter into the record. This is exempt I & m . At this time if
there is no other public comment I ' ll close the hearing at 7 : 40
pm (there were none ) .
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7 :40 PM Chair Matyjas closed the public hearing and the board began
their deliberations for Joseph and Carol Adomiak.
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
GRANTING OF THE AREA VARIANCE THE ZONING BOARD OF
APPEALS FINDS AS FOLLOWS :
No , the only resident of an adjoining parcel stated they had
no objection .
Motion : S . Trumbull Second : D . Sprout
In Favor: 5 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 :
It would cost $20, 000 - $30 , 000 to move the foundation so
no feasible option exists .
Motion : 0 . Keleman Second : D . Sprout
In Favor : 5 Opposed : 0
C . IN CONSIDERING WHETHER THE REQUESTED AREA VARIANCE IS
SUBSTANTIAL , THE ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS FINDS AS
FOLLOWS :
The area of encroachment is less than 2% of the total
square footage of the improvement (24 sq . ft. /1 400 sq , ft. ) ;
furthermore , the relief sought is 5. 1 ' out of a 70' setback
requirement .
Motion : D . Sprout Second : 0 . Keleman
In Favor: 5 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 :
entire company would eventually move to the other location and not
just be a storage area and Mr. Maynard stated that was correct .
Mr. Marcus asked if there was any retail from the business or if it
was strictly wholesale and it was the latter. A future of having a
retail component has been thought of but is not being acted upon
from the company at this time . Problems with the current neighbors
on Dryden Road had been a problem in the past such as noise
issues and have since been corrected . There have been no recent
issues with any of the neighbors . At the proposed location of
Johnson Road , there would not seem to be an issue with any
neighbors . There would not be any increase in truck traffic as they
would be entering on Johnson Road and would in fact decrease the
traffic on Dryden Road , Per Mr_ Slater, due to noise issues in the
past , when they came for further approval in front of the Town
Board to expand their business and change their operational hours ,
certain restrictions were placed on them which prohibited them from
having trucks come or go between 10pm and 4am the following
day. As their business grew, it became essential for them to send
their trucks out all the time. The noise that was an issue was from
the trucks themselves , the refrigeration units on the trucks and the
general loading and unloading of them . It did not offend everyone
around them . Mr. Slater stated what is important here is , is there
similarity between the allowed use by special permit group in the
RC zone and the RD allowed use by special permit groups
specifically to warehousing and storage yards . There' s no
definition in the ordinance to help make that determination . What it
comes down to is , is there a difference between the storage yard
and wholesaling facility . Typically wholesale/resale is conducted on
the same lot per Mr. Slater. Lumber yards were given as an
example . Chair Matyjas spoke to the use issue and stated it almost
comes down to the Webster definition of wholesale storage and
warehouse . The use conforms to wholesale storage and
warehouse as that' s where they are now but the question is if they
move into an RC district , is what they do covered by Section 802 #4
" Lumbar, wood , coal and other similar storage yards . " There is
nothing in the zoning laws that define what other ° similar storage
yards" are .
A motion was made by Dave Sprout and seconded by Paul Lutwak
that The Ithaca Produce Company is similar enough it may exist in
an RC zone. It was passed unanimously.
TOWN OF DRYDEN ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS
NOVEMBER 11 , 2003
AGENDA : ( 1 ) Jane Miller
( 2) Stevens Heritage Furniture
MEM . PRESENT : Chairperson Walter Matyjas , David Sprout , Paul
Lutwak
ALSO PRESENT . Zoning Officer Henry Slater, Recording Secretary
Penny Lisi , Applicant ( 1 ) Jane Miller, Applicant (2)
Anthony Stevens & Charles Stevens
LEGAL COUNSEL : Randy Marcus
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( 1 ) JANE MILLER
8 : 00 PM Chairperson Walter Matyjas opened the hearing of Jane
Miller of 288 Beam Hill Road , Freeville , who is proposing to
erect a 12 ' X 16 ' private use pre-manufactured Kennedy
Hardwoods storage shed at 62 ' from the center of Beam Hill
Road where 70 ' is required . Ms . Miller is requesting relief
from RC Zone Section 804 . 1 . Chairperson Matyjas read the
legal notice and remainder of the file into the record and
asked Ms . Miller if there was anything she wanted to add to
the record .
