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HomeMy WebLinkAboutZBA Minutes 2006-02-27 TOWN OF ITHACA ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS FEBRUARY 27,2006 APPROVED MINUTES TOWN OF ITHACA ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS MONDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2006 7:00 P.M. PRESENT: Kirk Sigel, Chairperson; Harry Ellsworth, Board Member; Dick Matthews, Board Member; Jim Niefer, Board Member; Susan Brock, Attorney for the Town; Christine Balestra, Planner. ABSENT: Ronald Krantz, Board Member OTHERS PRESENT: James A. Clark, 123 W. Broad St, Horseheads NY; Fred Vanderburgh, Ithaca College; David Herrick, TG Miller; Dennis Stein, 110 Lake Ave; Jason Sokoloff, 1126 East Shore Dr; Ron Knewstub, 180 Calkins Rd; Marie Taylor, 1120 East Shore Dr Chairperson Sigel opened the meeting at 7:03 p.m. Good evening, and welcome to the February meeting of the Town of Ithaca Zoning Board of Appeals. Tonight we have five appeals, and we are going to take them in the following order, the appeal of James Clark, the Appeal of Ithaca College, the Appeal of Dennis Stein, the appeal of Jason Sokoloff, and the appeal of Bruno Schickel. APPEAL of James A. Clark, Agent, requesting a variance from the requirements of Chapter 270, Article VIII, Section 270-59 of the Town of Ithaca Code to be permitted to construct a residence with a walkout basement located at 108 Southwoods Drive, Town of Ithaca Tax Parcel No. 46-1-15.14, Low Density Residential Zone. Said home exceeds the maximum permitted height for structures in a Low Density Residential Zone. Chairperson Sigel — Mr. Clark? You could have a seat there, and please just begin with your name and address. Mr. Clark - Jim Clark, my address is 923 West Broad Street in Horseheads, but I'm down here for the lot at 108 Southwoods Drive. Chairperson Sigel —OK, you're request is fairly straightforward, although I have to say I was a little confused as to why you are asking for a walkout basement on a lot that slopes upward from the road. Mr. Clark - Actually, on that side of the street, that driveway needs to be cut and then the left side of that lot slopes to the left, so the walkout will not be on the whole backside of the house, but, if you look at the rear elevations, the foundation would actually be stepped, almost to where the double window is on the left hand side, and just go to that back corner. And then if you look at the left elevation, the grade would slope pretty 1 TOWN OF ITHACA ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS FEBRUARY 27,2006 APPROVED MINUTES much to what shows in the picture there. If you're looking at the lot, it naturally slopes from right to left. Chairperson Sigel—It looked to me like it was fairly level right to left. Mr. Matthews —No, it's a hill. Chairperson Sigel—Is it? Mr. Matthews —Yes. Goes over towards the corner there where the road starts curving to the right on your diagram. Chairperson Sigel—I guess it goes down a little bit there. Mr. Matthews —Yes. Chairperson Sigel—OK, anyone else have any comments or questions? Mr. Niefer — I do notice of course, the rear elevation really shows exposed all the way across the back so that basically it is a three story plus roof on the rear elevation, as you show it, rather than... Mr. Clark - Yeah,just to the left there, I think it says retaining wall, or as required, it just wasn't drawn around the corner there. Chairperson Sigel — OK, so where at... I wasn't looking I think at the right page when you described how much of the back is going to be actually all the way to the basement grade. Mr. Clark- If you look at the rear elevation. Chairperson Sigel—Yup. Mr. Clark- That double window that's furthest to the left? Chairperson Sigel—Yup. Mr. Clark- From just to the left hand side of that over to the other corner of the house. Chairperson Sigel—that, Oh, OK. So, three quarters of the back will be exposed. Mr. Clark- Correct. Mr. Matthews — Do I read this right, you're digging into the hill a little bit on the left- hand side? 2 TOWN OF ITHACA ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS FEBRUARY 27,2006 APPROVED MINUTES Mr. Clark - Well, the driveway right now is too steep obviously where it is, so that will have to be cut a little bit to get a decent slope. If you were up by the site, I built the house right next door... Mr. Matthews —Yes. Mr. Clark - So that was the same situation, the way we cut that driveway, this driveway would be cut in the same fashion. Mr. Matthews —OK. Chairperson Sigel—But the one next door doesn't have a walkout basement, right? Mr. Clark- It does not. But actually the height of this from the top of the foundation wall is the same height as this house, so really from the street, the peaks aren't going to be visually any different in height, it's just the amount to be exposed on the backside. Chairperson Sigel—OK, any other questions? Mr. Matthews —Yeah, there are a number of houses as we know at this development that are exceeding the height requirements because of the design of the houses or the slope of the hill. Chairperson Sigel—Yeah. Mr. Matthews —This is not an unusual request. Chairperson Sigel — I think this is the first one though that's on the uphill side of any of the roads that is going to have a height variance. Mr. Matthews —I... Chairperson Sigel — Not that that's necessarily critical. I looked at almost all the others and didn't see any walkout basements. Mr. Matthews —That may be true that I can remember, there are two around the corner. Chairperson Sigel yeah. I think everyone on the downhill side of the road has gotten a grade... Mr. Matthews —Yeah, I don't think any up on the other road there are varied. Chairperson Sigel—OK. Mr. Clark- Actually I have another question if I could, since you made that point. 3 TOWN OF ITHACA ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS FEBRUARY 27,2006 APPROVED MINUTES Chairperson Sigel—Sure. Mr. Clark - I own two more lots in that subdivision that are on downhill sides, and I was wondering if there was some way to kind of set a precedence to the code office or something where they could say, OK, we've got five or six houses in here that area already at the 42 or 43 foot height, if we fall within those same characteristics, is it necessary to go through the whole board of appeals process? Chairperson Sigel—It is, yeah, there's no way. Ms. Balestra—There's no way around it. Chairperson Sigel—Unless the actual ordinance was changed. Chairperson Sigel —You can try and do two in one night. It won't save you any money, but it would save you time. Mr. Clark- Time, right. Chairperson Sigel —All right, well I will move...[interruption by the clerk]. Thank you. We need to have a public hearing, so we'll open that now and if anyone would wish to speak regarding this appeal, we would invite you to come up, and if not, we will close the public hearing. Chairperson Sigel opened and closed the public hearing at 7:10 p.m. Chairperson Sigel—And we don't need any environmental action. Ms. Balestra—No. Chairperson Sigel —And, so I will move to grant the appeal of James Clark, requesting a variance from the requirements of chapter 270, Article VIII, Section 270-59 of the Town of Ithaca Code to be permitted to construct a residence with a walkout basement located at 108 Southwoods Drive, Tax Parcel 46-1-15.14, Low Density Residential Zone, with the finding that the applicant has met the requirements for an area variance, with the conditions that the height not exceed 43 feet, and that the home be built as indicated on the plans submitted by the applicant. Second? Mr. Niefer—Second. Chairperson Sigel—All in favor? ZB RESOLUTION NO. 2006- 006: James Clark, 108 Southwoods Dr, Tax Parcel No. 46.-1-15.14 MOTION made by Kirk Sigel, seconded by Jim Niefer. 