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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMN-BZA-1978-09-11 !f i! ! TABLE OF CONTENTS i ' MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS, ITHACA, jj NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 11 , 1978 i Page i APPEAL NO. 1210 S $ M Company 2 312-314 N. Aurora St . $ 315 N. Tioga St . { APPEAL NO. 1210 Executive Session 16 I� APPEAL NO. 1213 David & Louise Minks 17 f f 207 W. Court Street APPEAL NO. 1213 Executive Session 21 ! I j APPEAL NO. 1217 John Petrillose Sr. 22 ! I 128 Dryden Road APPEAL NO. 1217 Executive Session 28 APPEAL N0. 1218Jason Fane 29 125-127 N. Quarry Street APPEAL NO. 1218 Executive Session 43 APPEAL NO. 1219 Mr. & Mrs. Larry Driscoll 45 ! 419 Hector Street f i f +� APPEAL NO. 1219 Executive Session 47 i, �. APPEAL NO. 1220 Mr. & Mrs. Andrew Rudd 48 I' 314 Columbia Street APPEAL NO. 1220 Executive Session 50 APPEAL NO. 1221 Steven Mensch 51 ii 900 Stewart Avenue I APPEAL NO. 1221 Executive Session 55 :i i j� APPEAL NO. 1222 George Sheldon 56 I 102 First Street ! (f APPEAL NO. 1222 Executive Session 59 i APPEAL NO. 1224 Anna & Frank A. Pearson 60 I 105 Homestead Road i APPEAL NO. 1224 Executive Session 62 l APPEAL NO. 1225 John & Ruth Petrillose 63 222-224-226 Eddy Street !� APPEAL NO. 1225 Executive Session 73 I I' CERTIFICATION OF RECORDING SECRETARY 74 t i BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS ITHACA, NEW YORK COMMON COUNCIL CHAMBERS SEPTEMBER 11, 1978 !I CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Let me call to order the September meeting of the Ij Ithaca Board of Zoning Appeals . We now have a quorum present. ii j We will begin the meeting, we expect all members of the Board it present this evening. Mr. Wilcox and Mr. Gainey will probably be + a bit late. Members of the Board present at the moment are . I j� MR. GREGORY KASPRZAK MRS. JUDITH MAXWELL I DR. MARTIN GREENBERG Ii CHAIRMAN PETER MARTIN sl MRS . BARBARA RUANE, REC. SEC 'I MR. THOMAS HOARD, ZONING OFFI - CER FF -CER OF THE CITY, BLDG. COM . & SECRETARY TO THE BOARD MR. JOSEPH GAINEY (arrived al 8 :00 P.M. ) II ABSENT: MR. WILLIAM WILCOX Ij Let me briefly outline the proceedings that take place on an 'i evening like this , for those of you who are not familiar with the . i !; The Board operates under the provisions of the Ithaca City Charter , the Ithaca Zoning Ordinance and some other ordinances that give tYe i I Board some discretionary power. It' s proceedings are not governe� il I Dy strict rules of evidence or formal legal limits of that sort b t i we do follow the following sequence and informal procedure as we I hear cases. We ask that all those who wish to present testimony ;i II on a case before the Board to come to the front of the room, begin !i by identifying themself by name and address and then limit their + 1 it remarks to the issue that is in front of the Board. Now in each case, that involves understanding what the Ordinance requires of particular property and then when a variance is being requested the person seeking the variance will be arguing in some form that ! the Ordinance cannot reasonably be complied with, as to the parti i j cular land and buildings on it and that what is proposed will notil j have a serious adverse impact on the neighborhood contrary to they basis purposes of the Ordinance. That , in a nutshell , is what th I person seeking the variance will be presenting testimony to and j i` i I I 1 p it i I 2 0� I evidence to support and anyone who is seeking to have the variance p� denied, for whatever reason, should address those points which are i the points that bear on whether or not the Board will or will not grant a variance under the terms of the Ordinance. We take up thel 'i 1 cases in the order in which they've been filed. We hear first of all the person presenting the case for a variance or whatever relief is sought from the Board then anyone else present who has evidence �j relevant to the granting of a variance and then we ask that anyone who wishes to speak in opposition to do so, all on a particular i jl case. After we have heard all testimony on one case we then move on to hear the next in public session. AFter we have heard all ofl the cases in public session then the Board goes into executive 1 j session to deliberate on the application and the testimony it has j! heard, reach a final conclusion, make its findings of fact that lead to that conclusion and then we reconvene in public session fo� f any of you who care enough to wait around for the announcement of }}( those deliberations. Looking at the number of cases we have this i. 'I !� evening it looks as though that will be a bit late. Which leads m to repeat again that , while the Board wishes to hear every detail i relevant to the issue that it has to decide, I hope you will bear in mind the number of people who apparently will want to speak on various cases before the Board this evening and limit your remarks - I' focus your remarks on the issue in front of the Board. Mr. Secre- tary what is our first case? i i MR. HOARD: APPEAL NO. 1210 : Appeal of the S $ M Company ,l for an area variance under Section 30 . 