Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutZBA Minutes 2022-07-13Town of Ithaca Zoning Board of Appeals Wednesday, July 13, 2022 @ 6:OOpm. 215 N. Tioga St. Due to public health and safety concerns related to COVID-19 and NYS Legislation allowing virtual meetings. The Public Hearing meeting for the Zoning Board of Appeals will be held by video conferencing through the Zoom App with no in -person attendance permitted. The public will have an opportunity to see and hear the meeting live and provide comments through the Zoom App. If the public would like to attend the meeting for viewing purposes only, it is recommended to watch the livestream video on YouTube. Agenda - 0004-2022 Appeal of Karenkumar Ahir, owner; Jose Guisado, applicant/agent of Tax Parcel No. 32.-2-16 - 0013-2022 Appeal of Tompkins Financial, owner; Cayuga Signs, applicant/agent of 1012 Ellis Hollow Road, Tax Parcel No. 62.-2-1.21 - 0014-2022 Appeal of Neil and Brigid Shipman; owners of 681 Five Mile Drive, Tax Parcel No. 31.-2-21.2 INSTRUCTIONS TO ACCESS THE MEETING VIRTUALLY ON ZOOM: If you have a computer, tablet, or smartphone, you can access the Zoom meeting by going to www.zoom.us and clicking on "JOIN Meeting", and entering 852-5587-1576 into the Meeting ID. You can also call in to the Zoom meeting at +1 (929) 436-2866. To join the meeting directly, go to ht�tps://us Owwcb.zoom.us/i/85255871576. If joining through the Zoom App, you will be placed on hold until the meeting starts. INSTRUCTIONS TO ACCESS THE MEETING VIRTUALLY ON YOUTUBE: If you have a computer, tablet, or smartphone, you can access the meeting by going to the Town's YouTube channel. To join the meeting directly, go to https://www.youtt,ibe.cope/channel/t.JCC9vyc:Xk i6]<]VIibjhCy7NQ/live Questions about accessing the Zoom video conference should be emailed to ctorres( town.ithaca..ny.us or (607) 273-1783 ext.2. Town of Ithaca ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS Wednesday, July 13, 2022, 6:00 p.m. MINUTES Present: David Squires, Chair, Members Chris Jung, George Vignaux, David Williams, and Stuart Friedman Marty Moseley, Director of Codes; Becky Jordan, Deputy Town Clerk; Susan Brock, Attorney for the Town Mr. Squires opened the meeting at 6:01 p.m. 0004-2022 Appeal of Karenkumar Ahir, owner; Jose Guisado, applicant/agent of tax parcel 32: 2-16 - Pulled Mr. Moseley stated it was discovered a variance is not required due to a clause in the stream setback law. 001.3-2022 Appeal of Tompkins Financial, owner; Cayuga Signs, applicant/agent of 1.01.2 Ellis Hollow Road, Tax Parcel 62: 2-1.21— Tabled due to error in public hearing notice. 0014-2022 Appeal of Neil and Brigid Shipman; owners of 681 Five Mile Drive, Tax Parcel 31: 2- 21.2; are seeking relief from Town of Ithaca Code sections 270-59 (Height limitations) and 270-56C (Permitted accessory buildings and uses) to have a total of two accessory buildings that are approximately 2,373 square feet in area and one accessory building that is approximately 21'4" in height. Town of Ithaca Code section 270-59 allows for an accessory building to be a maximum height of 15'. Town of Ithaca Code section 270-56C allow for a maximum of three accessory buildings (not including a garage or an accessory dwelling unit) not to exceed 2,000 square feet due to the parcel being 3 acres or larger, where the proposed accessory buildings total square feet would be approximately 2,373 square feet in area and the height of the newly built accessory building would be approximately 21'4". The current property is located in the Low - Density Residential Zone. Overview Applicant, Neil Shipman: I'm requesting an area variance for the size of a pole barn. It's a 373-sf area variance. I started this process about a year ago with Dana (Town of Ithaca Code Enforcement Officer). I was told that the square footage of the pole barn I wanted to build was too large for my 2.99-acre property. I needed 3 acres to bring it up to 2000 sf. I spoke with my neighbor, got three acres through him and went through the process of having both our properties resurveyed. I was then told that I could have the building permit, Dana gave me the building permit and I told the builder to go ahead. The building of the pole barn began. It is just for storage to store my belongings. I built a small one -bedroom house for my mother on the property ZBA 2022-07-13 (Filed 1/12) Pg. 1 a couple years ago. She also went in front of the ZBA to get a couple of variances, stream setback was one of them. I can't remember the other two variances. She doesn't have any storage in the small house I built for her. So, the pole barn is literally just for storage. There are a couple things left to me by my father who passed away that I'd like to keep in storage. I've had stuff stolen off my property in the past by people from the jungle like a battery out of my boat. There's a lot of theft in the area, such as catalytic converters and I have a truck that's not drivable but was my father's that will go in the pole barn but again, it's just for storage not for anything else. The upstairs would be for smaller belongings, things that mean something to my mother. There is another two-story pole barn about the same as what I have in the area on Bostwick road by the water tower. I know I'm in a low -density