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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1986-10-28 TOWN OF GROTON ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS Tuesday , October 28 , 1986 BOARD (present ) , PUBLIC PRESENT : Janet Bell , Chairman John Harrington , Clark St . Ext . Lyle Raymond* , Acting Chairman Beck VanGorder , Clark St . Ext , Niel Smith* Judy Drake , Clark St . Ext , David Ofner* JAmes Gleason , Clark St . Ext , Mary Decker* Theresa Ofner , Elm St . Larry Drake , Clark St . Ext , Marsha Drake , Clark St . Ext , Bradley Albro , Homer , NY Steve Simons , Clark St . Ext , LYLE RAYMOND , Acting Chairman , opened the Public Hearing at 80* 00 p . m . by reading the Public Notice ( attached ) published October 17 , 1986 . Application of LARRY and MARSHA DRAKE , 440 Clark Street Extension for a variance to Section 352 of the Town of Groton Land Use and Development Code . Application is dated 9- 26 - 86 , owners name as Delores Freedman and Marsha Drake ; Tax map No . 6 - 1 - 18 . 13 ; purpose of request to build a small house for ailing parents to spend the summer months here . ( read reasons listed on reverse of application ) My parents are 83 years old , I am 63 ; father is hard of hearing and almost blind with heart troubles . My mother is diabetic and has heart trouble . Eventually I will have full care of them ; my mother is in love with the side yard of our home with the pine trees in front . The neighbors on both sides have no objections to our building the house . There is plenty of land to build the house and it will not be overcrowded as the drawing suggests . It will be done in good taste . I firmly believe in the idea it is my responsibility to take care of my aging parents . I cannot do it if they live away from me . All over this country , people are doing the same thing I want to do . AARP as ECHO housing for large cities with small lots . Elderly parents are a great concern how days with roaring health care costs and lower Medicaid coverage . I want my parents to have some freedom and dignity in their later years . A Workman ' s Compensation Waiver has been submitted because they are constructing the house themselves . Also an application from the Town of Groton for a Building Permit to Gary Wood , Zoning Enforcement Officer; Record No . 603 , application date 9 - 29 - 86 . Gary Wood indicates he has checked the property ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS Public Hearing - 2 - October 28 , 1986 Larry & Marsha Drake ownership and size and finds it okay , there are 2 3 / 4 acre in size which can accommodate two houses ; facility type is 123 (.1 ) ; activity type 131 ( 1 ) ; land use zone is RA ; no flood hazard zone ; no wetlands involved . OFNER : On the property ownership and size , it says 2 3 / 4 acres , that is the size of the lot not the facility? RAYMO- 0 That ' s true . OFNER : The lot is legal for a full size lot under the Town Ordinance in that division . RAYMOND : The permit was denied by Gary Wood , dated 10- 7 - 86 , as non- conforming with section 352 of the Town Land Use and Development Code . We have a short Environmental Assessment Form that states there is no danger or environmental impact in all categories . A map accompanies the application showing the lot location . That is all of the written correspondece we have at this time on this application . Before I go further with the hearing I. wish to enter a statement from the Board . Since this application came in , we have spent some time telephoning and talking with our town attorney , talking with Gary Wood and other members of the Board , we talked with a gentleman from the County Planning staff , who is working with the Town Planning Board on the Zoning Ordinance ; also with the Town Clerk . What we have in essence determined , as a result of all these conversations is that we have no jurisdiction over this case . The reason being that there is no way we can grant a variance . This is an application for something we can ' t provide . The Town Zoning Ordinance , according to everyone concerned , states that every housing.- unit has to have its own separate lot . There is no way we can grant a variance for a housing unit on this same lot . It would have to be set off on a separate lot , with a separate deed and only until that time could someone come to us and say , ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS Public Hearing - 3 - October 28 , 1986 Larry & Marsha Drake " I don ' t have enough road frontage ' and apply for a variance . Under the present way in which it has come to us9 we are being asked to give a variance for two housing units on the same lot and that is not possible under our Zoning Code . There is no way we can grant that . So ', in a sense , we are saying we have no jurisdiction . I want to make that announcement before we go any further . At this point , I would like to ask the applicants if they would like to make a response or any other information to offer . M_DRAKE : In other words , for us to build anything we would have to split our lot ? OFNER : I think we have to look at what the community problems are . Living in a rural area and the design of minimum size lots was made to see that the rural characteristics were retained , that ' s why you live out there - and everybody else that lives out there selected it for that purpose . The lots were set at a minimum 200 feet along the road and one acre . That lot , as it is , is a legal lot for placing a house in it . If the lot were 400 feet you could get two houses on it . The lot is not 400 feet and if devided into two lots you would end up with two lots of 140 feet which would be way off of the 200 feet required ; you could ask for a variance and we would have to determine if , according to the Ordinance , it was significant difficulty . . We would like to be of as much help as possilbe . There are other ways to get 2 families on one lot . There are various definitions in the Ordinance . ONe is a housing unit , which is a separate building . In that building you could have two dwelling units . When you have two dwelling units in one building , the requirements for frontage are different because it retains the characteristics of the rural area . This dwelling unit would be an apartment within a structure ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS Public Hearing -4- October 28 , 1986 Larry & Marsha Drake or an addition to a structure , then your lot would still be somewhat short but the frontage ends up instead of 200 feet per housing unit to 150 feet per dwelling unit which is 300 feet total . M . DRAKE : What is a garage classified as ? OFNER : That is not