25 , Col- umn 4 (required off-street parking) , to permit construction of a two-story office building at 312-314 North Aurora Street and 315 North Tiog Street in a B-1 (business) use district . The i proposed property would be deficient in requir d `j off-street parking. MR. THALER: Mr. Chairman, Lady and gentlemen of the Board . . . . li CHAIRMAN MARTTN: Would it be possible for you to come up in the 1 front or do you have something that holds you there? !� MR. THALER: Well I 'd like to show some photographs and if I 'm up ii i I don' t care , I ' ll go wherever you want . I CHAIRMAN MARTIN: We11, it helps getting you on the record, which primarily relies on the tape machine up here. I 3 MR. THALER: Th-e proposed structure . . . i CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Excuse me , would you please identify yourself? MR. THALER: I'm Manley Thaler, I 'm an attorney. The proposed structure would be located as shown on the drawings which are in front of you. We have worked with the City Planning Board in siting this structure on the plot, complying with the side yard requirements and front yard - we 've changed the configuration of the building some and the entrance location some to comply with 'I what the Planning Department asked of us . Our only problem that e I are before you on is parking and as Mr. Hoard, I think indicated i II at the Planning Board hearing , if we were to comply with the Ordi-� i' nance in order to build this building, we probably would have to ii jl take down three or four more buildings in this block because we need around forty - I think it was forty some odd parking spaces to service this building. It did not seem economically feasible I; to do that and does not, in order to improve property in the City and build a new office building and add to the area. I have photd- graphs of the existing buildings the two buildings on Aurora ii ii Street are old wood frame buildings, they were formerly used as a tourist home, the lady then sold them to S & M Company who have i3 I+ is been operating them as rooming houses . The Building Commissioner ) has been through these buildings on several occasions we 've tried ) to keep up with the codes but the building structures themselves , now - have so deteriorated that it is not economically feasible t� Ii maintain these buildings for any type of habitation and we are i uctu anxious to have them removed so that we can place the new strrje on the plot. The building on Tioga Street is the former building I where Family $ Children Society was located, that building itself ii was altered several years ago when it was occupied by McPherson Builders, that ' s when the glass brick (,here ' s the other photograph) 'I panel was placed in there. That building also is not in very goo is shape and that is one of the reasons that the Family & Children' s Society moved from there to their present location on Cayuga Strut . I We have tentatively purchased that property in order to give us ;j ,E f �� I9 '' I i i� I � I• - 4 - some area to the rear of the proposed building, as you see on the I !i plot, for some six (6) parking spaces and to create an open area i 11 for the rear yard to comply with the rear yard requirements of th i, j Zoning Ordinance. ii CHAIRMAN MARTIN: You say you tentatively purchased it? You have - �i are you contracted. . . . ? MR. THALER: We haven' t closed it yet. i� ' CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Alright, but you have a contract to purchase it . I MR. THALER: Absolutely. ,i j CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Contingent on a variance? i MR. THALER: No. It is not contingent on anything. Now what we I plan to do on this location is to erect, as you see on the profil , a two-story building and it 's exterior will be of shattered block .i ji and I can show you a photograph of a similar type of building which we have looked at and found attractive so that we will have shado panels of a contrasting color to the block. Here is another phot - f {i i graph which will show a typical window design - there will be win- dows every ten feet in this building. The entrance is set back off j of the street as suggested. The building is set back from Aurora ;i Street in line with the existing Prudential building so as to car y i j the line down the street as suggested by the Planning Board and you will also see in the facade facing Aurora Street that there i i a set back even in the building facade itself where a planter will Ii be inserted and there is a planter designed on the Tioga Street it ii side so we can put some plants and trees there. And again, the j only reason we are here is because of the parking problem. We ares j� within, as Mr. Hoard indicated at the Planning Board, we are within i 500 feet of the Seneca Street parking ramp so we would comply with the Ordinance in that respect. CHAIRMAN MARTIN: You would comply with the Ordinance - if that i could be counted for you, then you wouldn' t even be here for a variance. �I I MR. THALER: No, but I guess - I don ' t know there was