HomeMy WebLinkAboutZBA Minutes 1990-04-11 FILED
TOWN OF ITHACA
Date o
Town of Ithaca Clerk 1
Zoning Board of Appeals
April 11 , 1990
TOWN OF ITHACA
ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS
APRIL 11 , 1990
PRESENT : Chairman Henry Aron , Edward King , Edward Austen , Joan
Reuning , Town Attorney John Barney , Zoning Enforcement
Officer/ Building Inspector Andrew Frost ,
OTHERS PRESENT : Jane Schafrik , Roxanne Wilson , Celia Bowers ,
Tim Warner , Virginia Langhans , Catherine
Stearns , Frank Shipe , Randi Beckmann , Al
Davidoff , Steven Blais .
Chairman Aron called the meeting to order at 7 : 05 p . m . and
stated that all posting , publication and notification of the
public hearings had been completed and that proper affidavits of
same were in order .
Interviewing of Candidates for the Zoning Board of Appeals
Vacancv
® Chairman Aron stated that before the two cases that are on
tonight ' s agenda are heard , he would like , on behalf of the
members of the Zoning Board of Appeals , to thank the four
candidates for taking the time and energy to interview to serve
on the Zoning Board of Appeals .
The candidates that were interviewed by Board members were
the following : Jane Schafrik , Martha Aguiar , Robert Hines and
Celia Bowers . Lots were drawn to determine the order of
interview . Each candidate was interviewed separately by the
Board members .
At the end of the interviews , Chairman Aron called for an
Executive Session to discuss the selection of a person to serve
on the Town of Ithaca Zoning Board of Appeals .
Motion
By Mr . Edward Austen ; Seconded by Mr . Edward King .
RESOLVED , That the Town of Ithaca Zoning Board of Appeals
adjourn into Executive Session to discuss the selection of
the person to fill the vacancy that is currently on the
Board .
The voting on the motion was as follows :
® Ayes - King , Reuning , Aron , Austen .
Nays - None .
Town of Ithaca 2
Zoning Board of Appeals
April 11 , 1990
The motion was carried unanimously .
The Board adjourned into Executive Session at 7 : 34 p . m . and
reconvened in regular session at 7 : 42 p . m .
Motion
By Mr . Edward King ; Seconded by Mrs . Joan Reuning .
RESOLVED , that the Town of Ithaca Zoning Board of Appeals
recommend and hereby does recommend to the Town Board the
appointment of Mr . Robert J . Hines , to the Zoning Board of
Appeals for the term expiring December 31 , 1992 .
The voting on the motion was as follows :
Ayes - King , Reuning , Aron , Austen .
Nays - None .
The motion was carried unanimously .
The public portion of the meeting was opened at 7 : 50 p . m .
and the first Appeal on the agenda was the following .
APPEAL OF RANDI BECKMANN AND AL DAVIDOFF , APPELLANTS ,
STEVEN BLAIS , AGENT , REQUESTING AUTHORIZATION BY THE
BOARD OF APPEALS , UNDER ARTICLE XII , SECTION 54 , OF THE
TOWN OF ITHACA ZONING ORDINANCE , FOR THE PROPOSED
EXTENSION OF AN EXISTING NON-CONFORMING SINGLE-FAMILY
HOME LOCATED AT 115 HALCYON HILL ROAD , TOWN OF ITHACA
TAX PARCEL NO . 6 - 66 - 3 - 18 , RESIDENCE DISTRICT R- 15 . THE
EXTENSION PROPOSED IS ADDITIONAL LIVING SPACE WHICH
INCLUDES ENLARGEMENT OF THE EXISTING BUILDING FOOTPRINT
AND AN ADDITIONAL SECOND STORY . SAID BUILDING
CURRENTLY HAS AN EAST SIDE LOT LINE SETBACK OF 8 . 7 FEET
WITH A PROPOSED SETBACK OF 6 . 7 FEET ( 15 FEET BEING THE
STANDARD ) ,
Mr . Steven Blais , Architect and Agent , referred to the
drawings that were presented to the Board with the agenda and
posted enlarged drawings of the same on the bulletin board for
the Board ' s viewing .
Mr . Blais explained the proposal for the addition . He
stated that there are 35 steps down to the house from the
driveway . The slope is on at least a 45 degree slope .
Mr . Blais stated that putting a partial second floor on the
house and letting it overhang toward the property line is not
really going to have significant impact on the neighbors . He
does not think there would be a perceptible change from the
• Town of Ithaca 3
Zoning Board of Appeals
April 11 , 1990
standpoint of the neighbor on the down hill side because there is
a drop in height of 40 - 50 feet .