4 TOWN OF ITHACA ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS FEBRUARY 27,2006 APPROVED MINUTES RESOLVED that this Board grants the appeal of James A. Clark, requesting a variance from the requirements of Chapter 270, Article VIII, Section 270-59 of the Town of Ithaca Code to be permitted to construct a residence with a walkout basement located at 108 Southwoods Drive, Town of Ithaca Tax Parcel No. 46-1- 15.14, Low Density Residential Zone. FINDING: The applicant has met the requirements for an Area Variance. CONDITIONS: 1. The height must not exceed 43 feet. 2. The home must be built as indicated on the plans submitted by the applicant. The vote on the MOTION resulted as follows: AYES: Sigel, Ellsworth, Niefer, Matthews NAYS: NONE The MOTION was declared to be carried unanimously. Chairperson Sigel—OK, you're all set. Mr. Clark- Thank you. APPEAL of Ithaca College, Appellant, Fred Vanderburgh, Agent, requesting a variance from the requirements of Chapter 270, Article IX, Section 270-70 of the Town of Ithaca Code, to be permitted to construct a four-story, 36,500+/- square foot building for the new Ithaca College School of Business,located north of Job and Friends Halls on the Ithaca College campus, Town of Ithaca Tax Parcel No.'s 41-1- 30.2 and 41-1-30.4, Medium Density Residential Zone. Said building exceeds the maximum permitted height for structures in a Medium Density Residential Zone. Mr. Vanderburgh - Good evening. Chairperson Sigel — If you could begin with your name and address and then move onto your presentation. Mr. Vanderburgh - OK, I'm Fred Vanderburgh, Senior Assistant Director of Construction, Planning and Design at Ithaca College. To my right is David Herrick, TG Miller,professional engineer who has been employed by Stern, Robert A. M. Stern out of New York City for site work and environmental impact statements. 5 TOWN OF ITHACA ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS FEBRUARY 27,2006 APPROVED MINUTES Chairperson Sigel—OK, and you guys usually have a presentation planned. Mr. Vanderburgh - Yes we do. I'll let David start. Mr. Herrick - David Herrick, TG Miller Engineers. We have provided to you a packet of information that gives you, I think a concise overview of this very green building that's been introduced into the Ithaca College campus. Right from the start, it was an initiative of the college to have a sustainable project, and not just the design of it, but the future maintenance as well. So right from day one, we've been working on creating a project and a building that will have a very green appeal to it, and it'll be the first of its kind certainly in this area, I don't know if its going to be the first of its academic nature in the country, but it would be nice. What it means in terms of the site plan, is that there are elements of the building that require additional height principally for lighting, and also elements of the project that look to capture some of the solar gains that would be available from the southern exposure that this building will have. Just to give you a perspective of where we are, presently E lot sits in front of Job Hall, and that parking lot sits between Friends, Job and the Muller Chapel, so we're proposing to eliminate a portion of E lot and site the new building there. And it has been introduced into the site in a way that its height will take advantage to some of the views to the North, of the lake, but will not necessarily interrupt the views from those portions of Job Hall, keeping in mind that Friends Hall is an academic building and does not have windows in the area that we're proposing to site the taller portion of this new building. So the height of the building is a direct result of the needs for space for academic uses, for ceiling heights that embody the need for additional light and ventilation, and to house those academic and faculty needs within as small a footprint as we can. This is actually not a very large building from a footprint perspective, which is another sustainable aspect of minimizing the spread of a building, going up instead of going out and across. We have been to the town Planning Board with the project. We've received preliminary site plan approval, and a negative determination of environmental significance, and as is with many of the buildings on the campus, we're here to seek the height variance, and we've presented our arguments for why we believe that variance should be granted, and are here to answer any questions that you might have. Chairperson Sigel—I didn't really have any questions of significance, so I'll let someone else start if they want to. Mr. Matthews — I don't see any obstruction of views because there's no residencies around except for the students, who tend not to look at view so much. I don't want to be a generalist, but I think that's true. Mr. Ellsworth —I think one of the key statements is that it's surrounded by buildings that height, so... Chairperson Sigel—It would appear to only really impact Ithaca College's own buildings. Other comments or questions? 6 TOWN OF ITHACA ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS FEBRUARY 27,2006 APPROVED MINUTES Mr. Matthews —No. Chairperson Sigel — No? It's kind of disappointing not to give you too much of a hard time, but it seems to be very well thought out, and obviously the Planning Board was very pleased with the final product. Mr. Niefer—How are you going to wash the windows? Mr. Vanderburgh - How are we going to wash the windows? Mr. Niefer—Yeah. Mr. Vanderburgh - We have a contracting firm that comes in and takes care of that. They either sling the outside of the building or they work with long poles from the outside. Mr. Herrick- Oh, I thought you were going to do it. Mr. Vanderburgh - Yeah, I used to do it but I gave it up. Mr. Niefer—With a curve like that, they're going to have to have a climbing wall. Mr. Vanderburgh - Well, that structure, that window wall structure will be built such that it will support that. They will be able to track over it. They'll build a roller track that will track over it when they have to clean it. Chairperson Sigel — all right, well I'll open the public hearing at this point if anyone wishes to speak regarding this appeal. If not, I'll close the public hearing. Chairperson Sigel opened and closed the public hearing at 7:18 p.m. Chairperson Sigel — In this case, the Planning Board acted as lead agency on environmental review, so they already made the determination there. All we need to do is grant the height variance. Now, I think it indicated that you need a little under 68 feet? Mr. Herrick - No, it's 68 feet 4 inches at this point from the lowest exterior grade that's been proposed so far. Chairperson Sigel — Oh, OK. Well, I will move to grant the appeal of Ithaca College, requesting a variance from the requirements of Chapter 270, Article IX, Section 270-70 of the Town of Ithaca Code, to be permitted to construct a four-story, approximately 36,500 square foot building for the new Ithaca College School of Business, Town of Ithaca Tax Parcel No.'s 41-1-30.2 and 41-1-30.4, Medium Density Residential Zone, with the finding that the applicant has met the requirements for an area variance, and with the condition that the height not exceed 69 feet, and that the building be constructed as indicated on the applicant's plans submitted to this board. Second? Oh, go ahead, Dick. 7 TOWN OF ITHACA ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS FEBRUARY 27,2006 APPROVED MINUTES Mr. Matthews — I have a question, you're saying not to exceed 69 feet, but this is a business school, won't you be putting up aerials and receivers on the roof of that building? Mr. Vanderburgh - There may be a small dish up there that they'll use for their training room that they have, but it's very small, it's one of those small... currently the one that's up there now is an 18 inch dish that sets on its own support on the Smitty building currently. If you look where it would sit, it'll sit down in back of that curtain wall, that curved glass wall, this curved glass wall. It would probably sit down here on the roof someplace so it wouldn't extend above this highest point on the back side of this penthouse. Mr. Matthews —So the 68 feet is the... Mr. Vanderburgh - It's the top of the curved glass wall. Mr. Herrick- Top of the penthouse. Mr. Vanderburgh - We wouldn't put anything up here, because it could be seen very readily from any place on campus, but anything like a dish or something, we're going to hide it somewhere. But this Bloomberg thing, they're saying that we may be able to get it over our internet service to the training room so it's on in time, you know, live, but currently they're using a dish to receive that off of satellite. Mr. Matthews —The 69 feet's fine. Chairperson Sigel — Actually, I think before I ask for a second, I would like to add a finding as well that even though the height is significantly higher than what's allowed, it is mitigated by the fact that there are other buildings in the area that are of similar height, and that it's within Ithaca College's central campus, and therefore it really only impacts other Ithaca College buildings and does not appear to impact any neighbors other than Ithaca College neighbors. Mr. Niefer—Did you ask for the public hearing? Chairperson Sigel—We did, yeah. Mr. Ellsworth—I'll second it. Chairperson Sigel—OK. All in favor? ZB RESOLUTION NO. 2006- 007: Ithaca College School of Business, Ithaca College Campus, Tax Parcel No. 41.