some ques- tion at the Planning Board hearing as to how close we were to the Seneca Street parking ramp and I indicated we were within the 500 ii I ,i - ;i feet of the public . . . ? CHAIRMAN MARTIN: There is nothing that says if you are within 50 feet of a public parking area you need not meet off-street parking . MR. THALER: I understand that, I understand that . But we are within the 500 feet of the parking ramp. j CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Okay. And while the Ordinance would require i } forty-seven (47) off-street parking spaces for an office building of this size, you will have thirteen (13) ? MR. THALER: We will have six. i !i CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Six. So that ' s changed from the figures that are in your application? MR. THALER: No. It ' s changed from the original application, yes . CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Well that ' s the only application I have. It says I; thirteen spaces . MR. THALER: Well , it should be six. That' s what 's shown on the i� i' plans. That' s what was approved by the Planning Board. CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Recommended by the Planning Board. MR. THALER: Recommended - I 'm sorry - recommended. 'i !i CHAIRMAN MARTIN: What is the logic of the six? Who will use th se ii j six spaces? MR. THALER: We have set aside one for disabled people as suggest d i now for most buildings and the others will be for . . . I Ij CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Will they be for people who will hold office 1 space in the building or will they be for people . . . who are i! � clients? MR. THALER: They will not be for transients , no. They will not j be for clients , they will be for people who are in the building. �i i CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Alright. What will the population of the build- 1� i !j ing be? How many people will be working in the building? MR. THALER: I can' t answer that for you at the present time be- cause we don' t have any tenants at this particular point . ;i jCHAIRMAN MARTIN: What kinds of tenants will you be looking for and expecting? MR. THALER: Strictly business, professional type offices , secre- tarial service . i j i i - 6 - i� CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Alright . If it ' s occupied as you might reason ably expect, I mean you are not entering this without some notion of what ' s going to go inside of it. i MR. THALER: I would guess that there would be full time, probably - I 've got to base my experience on our building which is next door and that would be between thirty-five and fifty people . ii I' CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Alright , and so five of the spaces will go for it �i some of those people? El MR. THALER: That ' s right. !f I CHAIRMAN MARTIN: The balance of them, and it ' s a fair balance, II i will find parking elsewhere, presumably in the public ramp and alb i clients of those people will park elsewhere. I MR. THALER: That ' s right. f ii CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Alright . Smaller building, requiring less off- street parking - what dictates the size of this building which ;I translates into off-street parking requirements you can ' t meet? + r MR. THALER: Two things : number one - a prospective tenant or i tenants I should say two prospective tenants for the ground floor and secondly - economics . �I CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Okay. Questions from members of the Board? I MR. KASPRZAK: You are doing very well. �I MR. THALER: Usually I 'm on the questioning end, not the answeringil II 1 j end. I ' ll leave the photographs with. you, if you like, for your 11 deliberations. it CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Alright, since reliance is being placed on the I i public ramp, at least that ' s been suggested as where these people I li will the people who don' t have off-street parking at the pro- posed building will park, can you or someone else - for the record - i i! give us information on the availability of spaces in the public i i ramp? I i` MR. THALER: res I: can. I checked with_ - is it Mr. Barber down, i� stairs? And I spoke with h_im, and he indicated that there is space available, not only in that ramp but there is a lot of space avail able in the Green Street ramp , which is only two blocks away and ii i i i - 7 - P ;i we've already spoken to one of the prospective tenants and they !' indicated that they have probably - will consider long term parking jl at the Green Street ramp and have their people walk to the building since it is only two blocks away. i, CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Are there any additional questions? MR. KASPRZAK: You are providing that parking space for a handi- capped, I see no ramp, I assume you are going to expect them to travel to the elevator on the Aurora Street side? 'i isMR. THALER: Yes , right there - that ' s on ground level - there are j no steps to get into the building . There will also be , Greg, there f will also be an entrance, not a regular entrance - a main entrance !