a dwelling unit and is handled differently . J . GLEASON : As I understand it then , if the unit is attached to the existing dwelling structure , it is considered one unit ? OFNER : It is one house with continguous walls with two apartments in it . J . GLEASON : As long as it is attached to the existing structure ? RAYMOND : Yes , I called Jack Fitzgerald , Town Attorney , today to clarify some of these things beingkaware David was going to mention this . I' asked what constitutes a dwelling unit , would 2 dwelling units be considered one housin unit and he said ' yes ' . Our suggestion to you would be , you are much more likely to get Town approval if you want to consider some sort of arrangement where you would have something that would be attached to your present house . L . DRAKE : That was our second choice . RAYMOND : As I understand from Mr . Fitzgerald , even if it was two separate structures , as long as they were fastened together to show they were the same thing , that would probably go okay . You would much more likely , I can ' t guarantee it , get Town approval for that than what you have applied for to us which we now find we can ' t even consider . And , as David pointed out , if you were to go ahead and divide your present lot into two lots , both of them would be short of the frontage required it ' s unlikely you would get approval for that . , Where , on the other hand , if you had two dwelling units there together , you only need 300 feet and you only- have 280 , so you aren ' t very short of it . ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS Public Hearing . 5 - October 28 , 1986 Larry & Marsha Drake Chances are more likely you would get approval from that direction . That would be our suggestion though we don ' t guarantee anything . M . DRAKE : We already have approval for a 3 car garage on the site , that is not considered a dwelling unit . RAYMOND : No . OFNER : Unless you decide to use the garage and remodel it . RAYMOND : That is an auxilary unit and wouldl �not come before us , you only have to go to Gary Wood for a permit for it . OFNERa You would have to think of a design ; frankly , I am part of a volunteer unit working with the Cooperative Extension trying to educate people on options of housing , HOST , Housing Options for Seniors Today . We are making municipalities aware of problems and what is available and what might be available in the future . One of the options is to add an apartment to a house , put an addition on the house , either a mobile home or a house is considered a housing unit . You would still need a variance , but we can ' t approve anything that is not permited . We can approve something that doesn ' t quite meet the regulations as long as it is not a significant change from the Ordinance . L . DRAKE : Is it my understanding , our road frontage is 280 feet , we would need 300 for a single dwelling with two apartments ? OFNER : Yes . L . DRAKE : If I were to purchase 20 feet of land on either side of my property , give myself that additional road frontage , would I have to come back to the Appeals Board to put that addition on ? be RAYMOND : No , but you would / required , for any unit that is more than a single dwelling unit requires a special permit , to go before the Planning Board . You would indicate to them what your plans are and the Planning Board would ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS Public Hearing - 6 - 'October 283, 1986 Larry & Marsha Drake consider it and give you a special permit for a double housing unit in a rural area . That would not be our jurisdiction , it would be the Planning Board ' s . OFNER : That would be a multiple dwelling , which is , approved for that district but it has to be reviewed , That way you would have a multiple dwelling , 2 or more dwellings in one housing unit . RAYMOND : I think I should indicate for everyone concerned , that I found out today from another source that this type of situation is occurring increasingly ; I have been told there have been a half a dozen instances for this type of request in several towns in the Ithaca area . Some of the towns have found a way to give what they call a Temporaty Permit . In otherwords , the unit that is put in has to be something that would be removable and the permit is based on the life of the use as defined by the parents who would be living in it and as soon as they are finished with it it has to be removed and taken away . I was told today , I can ' t verify it , that some towns have allowed this , there is a contract with the town to see it is removed after it is done . WE don ' t have that provision so that we can do that in our Zoning Ordinance . But I think we are going to work with the office of the aged , and Gary Moore from the County Planning staff who is looking at our Ordinance , is aware of some of these needs and I predict we will be looking very soon at including some of these in the Groton Zoning Ordinance so that you could do this ; but that is not going to help you folks tonight . M . DRAKE : A lot of other towns are working with ECHO on this . OFNER : Within a year or so we expect to have some workshops for municipalities on the zoning ordinance that was provided for this . There are ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS Public Hearing - 7 - October 28 , 1986 Larry & Marsha Drake no procedures set up now . It has sort of crept up and my volunteer work is to educate people for the need of this . You are talking about it right now and we don ' t have any authority to do anything . RAYMOND : This is , . in fact , the second case in Groton . I was informed the first case involved Champlin Road and it involved not a mobile home and wood structure but two mobile homes . WE have a Mobile Home Ordinance in Groton run by the Town Board , it wouldn ' t come to us . This other applicaton , because it involved a mobile home it went to the Town Board and they wanted to divide the lot into two lots and I understand they were denied on the same grounds , they had inadequate road frontage to accomplish it . There is some precedent set in Groton which points of the fact , even further , the need for adjustment in the Ordinance so we can maintain the characteristics of the zone where it is located and at the same time provide for the needs of the elderly . Are there any other remarks anyone would like to make ? SIMONS : I would like to make some remarks in defense of keeping xuralr-• Areas rural , the 200 foot road frontage was set up basically because we moved to the country to keep space between us . You are talking about changing the zoning to provide for the elderly , I can appreciate that , but