Mr . Blais said that they are trying to maintain the existing
structure of the house . It is a very small and simple house and
they are working with a limited budget . The most straight
forward approach involves placing two new bedrooms on top of the
existing bedrooms and pretty much preserving the way the living
and dining spaces are and just extending the kitchen a little
bit . They will be gaining access to the new second floor by
coming in at a higher level .
Chairman Aron asked Mr . Blais if the existing house has a
basement : Mr . Blais responded that the existing house does have
a basement . It is sub - standard - the average height of the
basement is less that 6 feet .
Chairman Aron asked Mr . Blais what the total height of the
proposed building will be . Mr . Blais stated that the total
height will be 30 feet at the ridgeline , which is the Town ' s
height limit .
After further discussion , Chairman Aron opened the public
hearing .
Mrs . Virginia Langhans , 111 Halcyon Hill Road , stated that
she had not seen the plans and that is why she attended the
meeting this evening . She stated that she has no objections to
the proposed plans for the house .
Chairman Aron read a letter dated April 6 , 1990 signed by
W . F . Shipe and Margery Shipe supporting the proposed house . The
letter is attached hereto as Exhibit # 1 .
Chairman Aron closed the public hearing .
Town Attorney Barney asked Mr . Blais if they are going to
use the existing wall as a support for the second . story and if
structurally that would be a problem .
Mr . Blais replied , yes , they are going to use the existing
wall and , no , he does not think there will be a structural
problem . He thinks they will have to take some care to do some
repair work at the foundation level to strengthen things up some .
Mr . Frost explained that it is a policy of his that if we
are adding new loads to an existing foundation on a first floor ,
he requires certification from the Town Engineer or from the
licensed architect .
Town of Ithaca -4
Zoning Board of Appeals
April 11 , 1990
Mr . King asked Mr . Blais if there are any problems with Mr .
Shipe ' s concern about debris coming over onto his property .
Mr . Blais said that a plastic snow fence could be put up .
Mrs . Beckmann would commit to cleaning up any mess that the
contractor might make .
Motion
By Mr . Edward Austen ; seconded by Mr . Edward King .
RESOLVED , that , in the matter of the Beckmann/ Davidoff
Appeal , the Zoning Board of Appeals make and hereby does
make the following findings .
14 as set forth in Section 77 , paragraph 7 , sub -paragraphs
a - f , and
29 that no one appeared in opposition to the proposed
construction and a letter was presented from the
nearest affected neighbor approving the plans with the
® conditions as stated and Mrs . Langhans appeared stating
that she has no objection , and
3 * the addition will enhance the property aesthetically
and will not have any adverse impact on the
neighborhood .
and be it further
RESOLVED , that the Town of Ithaca Zoning Board of Appeals
grant and hereby does grant the variance to reconstruct the
house at 115 Halcyon Hill Road per the plans as shown , such
that the house not be any closer than 6 feet from the east
lot line , and such that the building not exceed the 30 - foot
maximum building height per the Town ' s Zoning Ordinance ,
with the following conditions :
10 that there be some sort of a fence to protect the
neighborhood from any debris during the course of
construction ;
2v that the 6 foot dimension be applicable in accordance
with the ordinance , that is to say that the eaves may
project up to an additional 2 feet into that side yard .
A vote on the motion was as follows :
® Ayes - Austen , King , Reuning , Aron .
Nays • Done .
Town of Ithaca 5
Zoning Board of Appeals
April 11 , 1990
The motion was carried unanimously .
The second ` Appeal on the Agenda was the following .
APPEAL OF ROXANNE WILSON , APPELLANT , REQUESTING
AUTHORIZATION BY THE BOARD OF APPEALS , UNDER ARTICLE
XII , SECTION 54 , OF THE TOWN OF ITHACA ZONING
ORDINANCE , FOR THE RECONSTRUCTION OF A SINGLE-FAMILY
HOME DESTROYED BY FIRE ON OCTOBER 12 , 1989 , LOCATED AT
303 SHEFFIELD ROAD , TOWN OF ITHACA TAX PARCEL NO . 6 - 28 -
1 - 39 , RESIDENCE DISTRICT R- 30 . THE PROPOSED
RECONSTRUCTION IS NOT WITHIN THE SAME FOOTPRINT OF THE
FORMER DWELLING WHICH WAS NOT IN CONFORMANCE WITH
CURRENT BUILDING SETBACK REQUIREMENTS , AND SAID PARCEL ,
MEASURING 100 FEET BY 200 FEET , IS NOT IN CONFORMANCE
WITH THE CURRENT 150 FEET BY 200 FEET LOT SIZE STANDARD
FOR R- 30 LOTS . APPELLANT PROPOSES TWO DIFFERENT
PLACEMENTS FOR THE NEW HOME . SIDE YARD BUILDING
SETBACKS OF EITHER 20 ( PLUS OR MINUS ) FEET OR 38 . 5
( PLUS OR MINUS ) FEET ON THE WEST SIDE LOT LINE ( 50 FEET
BEING REQUIRED) , AND , 17 . 5 ( PLUS OR MINUS ) FEET OR 56
( PLUS OR MINUS ) FEET ON THE EAST SIDE LOT LINE ( 25 FEET
BEING REQUIRED FOR SIDE YARDS ON THE STREET SIDE OF A
CORNER LOT ) .
