HomeMy WebLinkAboutZBA Minutes 2023-01-10Town of Ithaca
Zoning Board of Appeals
Tuesday, January 10, 2023 * 6:00 p.m.
215 N. Tioga St.
ZBAA-22-130 Appeal of David Tat-Chee & Mavis Ng, owners of 306 Birchwood Drive, Tax Parcel No.
70.-10-1.143; are seeking relief from Town of Ithaca Code section 270-71 (E)(2) (Yard regulations).
Town of Ithaca Code section 270-71 (E)(2) specifies that an accessory building may only occupy space
in the rear yard, where an approximate 10. 5' x 11.5' accessory building has been placed in the front yard
of the property.
The property is located in the Medium Density Residential Zone.
Town of Ithaca Zoning Board of Appeals
January 1.0, 2023
Minutes
Board Members Present: David Squires, Chair; Chris Jung, Stuart Friedman, David Williams,
Mark Apker, and Connor Terry
Marry Moseley, Director of Codes; Paulette Rosa, Town Clerk; and Guy Krogh, Attorney for the
Town
Mr. Squires opened the meeting at 6:00 p.m. and introduced Connor Terry to the Board.
ZBAA-22-130 Appeal of David Tat-Chee & Mavis Ng, owners of 306 Birchwood Drive, TP
70.4.0-1.1.43, MDR; seeking relief from Town of Ithaca Code section 270-71 (E)(2) (Yard
regulations) to be permitted to put an approximately 10.5' x 11.5' accessory building in the front
yard, when said buildings are only permitted in the rear yard.
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Mr. Tat-Chee stated that during the COVED pandemic, he and his wife turned their attached
garage into a recreation/gym room and needed a place to store the snowblower and similar items
and they placed the shed in the front yard, relatively close to the house for ease of access.
Mr. Squires opened the public hearing at 6:04 p.m. There were no public comments, and the
public hearing was closed.
DISCUSSION
Mr. Krogh stated the action is a Type II and therefore SEQR is not required.
The Board asked if the concrete slab was laid with the shed and why it could not be placed in the
backyard as well as if the shed was placed at the same time as the renovation of the garage into a
gym.
Mr. Tat-Chee responded that the back yard is small and slopes as well as being wet much of the
time due to that topography. He said the concrete pad was there prior to the shed being placed
and the renovation and purchasing and placing the shed were done at the same time.
Mr. Squires stated that he felt the placement of shed didn't really change the character of the
neighborhood and that other houses on the block have similar driveway configurations making
the shed not very visible to the immediate neighbors.
Discussion followed with the Board reviewing the balancing criteria and the difficulty discerning
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a unique hardship in this appeal. Although they empathized with wanting the snowblower in the
front yard, there are ways to make access to a rear yard shed feasible and there was not sufficient
evidence of a unique hardship, such as actual slope percentages, details of other options explored
to stay within the Code and the reason(s) they were rejected.
Ms. Mavis Ng joined by ZOOM and seconded her husband's comments, stressing the difficulty
of the slope and access to the rear yard.
Mr. Squires explained to Mr. Tat -Ghee that he had the option to request that the appeal be tabled
to provide additional information to demonstrate the unique hardship or to move forward and the
Board would make a determination on the information provided.
Mr. Tat-Chee requested time to provide additional information.
Mr. Squires moved to table the appeal for up to 90 days to allow the applicant to amend his
appeal; seconded by Mr. Apker, unanimous.
OTHER BUSINESS
Possible change of monthly meeting day - Discussion on how many board and committee
meetings are scheduled in the first 2 weeks of the month and the possibility of moving the
meeting to the 4'h Monday or Tuesday of the month to spread out the schedule for staff.
The Board agreed and Ms. Rosa will discuss with the other Attorney for the Town regarding her
availability.
Meeting adjourned upon motion by Mr. Squires, seconded by Mr. Apker, unanimous.
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