I think there still has to be some concern given to the people who move to the country for that fact . OFNER : This ECHO housing would be temporary houseing . SIMONS : Temporary , but , it is still going to be there and the neighbors still have to put up with it for eight , ten or how many years the older person lives ; it is still a detractable sight from my point of view and other people ' s point of view . They moved to the country because they want the country , not ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS Public Hearing - 8 - October 28 , 1986 Larry & Marsha Drake because they want housing . Now you are letting people put houses into smaller areas it is just like living in the villages we might better live in the village . That is my only objection . J . HARRINGTON : We sympathize with the Drakes but I have to agree with Mr . Simons we have Zoning regulations and there was a purpose behind them , we have to be careful we don ' t make changes that five or ten years from now everybody regrets . B . VANGORDER : I came down to find out what was what . If you are going to make rules for one person you have to keep them all the way through , you can ' t vary them for just one person . I have a reason for coming , I ' d like to build too but I don ' t want to cause problems for anybody else and I don ' t want more people than what we already have . OFNER : I ' d like to say , the Zoning Ordinance specifically states we have to insure that no significant change accurs . We have to be in accordance with the intent - of the ordinance . L :`.•DRAKEf1' As Steve said , I told him about this , as he pointed out if it was to detract or . take away from the land or what people were seeing . In my, case , if I were to build on the back of my trailer , I got an 80 foot trailer , if I built onto it you would not see it in the first place and it would not detract away from that . I an going to follow through on the suggestions of the Board and persue this thing further . Just so that Mr . Simons , being a neighbor , understands that if I build on the back I don ' t think it would detract at all . OFNER : The Ordinance for you situtation does have that standard , one housing unit on a lot and housing units vary in size . SIMONS : I assumed he was talking about a separate structure , I could see ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS Public Hearing - 9- OCtober 28 , 1986 Larry & Marsha Drake an attached structure , as long as it did not ramble across the lot . L . DRAKE : I wouldn ' t build anything like that . I would do as the Board suggested and I would build off the back of my trailer and add to it so nobody can actually see the extra housing . RAYMOND : If there are no more comments or questions we will close the hearing . I , MARGARET A . PALMER , DO CERTIFY that at a Public Hearing in the matter of a zoning variance for LARRY & MARSHA DRAKE at 440 Clark St . Ext , held in the Town of Groton , County of Tompkins , Tuesday , October 28 , 1986 , I did take the minutes of said hearing and the foregoing is a true and exact copy of said hearing , to the best of my ability . M rgar A . Palmer Ile, gkold1 r� Me I�OmU E S i r•-7 o 4) l TOWN OF GROTON ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS WHEREAS , Application No . 86- 10 a request for a variance of Section 352 of the Town of Groton Land Use and Development Code was filed on 10 - 22-86 and WHEREAS , said application requests a variance to permit an addition to an existing home on an undersized lot on property owned by BRADLEY ALBRO on 625 Cortland Road , Town of Groton , being a portion of Tax Map Parcel 27 - 1 - 5 and containing 0 . 28acres of land , by BRADLEY ALBRO , AND WHEREAS , all members of the Board present viewed the property , AND WHEREAS ; after due notice a Public Hearing was held by the Board of Zoning Appeals at 8 : 30 p . m . on October 28 , 1986 to consider the application . AND WHEREAS , at said hearing all those who desired to be heard were heard and their testimony recorded , AND WHEREAS , all testimony had been carefully considered and the following facts noted : 1 . The substantial variation in comparison to the requirement is minimal ; 2 . The effect of any increase in population density , intensity of development , or generation of traffic was determined there would be no increase in population or traffic ; 3 . The variance would not produce a substantial change in the character of the neighborhood or be a substantial detriment to adjoining properties , in fact it would result in a positive change ; 4 . The practical difficulty in observing the dimension regulations cannot be overcome by some other method other than a variance . 5 . In view of the manner in which the practical difficulty arose and considering all of the above factors , the interests of justice will be served by allowing the variance because most of the effects will be Positive . NOW , THEREFORE , BE IT RESOLVED that the application of BRADLEY ALBRO for a variation of SECTION 352 to permit an addition to an existing home 'on an undersized lot be GRANTED . GRANTED to the following extent and upon the following conditions ; proof of purchase , Deed , by BRADLEY ALBRO be presented to the Town , Clerk . before a permit is issued . The foregoing resolution was submitted by $ David Ofner Seconded by : Lyle Raymond Unanimously adopted by the Board on October 28 , 1986 . 1 TOWN OF GROTON ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS Tuesday , October 28 , 1986 BOARD ( *present ) PUBLIC PRESENT : Janet Bell , Chairman Bradley Albro , Homer , NY Lyle Raymond* ; Acting Chairman Laura Sovocool , Cortland Rd . Niel Smith* Ronald Sovocool , Cortland Rd . David Ofner* Joy Sovocool , Cortland Rd . Mary Decker* Steve Simons , Clark St . Ext , Theresa Ofner , Elm St . Beck VanGorder , Clark ST . Ext . LYLE RAYMOND , Acting Chairman , opened the Public Hearing at 8 : 30 p . m . by reading the Public Notice ( attached ) published October 17 , 1986 . Application of dated 10- 22 - 86 for variance to SEction 352 . 1a and lb of the Town of Grotn Land Use and Development Code presented by BRADLEY and JULIE ALBRO of 625 Cortland Road . Owners name BRADLEY: J:: : ALBRO , Tax� map No . 27 - 1 - 5 ; purpose of the request is to add to an existing home which is on an undersize lot . Justification of the request is to improve the livability of the home by changing from a wood stove to oil heat so I need a utility room . A short Environmental Assessemnt form presented - modification of back porch using existing room putting up walls and floor and ending up with either a bedroom , kitchen or dining room and using the existing house location . There are no significant environmental impact . There is an application for a building permit for a structure at 625 Cortland Rd . for a kitchen or dining room at the cost of $ 2 , 000 . Gary Wood indicates he checked the property ownership and size and says ' okay , but it is an undersized lot ' s facility type under section 122 . 