J . Miller : I would actually like to modify the building permit , instead of
buying a pre-fab shed , I ' m going to buy a hand built shed .
I 've spoke to Henry about that.
H . Slater: I am fully aware of it , I don 't see any difference in they' re
both going to be wooden sheds just the difference is whether
it comes as a unit from Cortland or it comes in a unit from
Jeffs house_ My understanding is he ' s going to build it there
and then take it to her .
W. Matyjas : The same size ?
J . Miller : I think it ' s going to be 13 ' X 18 ' .
H . Slater : Jeff' s a builder I ' ve been familiar with for many years so I
have no doubt he' ll build a nice shed .
W. Matyjas : Is the slight size change going to change the setback?
J . Miller: No , the closest corner would be 621
.
W. Matyjas : Does the board have any questions or comments?
P. Lutwak : The one neighbor says it' s fine so it looks good to me .
R . Marcus : The only question that I have is , I have not been to the site
but just looking at the survey map , since it's tilted to the
•
street line, I wondered why you couldn 't just spin it in one
direction or the other so you don 't even need the variance?
You ' re only talking about 8 % it wouldn 't take much in the way
of turning it.
J . Miller : The reason is because there is already a pathway into the
woods to the well house and so to keep that and not have to
clear more trees to move it farther away , it's just in keeping
with the path .
R. Marcus : So the idea is to minimize the amount of clearing that needs
to be done to locate it there . I just needed to get that on
record .
W. Matyjas : Any comments from anyone else present? (There were
none). I ' ll just read in the record any letters of response .
Read letter dated 10121103 from T. G . Miller into the record.
No other written response . Normally I would close the
hearing ; we ' ll actually keep this hearing open until next
Tuesday .
(2 ) STEVENS HERITAGE FURNITURE
8 : 09 PM Chairperson Walter Matyjas opened the hearing of Stevens
Heritage Furniture of 2085 Dryden Road , Freeville , who is
requesting permission to continue a non-conforming
sideyard setback for a portion of an existing addition built in
error of a 1987 expansion which is less than the required 15'
(72) . Mr. Stevens is requesting relief from RD Zone
Section 905-2-(a) of the Dryden Town Zoning Ordinance .
Chairperson Matyjas read the legal notice and remainder of
the file into the record and noted the file includes a letter
dated 9/29/03 to Ms. Lee . Chair Matyjas asked Mr. Stevens
if there was anything he wanted to add to the record .
A. Stevens : The bank asked for a more current survey plus the fact that
we had to reparcel that adjoin each other where this new
addition is . So we had it surveyed and the surveyor gave us
a map and on the map was the building which we saw at that
time was within 15' and the banks attorney picked up it was
in non-compliance. I didn 't even know what the set back
requirements were . None of us knew where that marker was
because our builder dug the foundation and we were all
there when it was going up and the surveyor never put a
marker up .
C . Stevens : That comer of the building jogs . The marker to the east ,
closer to Dryden , was there but the other one wasn 't .
W. Matyjas : Is there a reason why that property line jogs?
•
A . Stevens : It' s old farm land . I believe at one time it was all one parcel
and Yellowbam Development was the one that chopped it
up .
W. Matyjas : Are there any other questions or comments? Any comments
from anyone else present? There were none. I ' ll read into
the record any responses . T. G. Miller letter dated 10121103
into the record along with 10/27103 letter from the
Department of Planning. No other written responses in the
record . At this time we will keep the public hearing open
until next Tuesday 7 :45 prevailing time .
8 : 22 PM Chair Matyjas kept the public hearing open and the board
began their deliberations for Jane Miller.
8 : 46 PM Chair Matyjas and the board began their deliberations for
Stevens Heritage Furniture .
11 /18/03 7 : 30 PM Chair Matyjas continued the public hearing for Jane Miller
from 11 / 11 /03 and the board voted on their findings as
follows .
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
GRANTING OF THE AREA VARIANCE THE ZONING BOARD OF
APPEALS FINDS AS FOLLOWS :
The board accepts the applicant' s statements under section
1 on the attached request , excluding the first sentence .
Motion : D . Sprout Second : P . Lutwak
In Favor : 3 ( Sprout, Lutwak , Matyjas )
Opposed : 0
Abstain : 2 ( Keleman , Trumbull )
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 :
•
Moving the shed further back from the road would require
more trees to be cut. Other locations would be less
accessible and more visible , due to the topography .