-1-30.2 and 41.-1-30.4 MOTION made by Kirk Sigel, seconded by Harry Ellsworth. 8 TOWN OF ITHACA ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS FEBRUARY 27,2006 APPROVED MINUTES RESOLVED that this Board grants the appeal of Ithaca College, requesting a variance from the requirements of Chapter 270, Article IX, Section 270-70 of the Town of Ithaca Code, to be permitted to construct a four-story, approximately 36,500 square foot building for the new Ithaca College School of Business, located north of Job and Friends Halls on the Ithaca College campus, Town of Ithaca Tax Parcel No.'s 41-1-30.2 and 41-1-30.4, Medium Density Residential Zone. FINDINGS- 1. INDINGS:1. The applicant has met the requirements for an area variance. 2. Even though the height is significantly higher than what is allowed, it is mitigated by the fact that there are other buildings in the area that are of similar height, and it is within Ithaca College's central campus, and therefore only impacts other Ithaca College buildings, and does not appear to impact any neighbors other than Ithaca College neighbors. CONDITIONS: 1. The height shall not exceed 69 feet 2. The building shall be constructed as indicated on the applicant's plans submitted to this board. The vote on the MOTION resulted as follows: AYES: Sigel, Ellsworth, Niefer, Matthews NAYS: NONE The MOTION was declared to be carried unanimously. Mr. Herrick- Thank you very much. Mr. Vanderburgh - Thank you. Chairperson Sigel—Thank you. Mr. Ellsworth — See Fred, you only needed to bring that one, you didn't have to carry all those others. Mr. Vanderburgh - Well, you never know. I've been here when I thought I needed a lot more than that. 9 TOWN OF ITHACA ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS FEBRUARY 27,2006 APPROVED MINUTES APPEAL of Dennis Stein, Appellant, requesting a variance from the requirements of Chapter 270, Article IX, Section 270-66 of the Town of Ithaca Code, to be permitted to maintain a two-family residence located at 133 Snyder Hill Road, Town of Ithaca Tax Parcel No. 57-1-7.8, Medium Density Residential Zone. The floor area of the second dwelling unit exceeds 50% of the floor area of the primary dwelling unit. Mr. Stein - Good evening. Chairperson Sigel—Good evening, could you just begin with your name and address? Mr. Stein - My name is Dennis Stein, I live at 110 Lake Avenue, Ithaca, NY. Chairperson Sigel—And I think your explanation in your letter here was pretty clear. Mr. Stein - Thank you. Chairperson Sigel—The home has been exactly as it is now since it was built, right? Mr. Stein - Yeah, correct. Chairperson Sigel—And that was some years ago. Mr. Stein- I think 38 years. Ms. Balestra—38. Chairperson Sigel— 1968, yeah. And obviously, the issue has never come up until now. Mr. Stein - No, the home has had... I'm the third owner of the home, and obviously it's not been detected up until now, and the reason why it was detected is because the house, the building is currently under contract, and we had intended to go to closing the middle of this month, and then it was discovered by the attorney for the buyers that the house was not within code, which stalled the sale, that we could not proceed, so that's why I'm in front of you tonight. Chairperson Sigel—OK. Did anyone investigate whether, when this 1968 ordinance was enacted there was any kind of transition period, where they could have qualified under the old ordinance. Ms. Balestra—I don't know. I don't think that there was though. Chairperson Sigel—OK. 10 TOWN OF ITHACA ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS FEBRUARY 27,2006 APPROVED MINUTES Mr. Stein - I wondered that myself though, since the application was just four weeks after the new code was enacted, I wondered if there was some things would be grandfathered in or something. Ms. Balestra — We don't have a very complete record of some of the actions that happened that long ago. Chairperson Sigel—OK. When the Town recently enacted a new zoning ordinance, there was actually a grace period when you would be able to choose which ordinance you wanted to be treated under. Mr. Stein - I see. Ms. Balestra—Right. Chairperson Sigel — So if that was the case back then, you would have been OK. So, are the two, the two halves are equal? Mr. Stein - Absolutely, they are mirror images of each other. Chairperson Sigel—OK, seems reasonable. Mr. Matthews —Has this finding been confirmed by the Planning Department that indeed it's been out of variance? Ms. Balestra—That it's without? Yes. Chairperson Sigel—Well, none was found, right? Now variance was found. Ms. Balestra—Right, and building permits and CO's were issued time and again without anyone finding it. Mr. Matthews —Well, we could bulldoze it down or do something nice. Chairperson Sigel — Well, you just have to take off half of one unit, or make one unit twice as large as it is now. OK, I will open the public hearing if anyone wishes to speak. If not, we'll close the public hearing. Chairperson Sigel opened and closed the public hearing at 7:26 p.m. Chairperson Sigel—And again there's no... oh, there is an environmental assessment. Ms. Balestra — It's a type II, assessment is a type II, they submitted... most of the applications will include a filled out short environmental assessment form, it's part of our application packet, so, there isn't a part II in there. 11 TOWN OF ITHACA ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS FEBRUARY 27,2006 APPROVED MINUTES Chairperson Sigel —All right, I will move to grant the appeal of Dennis Stein, requesting a variance from the requirements of Chapter 270, Article IX, Section 270-66 of the Town of Ithaca Code, to be permitted to maintain a two-family residence located at 133 Snyder Hill Road, Town of Ithaca Tax Parcel No. 57-1-7.8, Medium Density Residential Zone, with the finding that the applicant has met the requirements for an area variance. With the further finding that the property has been out of compliance for, since 1968, unbeknownst to the Town or previous owners of the building, and requiring some kind of remediation at this point would be an unfair hardship on the applicant and with the condition that... I guess any expansion of one side would bring it further into compliance. Ms. Balestra—That's a good point. Chairperson Sigel — I guess just with a condition that both sides not be expanded at the same time, but allowing one side to be expanded which would bring it further into compliance. Mr. Stein - Seems reasonable. Chairperson Sigel—OK, second? All in favor? ZB RESOLUTION NO. 2006- 008: Dennis Stein, 133 Snyder Hill Rd, Tax Parcel No. 57.