HomeMy WebLinkAboutJYoung comment 511 Klein.PDFDear Mayor Supron and Village Trustees,
. I'm writing regarding a property at 511 Kline Road which has come before our
ZBA twice in the past two years. The 2014 variance request was for a 6' high solid wood
fence approximately 1.5 feet from the front property line (25' normally required), while
the 2015 variance request involved an entry door overhang on the front property line. In
both cases the ZBA granted the variance requested by a split vote, and in the process
becanie quite familiar with the property.
Speaking first in general terms, I think that everyone on the ZBA acknowledges
that this is a physically constrained property located on a road that isn't ideally suited for
pedestrian and vehicular traffic to share. The ground is steep, the house is very close to
the road, and both the house and road are wedged into a heavily shaded ravine and so
don't dry or thaw easily in wet or cold weather. (As the owners have acknowledged in
their submissions to the ZBA, there was an accident infront of the property just last
year.) Unfortunately most of the constraints that make this property problematic aren't
currently correctable - but we can work together to shift the odds a bit.
When the ZBA initially considered the fence variance request for this property in
early 2014,I proposed granting the variance conditioned on the property owner not
adding any further impediments to pedestrians trying to stay off the pavement. But the
balance of the board felt that decision should be left up to the Trustees since the land
belonged to the Village, so we granted the variance without any conditions.
Any pedestrian or biker who wanted to get off the roadway in front of 51 1 Kline
Road this fall had to deal with a variety of obstructions in the public right of way,
including two parked cars that often extended to within 2 feet of the pavement, an arbor
attached to the mailbox, and garbage cans and construction materials located near the
garage. The property owners acknowledged in alate2073 submission to the ZBAthat
Kline Road "... is a fairly busy road... In addition to cars, there are numerous joggers,
dog walkers and pedestrians sharing a road that does not have any sidewalks." I agree
with them on this point, which is why I voted against the initial variance request. This is
not a safe road for pedestrians at present, and we need to hnd ways to make it safer.
Now that a related issue is before the Trustees, I would like to suggest that the
requested revocable permit for the portion of the entry door overhang that extends into
Village lands be conditioned as follows: 1) The existing wooden trellis attached to the
mailbox be removed for enhanced public safety, 2) No car shall be parked in the upper
parking area between the roadway and the solid wooden fence, and 3) No garbage cans
will be left in the road right of way except on the night before a scheduled collection.
This would leave the property owners with the ability to park cars in front of their garage
where the distance from the roadway is greater and still reduce the risk to pedestrians
trying to use the unimproved portion of the public right of way. If the Village and the
property owners at 511 Kline Road can cooperate in this manner, it will help minimize
the risks and concerns that troubled the ZBA during our multiple reviews of this property.
Jack Young
U1912016
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