Motion : P . Lutwak Second : D . Sprout
In Favor: 3 ( Lutwak , Sprout, Matyjas )
Opposed : 0
Abstain : 2 (Keleman , Trumbull)
C . IN CONSIDERING WHETHER THE REQUESTED AREA VARIANCE IS
SUBSTANTIAL, THE ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS FINDS AS
FOLLOWS :
The relief requested is not substantial , 8 ' out of a 70' setback
and only involves the corner of the shed . Furthermore , the
existing house is almost entirely within the 70' setback by
comparison the shed ' s noncompliance is not substantial .
Motion : D . Sprout Second : P . Lutwak
In Favor: 3 (Sprout, Lutwak , Matyjas)
Opposed : 0
Abstain : 2 (Keleman , Trumbull)
• 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" above . Several other neighbors had no objections .
Motion : D . Sprout Second : P . Lutwak
In Favor: 3 (Sprout, Lutwak , Matyjas)
Opposed : 0
Abstain : 2 ( Keleman , Trumbull )
E . IN CONSIDERING WHETHER THE ALLEGED DIFFICULTY WAS SELF-
CREATED , THE ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS FINDS AS FOLLOWS .-
Yes .
Motion : D . Sprout Second : P . Lutwak
In Favor: 3 (Sprout, Lutwak , Matyjas)
Opposed : 0
Abstain : 2 ( Keleman , Trumbull )
THIS VARIANCE IS AN EXEMPT / NON -EXEMPT ACTION UNDER
• SEQR SECTION _ 617 . 5 ( c) 12 & 13
Motion : David Sprout — Grant request
Second : Paul Lutwak
VOTE : YES : (3 ) Walter Matyjas , Paul Lutwak and David Sprout
NO : (0)
ABSTAINED : (2 ) Oers Keleman , Stephen Trumbull
DECISION : VARIANCE GRANTED .
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11 /18/03 7 :45 PM Chair Matyjas continued the public hearing for Stevens
Heritage Furniture from 11 / 11 /03 and the board voted on
their findings as follows .
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
GRANTING OF THE AREA VARIANCE THE ZONING BOARD OF
APPEALS FINDS AS FOLLOWS .-
The nonconformance has been in existence since 1987 , and
wasn 't even discovered until a recent survey.
Motion : P . Lutwak Second : D . Sprout
In Favor : 3 ( Sprout, Lutwak , Matyjas)
Opposed : 0
Abstain : 2 ( Keleman , Trumbull )
Be 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 :
Either moving the structure or requiring additional lands
would be cost prohibitive .
Motion : D . Sprout Second : P . Lutwak
In Favor: 3 (Lutwak, Sprout, Matyjas)
Opposed : 0
Abstain : 2 ( Keleman , Trumbull)
Cr IN CONSIDERING WHETHER THE REQUESTED AREA VARIANCE IS
SUBSTANTIAL , THE ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS FINDS AS
FOLLOWS :
While the requested variance is substantial (72 ' out of 15')
there 's only 32 square feet of the building in
nonconformance . The need for the variance was created by
the newly discovered irregular lot line .
Motion : D . Sprout Second : P . Lutwak
In Favor: 3 (Sprout, Lutwak , Matyjas)
Opposed : 0
Abstain : 2 ( Keleman , Trumbull)
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" above .
Motion : P . Lutwak Second : D . Sprout
In Favor: 3 (Sprout, Lutwak, Matyjas)
Opposed : 0
Abstain : 2 (Keleman , Trumbull)
E . IN CONSIDERING WHETHER THE ALLEGED DIFFICULTY WAS SELF-
CREATED , THE ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS FINDS AS FOLLOWS :
The need for a variance was unintentionally created due to
an error almost 17 years ago .
Motion : P . Lutwak Second : D . Sprout
In Favor: 3 ( Sprout, Lutwak , Matyjas)
Opposed : 0
Abstain : 2 (Keleman , Trumbull)
THIS VARIANCE IS AN EXEMPT / NON = EXEMPT ACTION UNDER
SEAR SECTION 617. 5 (c ) 12
Motion : Paul Lutwak — Grant request
Second : David Sprout
VOTE : YES : (3 ) Walter Matyjas , Paul Lutwak and David Sprout
NO : (0)
ABSTAINED : (2 ) Oers Keleman , Stephen Trumbull
DECISION . VARIANCE GRANTED .