-1-7.8 MOTION made by Kirk Sigel, seconded by Dick Matthews. RESOLVED that this Board grants the appeal of Dennis Stein, Appellant, requesting a variance from the requirements of Chapter 270, Article IX, Section 270-66 of the Town of Ithaca Code, to be permitted to maintain a two-family residence located at 133 Snyder Hill Road, Town of Ithaca Tax Parcel No. 57-1- 7.8, Medium Density Residential Zone. FINDINGS: 1. The applicant has met the requirements for an Area Variance 2. The property has been out of compliance since 1968 unbeknownst to the Town or previous owners of the building, and requiring some kind of remediation at this point would be an unfair hardship on the applicant. CONDITION: Both sides not be expanded at the same time, but allowing one side to be expanded to bring it further into compliance. The vote on the MOTION resulted as follows: 12 TOWN OF ITHACA ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS FEBRUARY 27,2006 APPROVED MINUTES AYES: Sigel, Ellsworth, Niefer, Matthews NAYS: NONE The MOTION was declared to be carried unanimously. Chairperson Sigel—OK, you're all set. Mr. Stein - Thank you gentleman Mr. Matthews — I have a question. One of the sentences here is that there are other houses in the area that have a similar situation. Ms. Balestra— There are many along this road that have been built along the same time, and... Mr. Matthews — OK, so there is a possibility that there are other houses in that area that are out of variance or out of code. Ms. Balestra — There is the possibility. We haven't had the opportunity to research whether that's the case or not. Mr. Matthews —Does the Planning Board ever be proactive in a case like this and go and look at the other houses to aid the owners from having to go through this kind of situation. Ms. Balestra — Well, the Planning board wouldn't do it, it would be a function of the building department, the building inspectors would. And at this point I can honestly say they are so backed up with existing building permits, that it's probably something that will be lower on their list of priorities to get to. Mr. Matthews —Would it be a priority to get to? Or would they just... Chairperson Sigel —It wouldn't really help anyone in particular, because they would still have to come here to get a variance if it was discovered. Ms. Balestra — Right, I would suspect most homeowners wouldn't want to come to the Zoning Board unless they were in a situation where they were selling their home. I think a lot of them probably don't even know that they're in violation if that's the case. Mr. Matthews —Thank you. 13 TOWN OF ITHACA ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS FEBRUARY 27,2006 APPROVED MINUTES APPEAL of Jason Sokoloff, Appellant, Ron Knewstub, Agent, requesting variances from the requirements of Chapter 270, Article VII, Section 270-45 of the Town of Ithaca Code, to be permitted to construct an open pile dock that exceeds the maximum 8-foot width and the maximum 300 square foot surface area required by Code. The property is located at 1126 East Shore Drive, Town of Ithaca Tax Parcel No. 19-2-5.2, Lakefront Residential Zone. Ms. Balestra—They are not quite here yet. Mr. Ellsworth—And the first case is not here yet. Ms. Balestra—The first case won't be here. Chairperson Sigel — The first case isn't coming. Yeah, we could do that one. Mr. Schickel requested that we, he couldn't make it tonight, but he requested that we at least consider approval without him and if we felt we didn't need any questions answered by him to request that we approve it, and it not, then just ask that it be adjourned until the next meeting. It seemed fairly straightforward, and so I think, especially since we have nothing to do right now, we could consider it. Mr. Niefer — Since it's been advertised and everything, I wouldn't have any objection if we considered it, and even acted on it. Mr. Matthews —It's not a far reach, that's for sure. APPEAL of Bruno Schickel, Appellant, requesting a variance from the requirements of Chapter 270, Article VIII, Section 270-59 of the Town of Ithaca Code to be permitted to construct an accessory building (garage) located at 131 West King Road, Town of Ithaca Tax Parcel No. 37-1-28, Low Density Residential Zone. Said garage exceeds the maximum permitted height for accessory buildings in a Low Density Residential Zone. Chairperson Sigel — So basically it appears that given the style of house and garage that they want to build that the garage ends up being 20 feet high. Mr. Niefer — I have seen the house that was built in Dryden and from the write-up it appears that he's planning to build the same type of house with the same type of peaked garage, and actually the two complement each other, and I certainly see where in his architectural argument, that a different roof pitch would change the overall architectural appearance of the property and thus, inasmuch as there don't appear to be any uses other than storage above the garage, I think that it's a very acceptable proposal. Mr. Ellsworth — Also the pictures being passed around show nearby properties with similar pitches, so... 14 TOWN OF ITHACA ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS FEBRUARY 27,2006 APPROVED MINUTES Mr. Matthews —I do have a question. The picture here of 131 West King, I believe those people are away for the winter. Ms. Balestra— 133 West King. The picture that actually has the house on it? Mr. Matthews —yeah. Ms. Balestra—That's 133 West King. Mr. Matthews —And he's the next door neighbor, I didn't realize that, he's the next door neighbor of this house being built. Ms. Balestra — It's a residential zone and their building a house on an empty lot in a residential zone. Mr. Niefer—Well, he got a notice through the mail that it was going to take place. Ms. Balestra—Absolutely. Mr. Niefer—So he's on notice of the proposed work. Chairperson Sigel—I agree with Jim. Overall, obviously it's a fairly small house... Mr. Matthews —Yeah it is. Chairperson Sigel — And the overall mass is much smaller than you could end up with even legally, and they do complement each other well. Mr. Matthews —They have the foundation in already. Chairperson Sigel —Yeah. So I don't really see detriment to the community and, in fact, it would be nice to have a nice house built there. OK, any other questions? Is everyone comfortable moving on? OK, we'll open the public hearing. Do any of our guests wish to speak? If not, we'll close the public hearing. Chairperson Sigel opened and closed the public hearing at 7:34 p.m. Chairperson Sigel—And I will move to grant the appeal of... Ms. Balestra—There's a SEQR for this one. Chairperson Sigel—Oh, there is... Accessory building? Ms. Balestra—Accessory building. Chairperson Sigel—OK, Chris any comments about that? 15 TOWN OF ITHACA ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS FEBRUARY 27,2006 APPROVED MINUTES Ms. Balestra—No. Chairperson Sigel - A lot of"none"s in it. Ms. Balestra—Right. Chairperson Sigel — OK, I will move to make a negative determination of environmental significance in regard to the appeal of Bruno Schickel, for the reasons stated in Part II Environmental Assessment Form prepared by Town Staff. Second. Mr. Ellsworth—I'll second. Chairperson Sigel—All in favor? ZB RESOLUTION NO. 2006- 009 : ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT : Bruno Schickel, 131 King Rd West, Tax Parcel No. 37.-1-28 MOTION made by Kirk Sigel, seconded by Harry Ellsworth RESOLVED that this Board makes a negative determination of environmental significance in regard to the appeal of Bruno Schickel, for the reasons stated in the Part II Environmental Assessment Form prepared by Town staff. The vote on the MOTION resulted as follows: AYES: Sigel, Ellsworth, Niefer, Matthews NAYS: None The MOTION was declared to be carried unanimously. Chairperson Sigel — OK, and now I move to grant the appeal of Bruno Schickel, requesting a variance from the requirements of Chapter 270, Article IX, sorry VIII, Section 270-59 of the Town Code to be permitted to construct a garage located at 131 West King Road, Tax Parcel No. 37-1-28, Low Density Residential Zone, with the finding that the requirements for an area variance have been satisfied by the applicant, and with the condition that the house and garage be constructed as indicated on the applicant's plans. Second? Mr. Ellsworth—I'll second. Chairperson Sigel—All in favor? 16 TOWN OF ITHACA ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS FEBRUARY 27,2006 APPROVED MINUTES ZB RESOLUTION NO. 2006- 010: Bruno Schickel, 131 King Rd West, Tax Parcel No. 37.