� is off Aurora Street but there is another entrance on the Tioga r, !j Street side. `j CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Thank you. Is there anyone else who would like to speak in support of the requested off-street parking area vari- ance on this case? MR. TAYLOR: My name is John Taylor, address is 207 Winston Drive , Ij Ithaca. I 'm the minister of the First Unitarian Church, corner of j Aurora and Buffalo Streets and while I would not dream of speaking I for the congregation I can say that I am sure the sense of the con i i' gregation is that we would look forward to the construction of thi building on that particular site. And as far as parking goes , we are well acquainted with the parking availability in that area II during the week, as well as on weekends of course, and we have ! found no difficulty, certainly there is ample parking in the Senec I� Street ramp the times I am there. We do think that the building �i would be an attractive addition to that particular locality. The �i Unitarians have spent about $100,000 . in the past three years on litheir property and they will spend many thousands more in the next few years . We are committed to downtown, we believe that this wil be an asset to our particular neighborhood. And if I may wear it another hat just for a moment , I 'm ;also chairman of the Commons I! Advisory Board, the Ithaca City Commons Advisory Board and I would i I I' 'i j E - 8 - I� not dream of speaking for the Board on this issue because we have not discussed it but as the chairman of the Board, and looking at ii what happens downtown and our concern for the downtown and the Commons area, we believe that the creation of an office building complex in that particular piece of property would work to the improvement - to the traffic , the pedestrian exchange of people in the downtown area and therefore to the benefit of the downtown area and the downtown commons . CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Thank you. Are there any questions for Mr. Taylor? Is there anyone else who would like to speak in favor of the requested variance? Is there anyone who wishes to present ;i evidence or testimony in opposition? it SARAH HECTOR: My name is Sarah Hector and I live at 1S4 E. State Street and I work in the City Planning Office. I would like to I it point out that this project requires the demolition of a building I in what has been designated as a National Historical Architectural I� iDistrict, for a six space parking lot and I feel that another park If ing lot . . . i CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Excuse me Miss Hector, are you speaking individ- ually or are you speaking for the City's Planning Department? MISS HECTOR: No, I 'm speaking individually. And I feel that I' another parking lot and office building on this block would only further contribute to the deterioration of the streetscape and the I residential nature of the neighborhood. i p CHAIRMAN MARTIN: In terms of the historic designation, is there anything that has not been done that should be done under the rele�ii i want ordinance? MISS HECTOR: Well it should have been included in the local dis- trict. It has not been. i I CHAIRMAN MARTIN: It wasn' t, alright. !! MISS HECTOR; Right. CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Okay so it 's, not affective.? i! MISS HECTOR: Well, not that - not in that the landmarks commissio can do anything in this case. i' CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Right. Okay, but you are asking us somehow to y; 'i i i� 9 - iE ii to take that into account? I � MISS HECTOR: Yes . I CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Alright . And could you help us understand how that relates to what we have to decide? li MISS HECTOR: Well , I feel that it is basically a residential ;i 'i neighborhood. �i CHAIRMAN MARTIN: But it 's not zoned for residents , its zoned for 'i i business . There ' s no use variance being sought here, alright? I I j sf MISS HECTOR: Yes I understand that. I just - that one building :I I that ' s being torn down for the parking lot is a member of a pair i of matching buildings . The other building of that pair has just i been fixed up, turned into office space, it has shown what can bei i done with that - those buildings and it 's . . . . CHAIRMAN MARTIN: So it ' s not office use that you are opposed to. . . ? I i MISS HECTOR: No , it ' s not office use it ' s the . . . i CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Disruption of the building? 