1 and activity type under Section 131 . 1 ; land use Section 340 of Zoning Law it is an RA area ; it is not in the flood hazard zone and there are no wetlands involved . Action required for this activity is Section 401 . 2 of Zoning Law . We have with this a map and a sketch map of the building plan to scale giving information on the proposed addition : dimension of the lot is 1001 . : x 1751 ; road frontage of 100 ' ; ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS Public Hearing - 2 - October 28 , 1986 Bradley Albro the structure is located on south side of road and the driveway is gravel . I would ask the applicant if he would like to statep '.. in his own terms what he has in mind . ALBRO : There is a back porch there now that I plan on taking down . I have a purchase offer on the land , the closing is on Friday RAYMOND : You are not the owner of record now? OFNFR : You living there now? ALBRO : No , I am in the process of purchasing the property . RAYMONDs Do you know who owns the property now? ALBRO : Vincent Finton owns it . I am applying for the building permit for the premises . DECKER : You are definitely going to purchase it no matter what our decision is ? You will become the owner of the property? ALBRO : Yes , as of Friday the 31st . RAYMOND : This raises a question of whether we can act on something that is not at this moment tonight on application from the" owner . Since you are not yet actually the owner , leaves us in an interesting position , sort of limbo . We can only act on the application of the owner of; record when we hold our meeting , even though the owner may transfer ownership an hour after . OFNER : The owner is not available tonight ? ALBRO : Vincent has had a nervouse breakdown , this is why he is getting rid of the property . The people living there now are hogs; . When I purchase this property the yard will be cleaned up , I will redo the house with a full furnace , I am going to rewire it with 150 amp service and I ' m going to insulate the entire house . You don ' t meet every so often ? ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS Public Hearing - 3- October 28 , 1986 Bradley Albro RAYMOND : We meet when required . OFNER : I think , what you are saying , Lyle , is we have a legal problem here . We are not authorized to make a decision on property from an application other than the owner . RAYMOND : The only thing I can think of is can we make a decision pending his transferral . J . SOVOCOOL : If you can ' t render a decision , since Mr . Albro is not the owner of record , could you gather evidence as long as the hearing has been convened . RAYMOND : I would suggest I call Jack Fitzgerald , Town Attorney , and ask him if we can take any action on this matter . ( L . Raymond spoke with J . Fitzgerald by phone ) RAYMOND : If you have a signed contract for purchase of that house we can proceed on that . ( presented a Purchase Offer for property in question . The purchaser is Bradley J . Albro and Julie A . Mackey , 37 James St . , Homer , NY ) . We will now proceed with the hearing . ALBRO : The house is going to be brought .back up to standards from the condition it is in now . It will be rebuilt , it is just a matter of me getting the people off the premises . I am not sure how long that is going to take . I will proceed as soon as I get possession of the house . The owner lives in Cortland , he rented it to another couple with kids . I am in the process , with my attorney , of evicting them . I have tried to meet with the contractor for measurements and such at the property but the renter throws us off the property . OFNER : Have you ever been in the house ? ALBRO : Yes , I have been in the house . The house needs to be redone . ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS Public Hearing - 4- October 18 , 1986 Bradley Albro RAYMOND : Are there others her who want to make any remarks or statments ? R . SOVOCOOL : The reason I am here is because I am concerned - about the some of the controls of the Zoning Board on what has been done and what they enforce and since that is right next door , I wanted to make sure what is going in there . I am not about to put up with any more nonsense than we have there . There is enough junk , looks like a bulldozer ought to be run through there with some of these trailers and I am really concerned about it . I wanted to see how the Zoning Board works . I don ' t want to see them give an okay to somebody to put another piece of junk next door . If the property is going to be fixed up and made to look decent I would probably go along with that ; if it ' s not , then I am opposed to it . There are two or three places down the road that are a desgrace . DECKER : Were they there before the zoning , I ' m not sure ? R . SOVOCOOL : The vacant lot right next door, the house is falling down . ALBRO : The people on the other side of Babel , Sims , had a survey done and the surveyor told Mrs . Babel that the was on 10 feet of Sims property . According to the surveyor , every lot is ten foot off . I can ' t understand it , I have my points marked , but it may be when they resurveyed the road the driveways are off . R . SOVOCOOL : It might very well be that it was surveyed wrong , but my concern is the junk , and things that happening around the neighborhood . I can ' t put up with it . You put up a $ 509000 building , you get a permit for it , no problem but yet over across they have all kinds of junk . I ' had a neighbor that had chicken coops; 25 of them if not more , chickens tied to a barrel and I was told ' we can ' t do nothing about it because ;they are not legal size ' . I am just fed up with it . ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS Public Hearing - 5- October 28 , 1986 Bradley Albro L . SOVOCOOL : The thing we were wondering , we always comply with building permits and put up nice buildings and kept the property looking nice , why is it that nothing can be done about places like that where it looks like a hoghole , with junk all over . Why isn ' t anything done ? RAYMOND : You have to talk to Gary Wood , the Zoning officer about that . He is the one that signs the applications . OFNER : What you do is see the Town Clerk , Colleen Pierson , she can tell you who and what to do . Any citizen can make a complaint in accordance with the Ordinance and the Zoning Officer would follow through on it . L . SOVOCOOL : It makes one wonder why bother with zoning . We have to get building permits to put up buildings yet the people next door live like that . ALBRO : As far as the law goes , out back , I don ' t know who owns that just past my property line there is a dump that some people have started . I took Charlie Finton over there to show us the house because the people wouldn ' t let us in there and they had just thrown his stuff out in a pile . I have to agree with you , I wouldn ' t want them living next door to me . OFNER : Would you be upset if someone else took the property over ? R . SOVOCOOL : No , not if they keep it up . I want to make sure you don ' t say okay you can build X number of feet on this building , then somebody else wants to build x number of feet and pretty soon you have a whole bunch of little buildings through there . Those lots are small to start with . ALBRO : This addition is where there is an existing porch . I am not going to uselany more acerage , I am just modifying the existing back porch . RAYMOND : I did not understand that before . You are not extending beyond the existing porch , I understood from Gary you would be going beyond that . ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS Public Hearing - 6 - OCtober 28 , 1986 Bradley Albro ALBRO : There is an existing porch , I am going to ' replace that . OFNER : If we render a decision , the addition will be in line with the existing line of the building ? ALBRO : Actually it will be shorter than the existing structure . OFNER : What I am referring to , as you look at the house from the road on the right hand side is an extension , the new line will line up with the existing extension side of the house . ALBRO : Yes , that is all I am asking to do . I will come straight across the back and what I will end up with is a 24 foot square building without the porch ajog in the back . RAYMOND : This drawing show about 9 foot going wide . ALBRO : It ' s actually 13 feet , I am drawing it back to go straight across becasue the porch does stick out farther than the addition . RAYMOND : In any case it is not going to go beyond the roof thats there ? ALBRO : Its not going to go beyond the other additon in the corner . DECKER : The addition '- that is there already , is that going to substantiall stay there ? ALBRO : Right , I am not going out any further from the existing structure . RAYMOND : The main looks of the place is ;ho.t,- going to change that much . ALBRO : Right . RAYMOND : Are there any other remarks pertinent to the structure ? OFNER : When purchase is completed will we have to record a copy of the sale of record ? RAYMOND : Jack said we could proceed with evidence if we have the contract ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS Public Hearing - 7 - October 28 , 1986 Bradley Albro for purchase and render a decision contingent of the completion of the sale of the property . If no one has any further remarks , I will close this hearing . I MARGARET A . PALMER , DO CERTIFY that at a Public Hearing in the matter of a zoning variance for BRADLEY & JULIE ALBRO at 625 Cortland Rd . held in the Town of Groton , County of Tompkins , Tuesday , October 28 , 1986 I did take the minutes of said hearing and the foregoing is a true and exact copy of said hearing , to the best of my ability . Ma garrA A . Palmer I vrw . pf coo c,4 The Town Board [ RtCTtDI . o� Town of Groton ; . � e » tom ••.,•. SE Ab ;. �� o u Nth ' w.. 101 Conger Boulevard G roton , N . . Y '. 13073 LEGAL NOTICE . TOWN OF GROTON PLEASE TAKE NOTICE , that the Zoning Board of Appeals , Town of Groton , County of Tompkins , State of New York , will hold a public hearing at the Town Hall , 101 Conger Boulevard , . Groton , N . Y . , on Tuesday , October 28 , 1986 , at 8015 P . M . for the purpose of considering the application of Bradley and , Julie Albro of . 625 Cortland Road for a variance to Section 352 . 1a and. 1b . ( Minimum Lot Area and Frontage ) of the Town of Groton Land - Use and Development Code . All interested persons will be heard . Lyle Raymond , Acting Chairman Zoning Board of .Appeals Dated : October 17 , 1986 HA�GE REAL "TATE 4070 West Road Cortland , N .Y . 13044. ; , Purchase Agree ;pent ( 607 ) 753-6766 Buyer: BRADLEY J . ALBRO & . JULIE A . MACK;y 37 JAMES ST . HOMER , N . Y . 13077 . Price : SEVEN THOUSAND TWO HUNDRED FIFTY AND N0/ 100 ----—.......left......... 7 , 250 . 00 hereby offers Dollars $ Property : TOWN GROTON TOMPKINS for the real property located in the of , County of , State of N.Y., known 625 CORTLAND RD . ROUTE 222 TAX MAP NO . 27- 1 -5 11011111 and consisting of a lot measuring approximately 10 feet along CORTLAND RD . ROUTE 222 and approximately 175 Seller: VINCENT FENTON feet in depth and all buildings. Premises are owned by of 31 CENTRAL AVM . , CORTLAND , N . Y . 13045 For particular description reference ,,is hereby made to deed(s) covering said premises. This conveyance shall include, free and clear of all liens, all of the following specified items if presently on the premises, except wnere owned y tenants: all lighting, heating and plumbing fixtures, window and door shades, screens, venetian blinds, storm windows and doors, window valances, curtain and drapery rods, awnings, lineoleum floor coverings, wall to wall carpeting, antenna and lead-ih wires, electric water pump , sump pump, hot water heater, water softener, kitchen sink and disposal unit, built-in items including dishwasher, oven and range, exhaust fans, ventilators, air conditioners and all other items of equipment and personal property attached to the buildings'and used in connection therewith , all fences and used fencing materials owned with and now on said property. Also included shall he the following personal property which shall be transferred by a warranty Bill of Sale in favor of the Buyer: ONE WOODSTOVE , ONE REFRIGERATOR , ONE STOVE , ALL PRESENTLY ON PREMISES . Agreed value of personal property is $ NONE Sales Tax , if any, on personal property shall be paid by Buyer. Deposit : CHECK 100 . 00 Buyer hereby deposits with Hage Real Estate a to the amount of 0 : . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ Said deposit to be held until the acceptance of this offer at which time any note or check shall be converted to cash and held in escrow by said Realtor and become part of the purchase price . On rejection of this offer, deposit is to be returned. Buyer further agrees to deposit additional cash to be held in escrow by Hage Real Estate, on or before 19 intheamountof . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , . . . . . , , . , , . . , $ Terms (Paragraphs A, B-C do not apply unless filled in) & Conditions : A. a Buyer agrees to assume and pay the first mortgage lien now on said premises which provid or $ monthly payments that include interest at __.% per annum, plus escrow any, and uponwhi2cl, ere is now due approximately . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ Be The Buyer will gt the Seller a (first) (second) purchase money bond and mortgage n said real property, incustomary form , in amount of . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ Said mortgage shall also prov or : 1 . Payment at the rate of $ per month to inclu nterest at the rate of % per annum with privilege of prepayme on any payment date. a entire balance and accrued interest shall be due and payable years fro to of trans f allable on resale by the Buyer , at the option of the Seller. 2, (No) escrow payment equal to 1 / 12 total an t and insurance. 3 . First payment to be in days aft assing of dee r on 4. Penalty for late payment (2% of pa ent if IS days late). C. This agreement is conditioned upo a Buyer receiving assurance by , 19 of the first mortgage loan in t mount of . . . . . $ Payable $ monthly including interest at % per annum, er agrees to make his application , in go aith, within days after acceptance of this offer and to diligent ocess the same, Upon receivi such assurance , the Buyer will notify the Seller through Hage Real Estate an ry out his part of t ' Agreement. I e event that the Buyer is unable to secure assurance of said mortgage loan , he will immediately n Seller through said Realtor and his deposit will be refunded and this contract shall become null and void. D. Balance of purchase price in cash or by certified check on date of closing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 7 r 150 9 00 10 Total Payment $ 7 , 250900 TITLE DOCUMENTS AND MARKETABILITY OF TITLE arch & Deed : Seller is to furnish : a good and sufficient warranty deed with lien covenant , or executor's or administrator's deed to the premiseso* far ten year tax searches , and an Abstract Company title search covering at ;east forty years to time of transfer, showing good and marketable title , free of liens and encumbrances , except restrictions running with the land , common to the tract or subdivision , common driveways , and all rights of way and easements heretofore granted to Public Utility Corporations, and the following restrictions : Buyer's attorney shall have abstract and legal papers for examination at least twelve ( 12) days before closing. If defects are found in the title as shown by abstract , a written statement of objections shall be furnished , and seller shall have a reasonable time , not exceeding thirty (30) days, to make said title marketable. The transfer is to be completed at the office of the seller's attorney or the office of the lending institution for the buyer on or before OCTOBER 31 19 86 , or as soon thereafter as deed and abstract can be delivered. Adjustments: Water rents, taxes, rents, and interest on any mortgage to be assumed , fuel in storage, sewer charges, are to be prorated and adjusted as of date of delivery of possession . Tax and sewer adjustments shall be based on the fiscal year for which they are assessed . If current tax rates are not yet fixed , tax adjustment shall be on basis of tax rates for preceding fiscal year. fhe Seller represents that there are presently unpaid assessments for local improvements in the amount of $ NONE which shall be prorated as of the date of delivery of possession based an the fiscal year for which assessed. Possession : CLOSING Possession of premises shall be delivered on or before — --- 19 , subject to the tights of presentr tenants. The risk of loss or damage to premises by fire or other causes until delivery of deed is assumed by the Seller. This offer shall remain open and good for —0— days from tiontt of date hereof and if accepted, shall constitute a binding contract age of purchase and sale and it shall bind the heirs, executors, and assigns of both Buyer and Seller. Provisions: This agreement is contingent upon the satisfactory completion of the following provisions (if checked), a detailed explanation of each appearing on the reverse side of this Agreement or Attached Exhibit(s). 1 . ( ) FHA Appraised Value Clause 5 . ( ) Mortgagee's Consent to Assumption 9. ( ) Recall 2 . ( ) VA Appraised Value Clause 6. ( ) Seller's loan Fee 10. ( ) Offer on Property Having a Recall 3 . ( ) FmHA Value Clause 7. M Approval of Water System I t . ( ,) Closing of Buyer's Property 4 . ( ) Deposit Refund (FmHA) 8 . ( ) Sale of Buyer's Property 12. ( ) Attached Addendum 15 . ( X ) legal fees 14 . ( X ) propertyrinocurrent conditio 13 . property to be `scant three days prior to closing . 14 . property to be in present condition at time of closing . 15 . legal fees for the seller will be paid for by the buyer , up to $ 500 . 00 THIS IS A LEGALLY - BINDING AGREEMENT,--IF' -NOT UNDERSTOOD , SEEK COMPETENT ADVICE . Dated : �! l l , 19L Buyer (LS.) Witness : 7Z�b( 1 ..���� —rk Buyer (LS.) Acceptan Seller hereby accepts the above offer and agrees to sell ad covey said premises to the Buyer for the price and on the terms and. core d'itions set forth and agrees to pay to Rage Real Estate , the authorized agent , a fee of 7 % of the selling price for setvices tendered. Commissions hereunder shall be due and payable on closing date. The Seller agrees to furnish the lending institution with any necessary information to assist the Buyer in obtaining the mortgage loan. In the event Purchaser fails to complete the sale as herein provided , the Agent shall be entitled to receive one-half of the total cumu- lative deposit required by this agreement, but not more than the commission earned . In the event that the Seller fails to complete the sale as herein provided , the Agent shall be entitled to his full legal remedies. In the event legal action is instituted to collect this commission , or any portion thereof, Seller agrees to pay the Agent reasonable attorneys fees, and costs and disbursements of the action. This is a legally binding agreement ; if not understood , seek competent advice. 0 ACCEPTANCE BY SELLER ON PROPERTY HAVING A RECALL (applies only if box is checked) - This offer is accepted subject to an existing offer on premises which contains a recall. Dat-e-u ( i , 19 Sellerl� - (LS.) Witnese -"�L9- t�Cs1 `' >�� Seller (LS) i i # # i ! # !' * # # C L` C # # # # # # # # # # # # i ' # # i i # -# # i ! i i # # # # # # # # ! # # i ! ! ! ! ! ! ! • ! i ! i ! ! i # i 4 ! ! ! ! The following provisions apply only if checked on the front of this agreement. 