area. Within a quarter mile you have Ithaca Beer Company, the housing development going in down the road toward the city line, school bus garage within 200 ft and county highway department. Discussion/Determination Mr. Williams: It looks like the property, after all, is under 3 acres, is that correct? Mr. Shipman: No, I ended up getting it redone and resurveyed, it's 3.2 acres. I ended up buying a piece, .2 acres, off my neighbor, and resurveyed. That's why I was granted, Dana had told me at the time that I could, that she would give me the building permit the next day and to go ahead and get started so we did. It was as she was drawing up the building permit, she called me later that day and thought the overall height was 1.2 feet. I'm also asking for a height variance, I forgot, the overall height is actually 21' 4". Mr. Squires: Right, there are two issues, the amount over 2000 sf and the height. The survey provided indicates sheds. Would you be willing to remove one of the sheds to reduce the footprint of accessory buildings? Mr. Shipman: Yes, I'd be willing to do that. Mr. Squires: Looking at the survey, would it be the one showing closest to the property line? Mr. Shipman: I could remove that shed that sits on four-by-four skids and is movable and splits in half. I can get rid of that. Mr. Squires: It is my understanding that was about 145 sf of footprint there, does that sound right? Mr. Shipman: Yes, it sounds about right. Mr. Friedman: I don't understand the sequence of the oral commitment to issue a permit and then the information you received that the permit couldn't be issued absent a variance. How much time intervened between those two events? Mr. Shipman: I was told on May 24t' at 3:44 p.m. that the building permit would be granted. Within an hour the builder had the trusses and all the building materials on my property. He started the next day at about 6:30 a.m. Dana called me at about 9:00 a.m. Mr. Friedman: Well so much for supply system constraints. ZBA 2022-07-13 (Filed 1/12) Pg. 2 Ms. Brock: I couldn't find a deed online in the county clerk filings. Do you actually own the property, has that been transferred to you yet? Mr. Shipman: To me and my mother, Bridgette Shipman. Ms. Brock: Have you actually had a deed prepared and signed and had the property conveyed? Mr. Shipman: Yes, me and my mother did it about 2 years ago. Ms. Brock: I'm talking about the 2/10 of an acre that the Sweet's transferred to you. Mr. Shipman: Yes, I filed this with the Clerk's office on the 24t'. Ms. Brock: You filed lot line adjustment map but that doesn't transfer the property Mr. Shipman: I didn't know that. I'm not trying to do anything behind anybody's back or be sneaky. I'm trying to do it the right way. I was told that as long as I filed the map with the Clerk's office and assessment office, I was all set. Ms. Brock: That was probably just about whether you needed subdivision approval or not. Or just have the town engineer approve a lot line adjustment but that only goes to whether you need subdivision approval from the town. It doesn't deal with the underlying ownership of the property itself. Mr. Shipman: I was told once the map went to the Clerk's office it was all set. I didn't know I had to go do the deed, but I can do the deed. Ms. Brock: Have you paid them for the property? Mr. Shipman: Yes Ms. Brock: The problem is you don't own more than 3 acres right now. Mr. Shipman: It's 3.03 acres Ms. Brock: With the new area, right? But you don't own that 2/10 so you must own 2.83 right now? Mr. Shipman: It's 2.89 but with the setback it's 2.99. Ms. Brock: You don't own that 2/10 acre right now you own 2.99 but with setback it's 2.89. Trying to figure out facts with ownership. 3 acres or larger you can have an aggregate accessory structure of 2000 sq ft but with less than 3 acres it's 600 sq ft. Mr. Shipman: That's why I ended up asking my neighbor if I could buy the swamp land back there. I spent a bunch of money, thousands of dollars doing that. Then come to find out I still needed a height variance. Ms. Brock: Problem is he's asking for and it was advertised as a variance from the 2000 sf requirement but doesn't qualify for 2000 sf with currently owning less than 3 acres. ZBA 2022-07-13 (Filed 1/12) Pg. 3 Mr. Shipman: It was the Engineering department that told me I was all set once I bought the land, my neighbor signed paperwork and the survey maps were done. Ms. Brock: Yes, that would be whether you would need subdivision approval or not. It has nothing to do with owning the land. They weren't looking at ownership, they were just looking at it as whether you needed to go to the planning board for subdivision approval. Under town subdivision law the town engineer can approve without having to take to the planning board minor lot line adjustments and that's what he did by stamping the certificate of approval on your map. That's presupposing that you own it or will be owning it. The problem here today is you don't qualify to have 2000 sf if you own under 3 acres. Mr. Shipman: How come I wasn't told that before when I brought all the paperwork in? Ms. Brock: Your paperwork submitted tell us that you are the owner, so we understood that you own 3.03 acres. About the sequence that Stuart started asking about, when was the pole