-1-28 MOTION made by Kirk Sigel, seconded by. RESOLVED that this Board grants the appeal of Bruno Schickel, Appellant, requesting a variance from the requirements of Chapter 270, Article VI 11, Section 270-59 of the Town of Ithaca Code to be permitted to construct a garage located at 131 West King Road, Town of Ithaca Tax Parcel No. 37-1-28, Low Density Residential Zone. FINDINGS: The requirements for an area variance have been satisfied by the applicant CONDITIONS: The house and garage be constructed as indicated on the applicant's plans. The vote on the MOTION resulted as follows: AYES: Sigel, Ellsworth, Niefer, Matthews NAYS: NONE The MOTION was declared to be carried unanimously. Chairperson Sigel—OK. Ms. Balestra—I wonder if that clock is five minutes off. Chairperson Sigel—I doubt it. Mr. Ellsworth—So is the next applicant. Ms. Balestra—The next applicant was supposed to be here at 7:30. I can give you a little bit of background on this particular application. Mr. Ellsworth—Chew up five more minutes? Ms. Balestra—Yeah. It's the second proposal for a dock on Cayuga Lake. The first one that you guys saw was on Taughannock Boulevard. This one's on East Shore Drive. They received preliminary site plan approval and special permit from the Planning Board for a dock that's somewhat modified. Their original proposal was for a 75 foot long dock with a little, with a 15 by 15 sort of ell on the end of it and an 8 foot wide dock going to 17 TOWN OF ITHACA ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS FEBRUARY 27,2006 APPROVED MINUTES it. And the Planning Board decided to modify the length so that it was only 60 feet long, and they felt that the end part of it was too large as well, and so they modified that so the applicants made it 12 by 12. So the current approved application is for a 60 foot long dock with a 12 by 12 ell extension on the end, 8 feet wide going out. Mr. Ellsworth — I thought I read a statement that the planning board has the jurisdiction of approving docks and dock lengths when people can't get their boat in. So I'm wondering what we're doing here today. Ms. Balestra—Well... Chairperson Sigel—For the length, they are... Mr. Ellsworth—For the length? Chairperson Sigel —But then the length makes it exceed the area allowed, and they don't have the authority to extend the area, and also they are requesting greater width and they don't have... Ms. Balestra—Right. Our maximum allowable width is 8 feet and they're asking for 12 feet at the end, and that is something that this board would be granting, would be the variance for the 12 feet, and also you would be granting a variance for the square footage. Maximum allowable is 300 square feet, and they are asking for 528. Mr. Ellsworth—And what did we grant on the other shore? Ms. Balestra—the other one was 700 and... Mr. Ellsworth—I mean, is it in the same realm? Ms. Balestra—Maybe it was 600... Mr. Ellsworth—Because it meandered all over the place. Ms. Balestra — That one was a little bit different because it ended up being a zigzag, because they needed... Mr. Ellsworth—They had more area. Ms. Balestra — Yeah, they had a little bit more area, square footage, but they needed to avoid their neighbor, so the... Chairperson Sigel—The length was about 60 feet, though? Ms. Balestra—The length that was approved was 60 feet, so this is similar. 18 TOWN OF ITHACA ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS FEBRUARY 27,2006 APPROVED MINUTES Chairperson Sigel — Was it discussed much at the Planning Board, the particular depth that they need to get to? Ms. Balestra — There was significant discussion at the Planning Board, and this will be going before the COC soon. Planning Staff is doing some research on necessary water depths and we're doing an inventory of the existing docks along both sides of the lake, both the east shore and the west shore, to see what is already there in place, as far as lengths, widths, square footage, how long the docks are, and deep the water is depending on the lengths. Mr. Ellsworth—And you're studying global warming? Ms. Balestra—Yeah.... Chairperson Sigel—It seems to me that 6 feet seems very generous. I mean, even a pretty big boat only draws, I don't know, maybe 3. Ms. Balestra — This particular boat I believe is going to be 26 feet, and that was something that was discussed at the Planning Board, as far as the size and everything. Ms. Brock — And I think too, there was more than just the draw. There was some discussion about if the waves are rough. There was some need for some extra... Chairperson Sigel— {inaudible] Ms. Brock—Right, a little extra depth for that kind of reason too. Chairperson Sigel — That's true. It's just, this particular location would appear to be a particular concern because the shoreline there, I don't know if you guys walked out all the way to the water, but that point is out already about as far as any dock,just the land is out as far as any other dock goes out. Ms. Balestra—It does extend father than a lot of the other ones. Chairperson Sigel — So then a dock from there is really, compared to the rest of the shoreline, well into the lake. Was there any discussion of lighting the dock for safety. Ms. Balestra — Army Corps does not require lighting unless you make them longer than 100 feet. Chairperson Sigel—OK. Ms. Brock—And that's consistent with the code too, the code says the same thing. Ms. Balestra—Right. 19 TOWN OF ITHACA ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS FEBRUARY 27,2006 APPROVED MINUTES Chairperson Sigel—And they don't have any, I assume they don't look particularly at the conditions, the specific conditions of the dock to see if it, given the shape of the shoreline or something if it's sticking out, even if though it's not 100 feet, it may require lighting. Ms. Balestra—They do look at some of the specifics. Chairperson Sigel—Do they? Ms. Balestra—What they don't look at are things like aesthetics and that sort of impact. Chairperson Sigel—Right. Ms. Balestra—But if you were to look at a lot of the other docks on this shore and on the other shore, 60 feet long even with this point, from a distance, it's not going to be seen from the other side of the lake, and it isn't really that excessively long. 75 feet is getting there, but 60 feet is not that long. Mr. Matthews —What was the intention historically for limiting the length of the docks, do you know? Chairperson Sigel—Well, history in this case only extends back one year. Ms. Balestra — Right, this is a brand new regulation that the Town enacted with the zoning ordinance, and it is at this point unclear as to the justification for limiting the lengths of the docks. Mr. Matthews —Unclear? Ms. Balestra—I don't know why. Ms. Brock — Well, I think it was probably aesthetics, they didn't want long structures sticking out into the lake. Chairperson Sigel — It may have been a portion of the ordinance that was not thought through particularly thoroughly. Also, the Town, often times when towns enact laws they look and see what other towns do and look at their laws and if they like the way the wording is, you lift the text out, so another town on another lake, say it's a smaller lake, they may have had 30, and that may have worked very well for them, and Cayuga Lake is pretty wide. Ms. Brock—I think there were some concerns too, especially where properties are pretty close together that long docks might prevent neighbors from accessing their own property. It might impede the navigation a bit as people try to get into their own property if you've got a long dock sticking out. I wasn't involved in the drafting of that particular part of the zoning code, but these are different things I've been hearing as the Codes and 20 TOWN OF ITHACA ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS FEBRUARY 27,2006 APPROVED MINUTES Ordinances Committee is starting to discuss, and also at the Planning Board meetings, these are the same types of things that are being discussed there. Mr. Matthews —OK, thank you. Chairperson Sigel—OK, well the applicant is not here yet, so I think we should probably adjourn. Mr. Matthews —OK. Mr. Ellsworth—Well, you got to move that to next month, or...? Ms. Balestra—They are scheduled for the March 7 meeting for Final Site Plan Approval, but... Chairperson Sigel—Well, I don't... [some inaudible discussion on how to proceed] Chairperson Sigel — sometimes we've left