Chairman Aron asked Mrs . Wilson why she did not want to
build on the same footprint as the house that burned was located .
Mrs . Wilson stated that the foundation that exists there is
not good , it is bowed 3 inches so a new foundation is needed .
She said that she needs to have a four -bedroom house because she
has 3 children .
Mrs . Wilson stated that the new house would be the same
measurements as the house that burned except that it would be a
raised ranch . The new house would be 2 , 000 square feet .
Mr . Tim Warner , the contractor , addressed the Board and
explained the footage of the house and the proposed plans . Mr .
Warner stated that the basic problem they have with building in
the same footprint is that to make habitable space in a lower
level , they can ' t go as deeply in the ground that they would need
to . So what they are proposing is to move the location just in
front of it by 3 feet .
Mr . King asked Mrs . Wilson why there are two maps being
presented to the Board . Mrs . Wilson explained that she was not
sure which one , if any , the Board would approve so she presented
them both . She stated that she would prefer to go with the map
that shows the house facing the way the old house faced .
i
Town of Ithaca 5
Zoning Board of Appeals
April 11 , 1990
Mr . King , for the record , stated that the proposal to move
that house northerly within 20 feet of the north line , is the
first map that the Board was discussing and now the Board and
Mrs . Wilson are talking about a second map which would locate the
house westerly from the original foundation , rather than
northerly and that would leave 38 . 5 from the Cook house and also
38 feet east of the Sheffield Road .
Mr . Frost , for clarification , stated that this gets a little
confusing because the Board is not only dealing with a lot in an
R- 30 Zone that you can ' t get the rectangle in , we are also
dealing with a corner lot . Mr . Frost said to make things as
simple as possible , the north side would be required to have a
50 - foot setback , 40 feet typically being required but we have to
add 10 feet because of the under size lot . Mrs . Wilson is
proposing 38 . 5 feet where 50 feet is required . On the south side
lot line which is on the Drew Road , because it is a corner lot ,
it has to be at least ane -half the required front yard distance
but again , since we cannot get the R- 30 rectangle in there , we
add 10 feet . Therefore , we would need 25 feet on that side yard
and she is proposing 17 . 5 feet . Mr . Frost went on to explain
that the rear yard , which is to the east side of the proposed
building would need to be 75 feet and Mrs . Wilson is proposing
138 feet . Mr . Frost stated that the front and rear yards are
fine . The Sheffield Road is being called the front yard and the
Drew Road side is the side yard .
The map that Mr . Frost referred to above is attached hereto
as Exhibit # 2 .
Chairman Aron opened the public hearing . He read a
statement into the record from Peter Capiello , 107 Drew Road , per
a phone call to Mr . Frost on April 11 , 1990 in favor of the
proposed construction . The statement is attached hereto as
Exhibit # 3 .
Chairman Aron closed the public hearing .
Chairman Aron stated that the Board is going to consider
house # 2 and house # 1 map will be discarded .
After further discussion , Chairman Aron stated that he would
entertain a motion .
Town of Ithaca 7
Zoning Board of Appeals
April 11 , 1990
Motion
By Mr . Edward King , seconded by Mrs . Joan Reuning :
RESOLVED , that the Town of Ithaca Zoning Board of Appeals
grant and hereby does grant the variance to permit the
construction of a new home in place of the burned down
dwelling at 303 Sheffield Road in accordance with proposal
# 2 , namely that the new house be a raised ranch house , two
floors , constructed approximately 3 - 6 feet westerly from
the west foundation of the expired dwelling ; the north line
of the structure to approach 38 feet from the north property
line and the westerly line to be 38 feet west from westerly
property line which would be the east line of Sheffield
Road , and with the southerly face of the house being
approximately 17 feet from the north line of Drew Road , and
further
FURTHER RESOLVED , that this proposal constitutes a variance ,
granted herein , of approximately 12 feet in the setback of
the house from the north property line ( 50 feet being
required for a corner lot with the dimensions of this lot ) ,
• and also a variance , granted herein , on the siting of the
southerly side of the house , that 17 feet being
approximately 8 feet short of the 25 feet that would
normally be required , with the following findings :
10 that the proposal would not impact negatively upon any
other properties ,
2 * that the new house would be an improvement over the
existing situations ( a burned - out building ) ,
3w that it is advantageous that the new structure be
built west of the existing old foundation , which is to
be properly filled in and graded ;
4 * that no one appeared in opposition and a communication
was received by the Board favoring granting of the
variances ,
5e that it would entail practical difficulties and
unnecessary hardship and not necessarily an improvement
to construct it on the site of the old dwelling because
of the unstable nature of the existing foundation of
the old house .