'f MISS HECTOR: The visual - the disruption of the building and the visual appearance of the neighborhood and streetscape of that street and feeling that what it would then do is leave the one �f I building that would be left of that pair, standing there in betwen I two parking lots. l CHAIRMAN MARTEN: Okay. Are there questions? j MR. THALER: I 'd like to respond. CHAIRMAN MARTIN: You' ll have a chance. Are there questions? Is ! i i there anyone else who would like to speak- in opposition? I MRS. SISLER: My name is Carol Sisler, I live at 209 Valley Road j i! and I 'm the Executive Director of Historic Ithaca. Although I am not speaking for our Board or the Organization because we haven't ; li had time to bring this up before the whole Board, I do want to ?; point out and support what Miss Hector said because I look at Tiola '3 I Street now if this variance is granted, as a desert of parking and I wanted to point out that the Board of Zoning Appeals or the Plan- ', I ning Board - well , wait a minute , it ' s both agencys_ - your agency+; I and the Planning Board had some question at the time Mr. Thaler ' s � I i �E - 10 - I initial building was constructed as to whether Tioga was a front street - the front yard or the back yard, okay? I now see that t*e it „ address - this is in the minutes of 27 June 1978 , the Planning & Development Board, I now see that since the address many - it F says here all of the occupants of that Thaler Office Building are now using 309 N. Tioga as their address, making half their parkin j lot illegal because it is in the front; g yard. So you see you are going to be compounding that problem if you allow these six park- ing spaces to go into the area where the building they want to demolish on Tioga Street is located. CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Could you run through that again - I just wasn' t t 11 swift enough to follow it. MRS. SISLER: Alright, hold on. In the Planning & Development i Board minutes of 27 June , 1978 - read as follows : It was noted I ij that appeal 1030 , 1973 dealt with an equivalent situation on adja-11 �j cent property with Thaler as a principal . The Planning Board re- i commended variance of the set back requirements but also recommended that if the Board of Zoning Appeals interpreted that parking on the ii it Tioga Street side would be in a front yard, a variance for parkin in a front yard be denied on the grounds of aesthetics and degra- dation of the public environment. BZA granted all variances , I probably after considering that the Tioga Street lot is a back yard. IAll the occupants of that property are now using 309 N. Tioga Street I; as their address, making half their parking lot illegal because it f is in a front yard. Okay? In other words , you see what we are dealing with and we are going to keep on dealing with, this dues- tion in town is , with the parking requirements as they are now i; off-street parking, where you want to put a building on Aurora j` Street you have to demolish buildings that face Tioga Street in order to meet this building requirement- the parking requirement I off-street parking. So I just wanted to point this out to you in I is your deliberations that what you are building on Aurora Street youl are taking off Tioga Street, you will then have the "Y" lot which it i is now vacant, the lovely building that was Reinhart Interiors, yoo ,I !; will have a whole space of parking lot on Tioga Street and you wil l i �I i 11 it have two buildings on the corner and you will have Mr. Wiggins ' s I j building which he has just very nicely painted, surrounded by cars . i t� CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Well , if you will excuse me , I 'm somewhat puzzled it by this because the off-street parking requirements which we do n t lay down, I mean that ' s part of the Ordinance, are precisely what �i we are being asked to grant a variance from so as to allow this i building to go with far less than the forty-seven off-street parking spaces that the Ordinance would require and it seems to m that you are complaining that there is too much off-street parkin that will be associated with this building? MRS. SISLER: Well this is a past factor. It has happened - you `i i know, the Thaler building is up and it is a known fact that it's there. And it ' s probably some of our fault, not that we didn' t move a little faster to protect the rest of the buildings that are there on Tioga Street. But, I guess my basic comment is that you ! i either let the building go wi.th_ no parking or. . . i (at this point the tape recorder wouldn' t operate correctly so a break was taken in the hearing while another recorde� was found) CHAIRMAN MARTIN: We are ready to resume. Our apologies for the I� delay. One of the disciplines on the Board is that it decides �i cases before it on the basis of what it hears in a public hearing, i i not on the basis of what people may bring a night or two before and tell us over the phone or other things so a full record is ma e of all testimony on cases before the Board and it ' s available to i? the public afterwards and in the event that someone disagrees with what the Board decides, it ' s always open to take an appeal to the i courts on the basis that the Board has not decided consistent with i the testimony and evidence before it, which is why, when the tape fi recorder goes off, we stop. We now have a tape recorder running l Mrs . Sisler. . . ii MRS . SISLER: I don't know whether to say another word. Do you want me to read from these minutes on June 27 , is that pertinent I or can you get your set together? Do you want me to go over that i i again? {i i� f 12 - CHAIRMAN MARTIN: No. Just