the public hearing open, and sometimes we don't... [further inaudible discussion] Chairperson Sigel — So we just move to adjourn to the next meeting, or when the applicant requests, which I assume would be the next meeting. Mr. Ellsworth—Well, as long as the next meeting isn't filled by this point. Ms. Balestra—There's room to put this in the next meeting. Chairperson Sigel—Ma'am, were you here to speak about the dock proposal? Mrs. Taylor- Yes, I was, I am Mr. Sokoloff s neighbor to the South. Chairperson Sigel—OK, would you want to come to the next meeting anyway? Mrs. Taylor- Sure. Chairperson Sigel — OK, it would probably be more appropriate for you to speak then, if you couldn't come to the next meeting, we could open the public hearing now. Mrs. Taylor- That's OK, I can come anytime. Chairperson Sigel—OK, well thank you very much. 21 TOWN OF ITHACA ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS FEBRUARY 27,2006 APPROVED MINUTES Mrs. Taylor- Thank you. Chairperson Sigel — OK, well, I will move to adjourn the appeal of Jason Sokoloff until the next meeting or when the applicant requests a hearing. Second? Mr. Ellsworth—I'll second it. Chairperson Sigel—All in favor? ZB RESOLUTION NO. 2006- 011: Jason Sokoloff, 1126 East Shore Dr, Tax Parcel No. 19.-2-5.2 MOTION made by Kirk Sigel, seconded by Harry Ellsworth. RESOLVED that this Board adjourns the appeal of Jason Sokoloff until the next meeting or when the applicant requests a hearing The vote on the MOTION resulted as follows: AYES: Sigel, Ellsworth, Niefer, Matthews NAYS: NONE The MOTION was declared to be carried unanimously. Chairperson Sigel—OK. Mr. Matthews — I do hope that we passed grade with the students here in our conduct tonight. Are you here to ask permission to swim off this long dock. Chairperson Sigel adjourned the meeting at 7:46 p.m. Ms. Balestra states for the record I spoke with Ron Knewstub today and he indicated what time he and his client needed to be here tonight, and I said it's hard to say because sometimes these meetings go very long and sometimes they go very short, but if you were to be here at 7:30,you would probably be OK. It's now 7:50. The applicant and his agent arrive and there is some discussion of hearing the appeal. Chairperson Sigel re-opened the meeting at 7:58 p.m. Chairperson Sigel — I will move to nullify our previous motion to adjourn the appeal of Jason Sokoloff until the next meeting, and consider the appeal tonight. Second? 22 TOWN OF ITHACA ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS FEBRUARY 27,2006 APPROVED MINUTES Mr. Matthews —Second. Chairperson Sigel—All in favor? Mr. Niefer—Abstain. Chairperson Sigel—Abstain from Jim. Mr. Niefer —And I'll let the record show that I will not participate in the discussion nor the vote on this because of potential conflicts of interest. Chairperson Sigel—OK. ZB RESOLUTION NO. 2006- 012: Jason Sokoloff, 1126 East Shore Dr, Tax Parcel No. 19.-2-5.2 MOTION made by Kirk Sigel, seconded by Dick Matthews. RESOLVED that this Board nullifies the previous motion to adjourn the appeal of Jason Sokoloff to the next meeting, and consider the appeal tonight. The vote on the MOTION resulted as follows: AYES: Sigel, Ellsworth, Matthews NAYS: NONE ABSTAIN: Niefer The MOTION was declared to be carried. Ms. Balestra—You're abstaining from vote, is that what you're saying? Mr. Niefer—I'm not going to vote, I'm not going to participate in discussion. APPEAL of Jason Sokoloff, Appellant, Ron Knewstub, Agent, requesting variances from the requirements of Chapter 270, Article VII, Section 270-45 of the Town of Ithaca Code, to be permitted to construct an open pile dock that exceeds the maximum 8-foot width and the maximum 300 square foot surface area required by Code. The property is located at 1126 East Shore Drive, Town of Ithaca Tax Parcel No. 19-2-5.2, Lakefront Residential Zone. Chairperson Sigel—Mr. Knewstub if you could just begin with your name and address. Mr. Knewstub - My name is Ron Knewstub, I reside at 180 Calkins Road, Town of Ithaca New York. 23 TOWN OF ITHACA ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS FEBRUARY 27,2006 APPROVED MINUTES Chairperson Sigel—You want to give us an overview of the need here? Mr. Knewstub - Originally we proposed to build a dock 8 feet wide by 60 feet long, plus an ell to the north 15 feet square, 15 feet long by 15 feet wide, and then the Planning Board asked us to reduce the size of it to 60 feet overall with a 12 by 12 ell at the lakeward end of the dock. So that would be 48 feet plus the 12 by 12 ell. And we agreed to submit an application to do that. Chairperson Sigel—OK. Mr. Knewstub - And as far as I understand, the Planning Board has given preliminary site plan approval for that project. Mr. Sokoloff- I have a question. Chairperson Sigel—Yeah. Mr. Sokoloff- I have Marie Taylor on the phone, she is wondering if she needs to come back in or if she could speak with one of you. She had one question and it was whether there was going to be a structure built on the end of the dock. I told her no, this is a flat dock, she said OK. That's all she wanted. Chairperson Sigel — Our lawyer is advising us that we really need to have her here because she was here unfortunately. If she... Mr. Sokoloff- She doesn't really want to come back. Chairperson Sigel — I understand, but we specifically asked her if she wanted to speak and she said she did and then we adjourned the meeting, and I asked her if she was going to be able to come next month, and she said that was no problem, and so we could have given her an opportunity to actually speak without you here, but she seemed just as happy to come back. And it would be better for her to speak after you presented your information, so... Mr. Ellsworth — Well, why don't we wait and see if she's coming back, if she's not coming back, we don't need to proceed any further, it seems to me. Chairperson Sigel —Well, if we hear, what we could do is if we hear the presentation, if none of us have any further questions, we could adjourn it to the next meeting and the applicant wouldn't necessarily have to return. Mr. Ellsworth—OK. 24 TOWN OF ITHACA ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS FEBRUARY 27,2006 APPROVED MINUTES Chairperson Sigel — And then if the neighbor came back and was only in favor of it, we wouldn't really have anything else to discuss, and we could then consider approval without the applicant being... Mr. Matthews — She's showing concern, positive or negative, I haven't the slightest idea, but upon hearing the presentation of the applicants, maybe her concerns will become different or greater. Chairperson Sigel—She could... Mr. Matthews — But she doesn't have the privilege of hearing the presentation of the applicants, and that's not fair, neither to her nor to us. Chairperson Sigel—Well, we could send her the minutes. Ms. Balestra—I did speak with her for a bit today on the phone and explained to her what the project was about, she seemed to not be terribly concerned, but she did also say that she would be here tonight. Mr. Ellsworth — I guess I'm kind of along with Dick here, we have procedures, and the way things are supposed to be, and like he's saying for a couple reasons, if there were other people here, they're not hearing her testimony if she's not here, she's not hearing this testimony... Mr. Knewstub - Mr. Ellsworth? Mr. Ellsworth— ...we're kind of skewing this thing. Mr. Knewstub - She's on her way back. I understand where you're coming from and it makes perfect sense. Mr. Ellsworth—That's why we have public hearings and notices and all these things. Mr. Knewstub - Yes, I understand. Chairperson Sigel — Yeah, maybe we... would you guys feel more comfortable if we waited to proceed until she got back? Mr. Matthews —Well, I'm not getting married tonight, I can stay. Mr. Ellsworth —Well, he's asking if you feel better if she's here to hear the testimony of these people. Mr. Matthews —Of course I do, that was my point. Chairperson Sigel—OK. All right, so we'll just wait until she comes back to continue. 