1 . FHA Appraised Value Clause. It is expressly agreed that , notwithstanding any other provisions of this contract, the purchaser shall not be obligated to complete the purchase of the property described herein or to incur any penalty by forfeiture of earnest money deposits or otherwise unless the seller has delivered to the purchaser a written statement issued by the Federal Housing Commissioner setting forth the appraised value of the property (excluding closing costs) of not less than $ which statement the seller hereby agrees to deliver to the purchaser promptly after such appraised value statement is made available to the seller. The purchaser shall, how- ever, have the privilege and option of proceeding with the consummation of the contract without regard to the amount of the appraised valuation made by the Federal Housing Commissioner. The appraised valuation is arrived at to determine the maximum mortgage the Department of Housing and Urban Development .will insure_ HUD does not warrant the value or the condition of the pro rtv. The pure chaser shall satisfy himself/herself that the price and condition of the propertyore acceptable . 2. VA Appraised Value Clause . It is expressly agreed that , notwithstanding any other provisions of this contract , the Purchaser shall not incur any penalty by forfeiture of earnest money or otherwise or be obligated to complete the purchase of the property described here- in , if the contract purchase price or cost exceeds the reasonable value of the property established by ', the Veterans Administration. The Purchaser shall , however, have the privilege and the option of proceeding with the consummation of 'this contract without regard to the amount of the reasonable value established by the Veterans Administration . 3 . FmHA Appraised Value Clause. It is expressly agreed that , notwithstanding any other provisions of this contract , the Purchaser shall not incur any penalty by forfeiture of earnest money or otherwise or be obligated to complete the purchase of the property described herein , if the contract purchase price or cost exceeds the reasonable value of the property established by4,the Farmers Home Administration, 4. Deposit Refund (FmHA). In the event the Buyer is granted 100% financing from the Farmers Home Administration, the deposit made herewith shall be refunded on date of transfer. S . Mortgagee's Consent to Assumption. This offer is contingent upon the Seller receiving, within days, approval in writing from the mortgagee of the assumption of his mortgage by the Buyer. 6. Seller's Loan Fee. Seller agrees to pay a loan fee of % of the mortgage amount, on date of"closing, to the lending institution that the Buyer applies to , in the event the mortgage is granted. BUYER 7 . Approval of Water System. This offer is contingent upon the SMWsuppiging, prior to closing , a County Health Department certificate or the equivalent that the water supply on the premises is fit for human consumption. 8 . Sale of Buyer's Property. It is agreed and understood that this purchase and sale agreement is contingent upon the assurance of the sale of the Buyer's property located at _ in the of County of , State of , on or before', , 19 Upon receiving such assurance , the Buyer will notify the Seller through Hage Real Estate and carry out his part of the agreement. In the event that the Buyer is unable to secure assurance of said sale he will immediately notify the Seller through said Realtor, and his deposit will be refunded and this contract shall become void. 9 . Recall. Seller shall have the right to continue to offer the property herein for sale. Should seller receive an acceptable written offer then purchaser herein shall be given written notice of such offer and shall have from time of receiving said notice to remove the above contingency of sale. In the event the purchaser herein is unable to remove said contingency of sale within the specified period this offer shall be null and void and the deposit herein refunded . 10. Offer on Property Having a Recall . This offer is made subject to an existing purchase of the premises herein which contains a con- tingency and a recall to remove said contingency. It is understood and agreed that the recall period will be deemed to have expired by at which time the purchase offer herein will be the only valid purchase offer or will be null and void and the deposit herein returned. 11 . Closing bof Buyer's Property . It is agreed and understood that this purchase and sale agreement is contingent upon the closing of the Sale of the Buyer's property located at in the of , County of , State of , on or before , 19 ! i i ! ! ! 4 ! ! • i i i ! ! • ! i i ! • ! i # i i ! ! i i i # # i i i i # i i # i # # i i i i # # i i # i `# i i i ! • i ! ! • iR ! • ! • ! • ! Buyer's Attorney Phone Seller's Attorney _ Phone TOWN OF . GROTON ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS Tuesday , October 28 , - 1986 BOARD ( *present ) PUBLIC PRESENT : Janet Bell , Chairman Bradley Al.bro , Homer , NY . ' . Lyle. Raymond* , Acting Chairman Laura - Sovecool , Cortland . Rd . . Niel Smith* Ronald Sovocool , -Cort.land Rd . David Ofner* Joy Sovocool , Cortland Rd. Mary Decker* - Steve Simons , Clark - St-.-Ext . Theresa Ofner , Elm St . Beck VanGorder , Clark ST . Ext : LYLE RAYMOND , .Acting Chairman , opened the Public Hearing at 8 : 30 . p . m . by reading the Public Notice ( attached ) published October . 17 , 1986 . . Application of dated . l0- 22 =86 -for variance to SEction 352 . 1a and lb of the Town of Grotn Land Use and Development Code - - presented by BRADLEY and JULIE ALBRO of 625 Cortland Road , Owners name .BRADLEY J . ALBRO , Taxkmap No . 27= 1 - 5 ; purpose . of the request is to add to an existing home which is, on an undersize lot . Justification of the request is to improve the - livability of the home by changing from - a wood stove to oil heat so I need a utility room . A short Environmental Assesser:nt form presented- - modification of back porch using existing room .putting up walls and floor and ending up with either a bedroom , kitchen or dining roo.:a and using the existing house location . There are no significant environmental impact . There is an application for a building permit for a structure at 625 Cortland Rd . for a kitchen or dining room . at the cost of $ 2 , 000 . Gary Wood indicates he checked the property ownership and size and says ' okay, but it is an undersized lot ' ; facility type under section 122 . 1 and activity type under Section 131 . 1 ; land use Section 340 • of Zoning Law it is an RA area ; . it is not in the flood hazard zone - and there are no wetlands involved . Action required for this activity is Section 401 . 