assume that everything we 've heard so � far is in perhaps mangled form but nonetheless on the tape . MRS. SISLER: Okay. All I want to conclude with is the possibility that this building could be put on some kind of piling and parkin underneath thereby protecting properties on Tioga Street and givi g l a few more parking spaces than six. That' s about as much as I really have to say. ii. CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Alright . Any questions from members of the Board? Thank you. Is there anyone else who wishes to speak in opposition! to the requested area variance in this case? Let me read into the !i record a letter that the Board has received that, appropriately is� entered at this point. It is a letter from Marvin A. Carlson and Patricia M. Carlson of 407 N. Aurora Street, dated September 4 , I' 1978 to the Board of Zoning Appeals : d 'i "Dear Sirs : We are troubled by the application CNo . 1210) to erect a new offi e building at 312-314 N. Aurora Street and 315 N. Tioga Street with �I out the required off-street parking. , 'By asking B-1 businesses to provide their own parking, the parkin requirements of the zoning code simultaneously protect adjacent I residential areas such as ours from undesirable increase in busine s i oriented traffic, and protect the central business district which 1; needs the spaces provided in the ramps. Current proposals for i! downtown development will probably place even greater demands on `i the ramp space. Unless there are practical difficulties or special j conditions, new construction in this B-1 district should conform to th-e wise requirements of the ordinance. i I "We can see no practical difficulties or special conditions in th.i I case. Although old buildings being adapted to new uses often pre- , 1 sent special difficulties, these particular lots are flat and new construction could easily include adequate parking.. The only diff - culty here appears to be the self-imposed one of wanting a bigger ( building than the regulations allow on the S & M Company lots . I "A second problem is that the current project involves the destrucf tion of 315 North Tioga Street, which is in a national historic i district . While the historic status of this fine old building doe$ not enter directly into the application, we feel it is a special !o condition of the property which should be considered by the BZA. i Zoning requirements are supposed to enhance the value and appearance it of land throughout the city. Surely the historic value and the r 11 historic appearance of land in a historic district are far better iI served by the present historic building than they would be by a :( modern building or by a parking lot. In sh-ort, the present project F thwarts the purposes of the national historic district legislation, 11 The city should not use its discretionary powers to further such a � ",I detrimental project, I! "Sincerely yours, /'s/ Marvin A. Carlson � Isl Patricia M. Carlson" �I M ,I �I I ,I i4 13 - j , CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Now, does the appellant have any additional test - Imony relevant to any of the points made by those who spoke in oppo- sition? Mr. Thaler. MR. THALER: I challenge anybody to say that they were born and ii raised in Ithaca, who has spoken against this project. I doubt 11whether there are three people in this room who can say they are I' native Ithacans . I 've been born, raised, worked, lived here, ; ; created a tax roil here and far be it for me to tear down a Nation 1 i Historic Monument. We discussed this in the Planning Board. If YO u look at the photograph, and I' ll show you another photograph o the rear of the building - the facade of that building was changed some twenty years ago , not by us but by a former owner. They remo ed the front , put in glass brick, removed the back, put in glass bric 4 , the building next door has been altered, I ' ll show you a photo- 14graph of Mr. Wiggins' building which is across the street which i ; covers his lot from line to line - I' ll show you the Ithaca Saving i, jland Loan Building which is on the corner, which covers their lot l except for some minimal parking and I 'll show you some buildings ;ion Aurora Street in the same block as the two properti-es312-314 . 1,JNow I submit to you that if there were aesthetics involved, Miss i! � Sisler would not have suggested that we put a building on stilts so there would be another twelve feet in the air. I suggest to i you that we have spent a great deal of time and thought in trying i ' to accommodate this site and trying to accommodate a building on !; this site which will be attractive with the set backs as the Plan- ;; fining Board recommended to us . We spent two months with architects Mand working with the Planning Board and I submit to you that our 11proposal will work on this site and will work in downtown Ithaca ,1 fwith. the parking that' s available, not only on the street but in 1! the public ramps . I would request that you grant our variance. :! Thank you. If MR. GAINEY: What ' s this here? (pointing to a picture) ,a IMR. THALER: That' s just an exhibit to show the type of constructi n I that we are going to use in the building. Just the block construc j ',i li !i - 14 i� ;' tion, the window type of configuration and to show that there will !fbe an accent line to off-set the block. That ' s all . That ' s ;; actually a fire house. MR. GAINEY: Right. 