25 TOWN OF ITHACA ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS FEBRUARY 27,2006 APPROVED MINUTES Ms. Balestra—Do we have any other business to discuss? Any other business at all? Chairperson Sigel—What about those Olympics? Mr. Matthews — Is this on time and a half now? Do we get an atta boy for this or something? Chairperson Sigel —You get paid until 10:00 every meeting no matter whether you leave early or not. Ms. Balestra—You do? I didn't realize that. Mr. Knewstub - Is this off the record? Ms. Balestra—No, this is all on the record. Mr. Knewstub - You're recording all of this? [other inaudible comments] Chairperson Sigel—I think meetings are scheduled to end at 10:00 officially. Mr. Matthews — 10? Chairperson Sigel—Officially, yeah. Mr. Matthews —You didn't tell me that when I applied for this position. Chairperson Sigel—Well, we told you when they normally end. Mr. Ellsworth—Right after you came on board, we got the big raise. Chairperson Sigel — I presume if the meeting went past ten, we would be justified in ending this even if we weren't finished. The Planning Board must do that sometimes. Do they just end meetings when they get too late? Ms. Brock—They have to vote... Ms. Balestra—They usually vote. Ms. Brock — To extend beyond 10, as part of their rules of procedure. You can set your own rules of procedure. 26 TOWN OF ITHACA ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS FEBRUARY 27,2006 APPROVED MINUTES Ms. Balestra—They set that after, I'm not sure if it was the Cornell Lake Source Cooling project or one of the projects that was going until 1 in the morning and they decided it was going a little too late for all of them. Ms. Brock—They actually have to vote. Ms. Balestra — I have a question for the board. Staff prepares annual reports for the Town Board every year and they include summaries of all the actions of the various boards of the Town, including the zoning board. It includes things like how many appeals were granted and what types of appeals were granted. Would board members be interested in obtaining a copy of that so you know what you voted on in the previous year? No? OK. Mr. Matthews —Not me. Ms. Balestra—There's two no's. Three no's, four. Mr. Matthews —Save the paper. Mr. Ellsworth—Save the trees. Chairperson Sigel—I know what I voted on. Mr. Matthews —I'm a green man, I'm concerned about trees. Less work for you, right? Mr. Ellsworth—They just got to make another copy, right? [other inaudible discussion] Chairperson Sigel —Hi, sorry to trouble you so much. Thank you for coming back. OK, please resume. Mr. Knewstub - OK, I'm Ron Knewstub...Just to repeat what I said before, we originally applied for a 75 foot long dock that included a 15 foot long by 15 foot wide deck on the end, and we applied for a permit and the Town of Ithaca Planning Board asked us to reduce the size of the dock to an overall length of 60 feet including a 12 by 12 deck on the lakeward end of the dock, and we agreed to submit an application for that and we submitted plans to go along with that. Chairperson Sigel—OK, and could you just state the justification for the length at 60 feet to reach the 6 foot depth. 27 TOWN OF ITHACA ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS FEBRUARY 27,2006 APPROVED MINUTES Mr. Knewstub - Mr. Sokoloff will be purchasing a 26 foot boat, and he needs this water depth to keep it, if he wants to dock alongside this, he needs that water depth to be safe, for safe boating purposes. Chairperson Sigel — OK, is that... I assume the boat draws considerably less than 6 feet, but? Mr. Knewstub - Right, but you get water conditions on the lake, or wave conditions that quickly reduce that depth. Chairperson Sigel—OK. Mr. Knewstub - You can get 4 or 5 foot waves on Cayuga Lake. It's not even that uncommon, so in that case, if you're tied up, if he's, if he ties alongside the long side of the dock from the South side, then the stern is out the lakeward end, you come in 26 feet. Somebody's going to have to help me do the math, 60 minus 26 whatever that is. It's 32 is that right? Ms. Balestra—34. Mr. Knewstub - 38? Student in audience—34. Mr. Knewstub - I should have my calculator, so in any case his bow will be, and the boats surge when you tie a boat up it isn't in a fixed position, so it's moving around. So it's fairly shallow at that point. So this is sort of at the absolute limit here for tying up in stormy conditions. Chairperson Sigel — OK, any questions. Dick or Harry? All right, we'll open the public hearing. Chairperson Sigel opened the public hearing at 8:14 p.m. Chairperson Sigel — Could you... if you wouldn't mind, you can come to this microphone, and please just begin with your name and address. Mrs. Taylor - Marie Taylor, 1120 East Shore Drive, Ithaca, and I had just a couple of questions, one was that we have neighbors to the south that have a large structure on the end of their dock, and I was just concerned that there might be some plan to put a structure on the dock which would really impede our view, and Mr. Sokoloff said at this point did not have any plan to put anything on the end of the dock, and my other question was that the distance from our boundary where this dock would be since it would be right in our view, we wondered was it going to be 70 feet or 100 feet from our boundary. Mr. Knewstub - Right now it's sited at 70 feet. 28 TOWN OF ITHACA ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS FEBRUARY 27,2006 APPROVED MINUTES Mr. Sokoloff- Instead of the middle of the middle of the property? Mr. Knewstub - Yeah. [inaudible comment by Mr. Sokoloff] Mr. Knewstub - Yeah, but 70 feet. Ms. Balestra—It was also a partial request from the planning board as well, to move the dock, it was originally proposed at approximately 80 feet from the southern boundary line. The Planning Board after deliberations asked that you consider moving it 10 feet South. Mrs. Taylor- Is there some specific reason for that? Ms. Balestra — The reason that the Planning board gave is that since Mr. Sokoloff s property is on a point, there were some concerns aesthetically how what a 60 foot long or even longer dock at the time, what sort of impact it would have at the actual middle, but if they were to move it somewhat south, it would have less of an impact. Less of an aesthetic impact. Chairperson Sigel — By moving it over, it brings it towards the shore, because the shoreline comes in there. Ms. Balestra—That's what the Planning Board came up with. Mr. Knewstub - It's sort of the shifting sands of Germany, it's an always eternally changing shoreline, so you have to be somewhat arbitrary about the high water mark. Ms. Balestra—That also came up at the Planning Board, and that's one of the reasons the Planning Board requested both of you guys. Mr. Knewstub - You've been down there, it's a natural beach, you know what beaches do, they change, so you start to build and then you site the high water mark on that day, but also it is a little deeper on the south side of that point, as you go south, you do get a little more water depth, so there is an advantage there. Mr. Sokoloff- The ell that is on the dock is going to be going North... Mrs. Taylor- To the north? OK, that is good. Mr. Sokoloff- So away from your property. Mr. Knewstub - Has the water depth changed at the end of your dock? 29 TOWN OF ITHACA ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS FEBRUARY 27,2006 APPROVED MINUTES Mrs. Taylor - Our dock is now... Mr. Knewstub has done dock work for us which we've been very happy with. Mr. Knewstub - Right after that terrible ice flow, right? Mrs. Taylor - Right. But what's happened over the 20 years that we've been there is part of half of our dock is now on land, because it's just filled in from the northwest because that's the prevailing wind. Mr. Knewstub - See, her dock's actually 80 feet long, you just didn't see it the last time. Ms. Balestra — That's also information that the Planning Board probably could benefit from hearing, from an actual neighbor that talks about the sedimentation. If this is approved tonight, if it's granted by the zoning board, then this proposal will go back to the Planning Board March 7 for final site plan approval. Mrs. Taylor - And just one question about the eight foot width, is that the maximum allowed? Ms. Balestra—That's