barn finished? Mr. Shipman: Two days after. Dana told me I would have to go in front of ZBA and the pole barn was finished the next day after that. Ms. Brock: So, you never got a building permit, and you knew you needed one and you kept building anyway? Mr. Shipman: I was told I was going to get a building permit, so I let the builders continue. Then I was told I needed to go in front of the board at which time there was $40k worth of materials sitting on the ground I didn't want to rot so they finished it. Ms. Brock: They started at 6:30 am on the 25th? Dana thought she talked to you at 8:05 that morning. You thought she spoke with you at 9:00 am. So, the builders were working for an hour and a half to two and half hours before you were told the building permit could not be issued and you just kept going? Mr. Shipman: Yes Ms. Brock: You also knew you needed inspections because Dana had scheduled an inspection for the footing holes for that day, right? But you went ahead and built without any of the necessary inspections? Mr. Shipman: Yes, I didn't want the materials left lying around to rot or come up missing due to theft in the area, I'm sorry. Mr. Squires: So, we can't proceed without deed of ownership to the 2/10 acre gained from neighbor. Ms. Brock: Enforcement is stayed pending appeal for variance so how much more delay until you can get this appeal back on? Maybe it can be scheduled for the next meeting? ZBA 2022-07-13 (Filed 1/12) Pg. 4 Mr. Shipman: Someone from engineering downtown told me that this was done, nobody said anything about a deed. I wasn't told or else I would have done it. Everything else I've been asked to do I've done. Ms. Brock: Is this the first property you've ever owned, or have you owned other properties? Mr. Shipman: No, this is my parent's property, and it was given to me when my father passed Mr. Friedman: The building is sitting there so it sounds like our efforts are to somehow bring it into conformance of what the rules and regulations call for. In order to make this right we need a deed issued for the expansion of the property, I don't know what to do about a missed inspection of the holes. Mr. Moseley: The inspection process can be dealt with administratively with the applicant Mr. Shipman: Just so you know I did take pictures and each pole is 4' deep Mr. Moseley: Minus the added acreage to the deed the two items for the board to consider are the height variance and the area that's allowed for the accessory building. This will need to be delayed until updated deed can be verified. Need to know he owns 3 acres or more. Ms. Brock: The board needs to address this as soon as possible so I would say schedule it for the next meeting. I don't know if you have a lot of agenda items for the August meeting but if you can get it on for August or hold a special meeting. Hopefully by then he's got the deed, so we know he owns 3 acres or more. If he's already paid the neighbor, then we assume the neighbor isn't going to back out. The public hearing notice needs to be advertised in the right way. Mr. Friedman: There were some missteps, you did some of the missteps and some sound like miscommunication. There isn't any kind of accusation that you were trying to be underhanded or hide what you were trying to do or any of those things. It wouldn't be a valid action on our part to proceed at this point. When all is said and done you will have an iron clad legal validation of your property. Mr. Williams: We don't want to offer you something that wouldn't stand up to legal action in the future. Mr. Shipman: No offense Ms. Brock but you seem like you're coming at me like I'm some kind of delinquent or something. Mr. Friedman: I don't think that's a fair characterization. Our attorney is there to advise of the legal niceties. The fact is you've got your building so it's not like you're getting held up building your building. I'm having a little trouble with your feeling kind of victimized. I understand again, there were missteps along the way and we're trying to untangle it so that you have a legal. building that you can use just as you had intended. That's your goal so work with us and we hope we can get there. Mr. Shipman: Yes, I'm trying to work with you. ZBA 2022-07-13 (Filed 1/12) Pg. 5 Mr. Squires: The essential thing is the deed showing the 3-acre threshold without that we have a defect in the advertisement and can't proceed tonight so we will adjourn the matter to the August meeting. Ms. Shipman: asked for a specific list of things needed before next meeting to prevent further delay. The deed was never on a list and never mentioned. Mr. Moseley confirmed receipt of requirements the Codes department has asked for besides the deed. Is there anything further the board needs to make a decision? Mr. Friedman: can either wait until proof of ownership or apply with less than 3 acres Mr. Squires: adjourn until next meeting August 91h appreciate willingness to reduce sq ft of accessory buildings Other Discussion: Mr. Mosely stated there arc about 6 items for next month for which we will schedule back to back meetings August 91h & I 01h. Meeting adjourned at 6:53 p.m. upon motion by David Squires, seconded by Stuart Friedman, unanimous. Submitted by Nu Becky Jt, *d,�, Dep uty Town Clerk ZBA 2022-07-13 (Filed 1/12) Pg. 6,