2 of Zoning Law . We have with this a map and a sketch map of the building plan to scale . giving information on the proposed addition : dimension of the lot is 1001 ;: x 1750 ; road frontage • of 100E ZONING BOARD* OF APPEALS Public Hearing . -3- October 28 , - 1986 -Bradley _ Albro RAY=_s We meet when required . : OFNER : I think , what you are saying , Lyle , is . 'we have a legal problem here . We are not authorized to make a decision on property from an application - `. other than the owner . RAYMONDs The only .thing I can think of is can vie make a . decision pending his transferral . J . SOVOCOOLs If you can ' t render a decision ; * since Mr . Albro is not the owner of record , could you gather evidence as long as the hearing has been convened . RAYMOND : I would suggest I call Jack Fitzgerald , . Town Attorney , :and ask him if we can take any action on this matter . ( Le Raymond spoke with J . Fitzgerald by phone ) RAYMOND : If you have a signed contract for purchase of that house we can proceed on that . ( presented a Purchase Offer for property in question . The purchaser is Bradley J . Albro and Julie A . Mackey , 37 James St . , Homer , NY ) . We will now proceed with the - hearing . ALBROs The house is going to be brought back up te. atandards from the condition it is in now . It will be rebuilt , it is just a matter of me getting the people off the premises . I am not sure how long that is going to take . I will . proceed as soon as I get possession of the house . The owner lives in Cortland , he rented it to another couple with kids . I am in the process , with my attorney , of evicting them . I have tried to meet with the contractor for measurements and such at the property but �the . renter throws'• us �off the property . . OF_Ri Have you ever . been in the house ? AL__s Yes , I have been in the house . The house needs to be redone . .ZONING BOARD OF- APPEALS ' P.ublic Hearing - 5 - October 28-, 1986 Bradley Alaro L . ' SOV000OL : - . The thing we were wondering , : we always comply with building permits and . put up nice buildings and kept the property looking nice , why - is. it that nothing can be. done - _about places like that where it looks like a hoghole , with junk all over . Why isn ' t anything done ? RAYMOND :. ' You have to talk - to Gary . Wood , the Zoning officer about that . He is the one that signs the applications . OFNER : - What you do is see the Town .Clerk , Colleen Pierson , she can tell- you who . and what .to do : " Any citizen can make a complaint in accordance with the Ordinance and - the Zoning Officer would follow through on it . L . SOVOCOOL : It makes one . wonder why bother with zoning . We have to gq-,, building permits to put up buildings yet the people next door live like thc�,t . ALBRO : As far as the law goes , out back , I don ' t know who owns that just past my property line there is a dump that some people have started . I took Charlie Finton over there to show us the house because the people wou '.:in ' t let us in there and they had just thrown his stuff out in a pile . I have to agree with Ypu , I wouldn ' t want them living next door to me . OFNER : Would you be ' upset if someone else took the property over? R . SOVOCOOL : No , not if they keep it u want to make sure you don ' t say okay you can build X number of feet on this building , then somebody else wants to build x number of feet and pretty soon you have a whole bunch of little buildings through there . . Those lots are . small to start with . ALBRO : This addition is where there is an 'existing porch . ' I am not going to use., any more acerage , I am justmodifying the existing back porch . RAYMOND : I did not understand that before . You are not extending beyond the existing porch , I understood from Gary you would be going beyond that. . ZONING • BOARD OF. APPEALS - Public . - Hearing w w Octber 28 , 1986 Bradley- Albro for purchase and render a decision contia* gent of the completion af the sale of the property . If no one-. has any further remarks , . I will close - this hearing . . I MARGARET A . PALMER , DO CERTIFY that at a Public Hearing in4 the matter of a zoning variance for BRADLEY & JULIE ALBRO at 625 Cortland Rd . held in the Town of Groton , County of .Tompkins , Tuesday , October 28 , 1986 I did take the minutes of said hearing and the foregoing is a trm ' and exact copy of said hearing , to the best . of . my ability . . �;17 llzil� .�. . Ma gar/eoE A . Palmer 4 , 3 r - TOWN OF GROTON ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS WHEREAS , Application No . 86- 10 a request for a variance of Section . 352 of the Town of Groton Land Use and Development Code was filed on 10 -22-86 and WHEREAS ; said application requests a variance to permit an addition to as existing home on an undersized lot ' on property owned . by BRADLEY ALBRO on 625 Cortland Road , Town of Groton , being a portion of Tax Map Parpel 27 - 1=5 and containing 0 , 28acres of land , by BRADLEY ALBRO . . AND WHEREAS , all members of the . Board present viewed the property., AND WHEREAS ; after due notice a Public Hearing was held by the Board of Zoning Appeals at 800 p . m . on October 28 , 1986 to consider the -application . AND WHEREAS , at said hearing all those who desired to be heard were heard and their testimony recorded, AND WHEREAS , all testimony had been carefully considered and the following ' facts noted-: 1 . The substantial variation in comparison to the requirement is minimal ; 2 . The effect of any increase in population density , . intensity of development , or generation of traffic was determined there would be no increase in population or traffic ; 3 . The variance would not produce a substantial change ' in the character of the neighborhood or . be. a substantial detriment to - adjoining properties , in fact it would result in a positive change ; 4 . The practical difficulty in observing the dimension regulations cannot be overcome by some other method other than a variance . . 5 . In view of the manner in which the practical difficulty arose and considering all of the above factors , the interests of justice will be ' served by allowing the variance because most of the effects will be positive . NOW , THEREFORE , BE IT RESOLVED that the application of BRADLEY ALBRO for a variation of0SECTION 352 to permit an addition to an existing home on an undersized lot be GRANTED . GRANTED to the following extent and upon the following conditions proof of purchase , Deed , by BRADLEY ALBRO be presented to the Town Clerk , before a permit is issued . The foregoing resolution was submitted by : David Ofner Seconded byt Lyle Raymond - Unanimously adopted by the Board on October 28 , 1986 .