the maximum allowed in our zoning ordinance. Mr. Knewstub - It may, in fact, wind up being less, that's not a problem though, correct? Chairperson Sigel—You can make it less than eight feet if you want, yes. Mr. Knewstub - Right, you can make it six feet for example if you wanted to, that's not an issue. Chairperson Sigel—Sure. Are you definitely making in narrower or...? Mr. Knewstub - We may or may not, we don't know. But I don't want to throw a crowbar. Chairperson Sigel — Form our viewpoint, if we grant the area you've requested, you can certainly make it less. Mr. Knewstub - Right, makes sense to me. Chairperson Sigel — We could explicitly allow them... normally we condition approval upon you building what you said you were going to build, but we could certainly explicitly allow you to make it narrower. Mr. Matthews —What's on the books about building something on the end of this dock as the neighbor has voiced a concern about? Is there anything limiting that? 30 TOWN OF ITHACA ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS FEBRUARY 27,2006 APPROVED MINUTES Chairperson Sigel — Well, I think anything beyond 30 feet would probably require a subsequent variance because it would be a modification. Ms. Brock — Well, the Planning Board's already approved a length longer than 30 feet, they do that. Mr. Ellsworth —What he's getting at is a structure rising above the dock at the end of the dock. Ms. Brock—Are you talking about the ell that they're talking about. Chairperson Sigel—No, a future boathouse. Mr. Matthews — This woman is concerned about if there's going to be a structure on the end of the dock blocking her view... Chairperson Sigel—Above dock level. Mr. Matthews —And what's on the books that would prevent that from happening? Ms. Brock — I think that's part of the special permit process in front of the Planning Board, "all structures..." let's see... "including boathouses require building permits are subject to site plan review and are subject to the special permit requirements as well." Mr. Matthews —It does require a special permit. Ms. Brock—Right, so they would have to come back to the Planning Board for that. Mr. Matthews —Theoretically the owner could come by and say they want to build a 30, or 23 foot high building on the end of that dock, and theoretically it could be approved? Mr. Knewstub - I don't think so. Chairperson Sigel—The Planning Board could approve it, I suspect they wouldn't. Mr. Knewstub - Office of General Services wouldn't allow it. Mr. Matthews —Probably they wouldn't you say? Chairperson Sigel—My guess is now they wouldn't. Ms. Balestra—There is a height limitation for the lakefront residential zone for accessory buildings other than the primary dwelling and that is 20 feet in height. So if they wanted to come 10 years from now and say we want to build a 26 foot tall boathouse, they would need variance as well as site plan approval, because the limit, height limit is 20 feet. 31 TOWN OF ITHACA ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS FEBRUARY 27,2006 APPROVED MINUTES Mr. Knewstub - Actually for the army corps it's 15 feet, and you need a special permit from the Army Corps to exceed 15 feet, and then you need a permit from the Office of General Services, and then they'll have to issue a license, in which case you pay, you have to rent space from New York to do it, $500 for ten years or something like that. Mr. Matthews — So excuse me if I'm slow tonight. It's after 8:00 I start slowing down. Again, what's restricting the owner from building something at the end of this dock? Chairperson Sigel—They would have to get approval from the Planning Board. Ms. Balestra — They've got preliminary site plan approval for what you see in front of you, which is a dock that has an extension at the end of an ell, doesn't have any boat lift, doesn't have any covered structure, it doesn't have anything, so that's not what... what they've been approved for is just a straight up dock, if they wanted to build anything in addition to that, they need to come back to the Planning Board and potentially the zoning board depending, on what they want to do. Mr. Matthews —OK, thank you. Chairperson Sigel—OK. Anything else you wanted to say? Mrs. Taylor-No, I think that's it. Chairperson Sigel — OK, thank you very much. OK, assuming no one else wishes to speak, we'll close the public hearing. Any further comments or questions? Chairperson Sigel closed the public hearing at 8:24 p.m. Chairperson Sigel—Chris, any further comments on the SEQR? Ms. Balestra—No. Chairperson Sigel — OK, I will move to make a negative determination of environmental significance in the appeal of Jason Sokoloff for the reasons stated in the Part 11 short environmental assessment form prepared by Town Staff. Second? Mr. Ellsworth—I'll second. Chairperson Sigel—All in favor? Mr. Ellsworth and Mr. Matthews - Aye Chairperson Sigel - Abstain? Mr. Niefer—I'll abstain for reasons previously stated. 32 TOWN OF ITHACA ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS FEBRUARY 27,2006 APPROVED MINUTES ZB RESOLUTION NO. 2006- 013 : ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT : Jason Sokoloff, 1126 East Shore Dr, Tax Parcel No. 19.-2-5.2 MOTION made by Kirk Sigel, seconded by Harry Ellsworth RESOLVED that this Board makes a negative determination of environmental significance in the appeal of Jason Sokoloff, for the reasons stated in the Part I I Short Environmental Assessment Form prepared by Town staff. The vote on the MOTION resulted as follows: AYES: Sigel, Ellsworth, Matthews NAYS: None ABSTAIN: Niefer The MOTION was declared to be carried. Chairperson Sigel — OK, and I will move to grant the appeal of Jason Sokoloff, requesting variances from the requirements of Chapter 270, Article VII, Section 270-45 of the Town of Ithaca Code, to be permitted to construct an open pile dock that exceeds the maximum 8-foot width and the maximum 300 square foot surface area required by Code, located at 1126 East Shore Drive, Tax Parcel No. 19.-2-5.2, with the finding that the applicant has satisfied the requirement for an area variance, and with the following conditions: that the dock not exceed 530 square feet, and that the width of the dock not exceed 12 feet, and only exceed the 8 feet in the region indicated on the applicant's plans, which is the last 12 feet of the dock, with the allowance that the if the applicant wants to reduce the width of the dock anywhere along its length, that is permitted. Otherwise the dock must be constructed as indicated on the applicant's plans. OK, second? Mr. Ellsworth—I'll second. Chairperson Sigel—All in favor? Mr. Ellsworth and Mr. Matthews —Aye. Chairperson Sigel—Abstain? Mr. Niefer—Abstain. Chairperson Sigel—Jim. OK, you're all set with us. 33 TOWN OF ITHACA ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS FEBRUARY 27,2006 APPROVED MINUTES ZB RESOLUTION NO. 2006- 014: Jason Sokoloff, 1126 East Shore Dr, Tax Parcel No. 19.-2-5.2 MOTION made by Kirk Sigel, seconded by Harry Ellsworth. RESOLVED that this Board grants the appeal of Jason Sokoloff, requesting variances from the requirements of Chapter 270, Article VI I, Section 270-45 of the Town of Ithaca Code, to be permitted to construct an open pile dock that exceeds the maximum 8-foot width and the maximum 300 square foot surface area required by Code, located at 1126 East Shore Drive, Tax Parcel No. 19.-2- 5.2 FINDINGS: The applicant has satisfied the requirements for an Area Variance CONDITIONS: 1. The dock not exceed 530 square feet 2. The width of the dock not exceed 12 feet, and only exceed 8 feet in the region indicated on the applicant's plans, which is the last 12 feet of the dock, with the allowance that if the applicant wants to reduce the width of the dock anywhere along its length, that is permitted. Otherwise the dock must be constructed as indicated on the applicant's plans. The vote on the MOTION resulted as follows: AYES: Sigel, Ellsworth, Matthews NAYS: NONE ABSTAIN: Niefer The MOTION was declared to be carried. Mr. Knewstub - Thank you very much. Chairperson Sigel re-adjourned the meeting at 8:31 p.m. Kirk Sigel, Chairperson John Coakley, Deputy Town Clerk 34