• The voting on the motion was as follows .
Ayes - King , Reuning , Austen , Aron .
Nays - None .
• Town of Ithaca 8
Zoning Board of Appeals
April 11 , 1990
The motion was carried unanimously .
The meeting adjourned at 8 : 50 p . m .
Connie J . Holcomb
Recording Secretary
:APPTR4D
He ry Airon
Chair
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AFT,1DA W T OF PUBLICATION
on6- AI Davidoff, Apprellonts,
Steven Blois, Agent rrequest-
ing authorization by the Board
cf Appeals, under Article XII,
Section 54, of the Town of
ithoca Zoning Ordinance, for
AL the ed extension of a .
existing no conforming sin-
111E uRN gle-fo family ily home located at
ITHACA JO 115 Halcyon PJiJIRoad6 .Town
of Ithaca Tax Parcel Not -66
3- 18, Residence6
' Distric _ R-15.
The extension propose�k 6d-
State of New York , Tompkins County , ss . : ditional living space wich in-
cludes enlargement . of the
• existing building foolp4t and
Gail Sullins being dulV sworn deposes and cn additional second _story.
Scid buildingg currently I;lp an
says , that she/lie resides in Ithaca . county and state af� lresaid and that reeeast with at lines sed setback ck
y - feet with p proposed setback
Clerk of 6. 7 . feet ( 15 feet being the
she/he is standard ).
APPEAL of Roxanne Wilson,
of The Ithaca Journal a public: newspaper printed and published in Appellont, requestingouthori
-
zation by the Board of- Ap-
ceals, under Article XII, 'Sec
-
Ithaca aforesaid , and that a notice , of which the anne : ed is a true tion 54, of the Town of Ithaca
Zoning Ordinance, for thetre-
copy , was published in said paper ; instruction of asingle-family
home destroyed by .fire on Oc-
, n (� reber 121 Road located of 303
`� c Sheffield Road, Town of Itha-
ca Tax Parcel No. 6-28- 1 -39,
Residence District R-30. jhe
proposed reconstruction is.not
:within the some footprint- of
+he ' former dwelling which
was not in conformance with
current building setback re-
quirements, and said parcel ,
and that the first publication of said notice was on the V measuring loo feet by 200
feet , is not in conformance
vith the current 150 feet by
day of \� ` \ 19 �Q 200 feet lot size standard for
2- 30 lots. Appellant proposes
• ine different placements-,for
ane( new home : side ydrd Y1�•�-�C �= � uildingsetbacks of either 20
.' lus or minus feet or 38. 5 plus
it minus feet on the west side
line (50 feet being re-
Subscribed and sworn to before me . this day, quired ), and 17. 5 plus or min-
us feet or 56 plus or minus feet
OI l9 �V __ __ pn the east side lot line -(25
feet being required for side
TOWN OF ITHACA ZONING
BOARD OF APPEALS yards on the street side of o
cirner lot ).
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARINGS Sid Zoning Board of Appeals
0 WEDNESDAY, APRIL 11 , 1990 ;.; ; il at said time, 7 : 30p. m. ,
7 : 30 P. M. and said place, hear all per-
By direction of the Chairman sans in support of such matters
Notary Public , of the Zoning Board of Ap - cr objections thereto. Persons
peals NOTICE IS HEREBY may appear by agent or in
JEAN FORD GIVEN that Public Hearings person .
will be held by the Zoning Andrew S. Frost
Notary Pub ! icr State of NOW YOrF Board of Appeals of the Town Building Inspector/Zoning En-
of Ithaca on Wednesday, April forcement Officer
654410 11 , 1990, in Town Hall , 12o Town of Ithaca
i_ East Seneca Street, (FIRST 273- 1747
QUallil til empkins County Floor, REAR Entrance , WEST A_cril6. 19PO
Commissicn expires May 31, 1 / � Side ), Ithaca, P. M.NY, on the fol -
311 AT 7: 30 P. Mon the fol -
lowing matters.
APPEAL of Rondi Beckmann
•