'IMR. THALER: And that' s not in the City of Ithaca. ; CHAIRMAN MARTIN: I believe that we 've heard all the testimony on i; ,, this case , is there anyone else who wishes to speak on this case o ;Ito bring some additional matter before the Board germaine to the issue in this first case? ' 1IMS. MILLER: My name is Connie Miller, I 'm an attorney in the City - i ;din Ithaca, New York. I was not exactly born in Ithaca, I was born 1 in Oklahoma but I 've lived here since I was S . I . . . i CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Excuse me, Ms . Miller, despite the suggestion by the prior speaker, the Board does not discriminate in terms of de- 1grees of Ithacans . Alright, you can proceed. 11MS. MILLER: I was just going to respond to the comment that there 1wasn' t anyone in this room who hadn' t been here that long. jPMR. GAINEY: I think he is mistaken because there is more than three people that were born and raised and grew up in the City of i 1 Ithaca. ` 11CHAIRMAN MARTIN: But anyhow that - do you have something further 4o say that is truly relevant, alright? What he said was not rele-1 lvant nor is what you have just said, MS. MILLER: When I was first listening to the comments here I jthought that the question was one that this older building on III � I� Tioga Street which I am very familiar with, would have to be torn I� i 111down to make room for the new office building. Now it is my under-1 standing that this building would only have to be torn down to make ;froom for parking for the new office building to satisfy the zoning requirements for parking which is going to have to be waived to some ! extent in any event, and my comment is that if the City of Ithaca J. can waive the parking requirement to the extent necessary to build ; this building according to the plans that are presented, which in- 1cludes demolishing this building to build six parking spaces , then I I I �I ,I - 15 - i 1 the Zoning Board also has the power to waive the parking requireme t to the further extent that would be necessary to preserve this bui d- ing and I think this building is well worth preserving. 1 think it could be renovated and some worthwhile use made of it as has be( n done with the building next door. And I think if the City is in- clined to waive the parking requirement to the extent required by the present application that they ought to go a further step and I preserve this historic building. That way we would have the offic `i building that Mr. Thaler wants to build, he has said there is ade- quate parking available in the city lot, and we would also have th i added benefit of preserving a very beautiful building. ( CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Leads me to ask this question Mr . Thaler. Implicit �j in the comment Ms. Sisler made and Ms . Miller' s most recent commen is the question, can this proposed building go up assuming it nee not have six off-street parking spaces without the destruction of 'i the historic building - - - can it? ii MR. THALER: I can' t answer that directly because I don't have the !; dimensions. I think it could but it was . . . 1CHAIRMAN MARTIN: So it is fair to say that it is the off-street ;! parking requirements that cause the demolition of the building on , ii Tioga? IIMR. THALER: That' s right. Which was based on a recommendation of ii,II the Planning Board. II CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Alright. Any further questions? Anyone who has ; not yet spoken on this case who has something new to say on it? I 11we move on to our next case. i! i f I� I� i i ;i �l f� i i BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS CITY OF ITHACA, NEW YORK i SEPTEMBER 11, 1978 !i I I EXECUTIVE SESSION !I I' APPEAL NO. 1210 l CHAIRMAN MARTIN: I move that the requested area variance be denied. � MR. GAINEY: I second the motion. 1FINDINGS OF FACT: 1 . The amount of off-street parking -provided with the proposed building is seriously deficient compared to the requirements of the Ordinance : 6 spaces compared to 47 . 2 . Nothing in the evidence at the hearing :i indicates that a smaller building with ii i` less off-street parking required and more space for it would not be feasible. !I 3 . The location of the few spaces connected with the proposed structure and the loca- tion of that structure have an adverse j impact on the character of that block of Tioga Street. VOTE: 5 Yes ; 0 No; 1 Absent U ii {j �3 iI i i l� i i i, i l i ii i �I it i+ Ifs !f I ' f i 17 - ; APPEAL NO. 1213 Appeal of David and Louise Minks for an area variance under Section 30 . 25, Column 4 , 7, 11 and 12 (_off-street parking requi e- ments, minimum requirements for width at street line , and minimum required front and side yards) to permit conversion of !� the single-family house at 207 West Court Street to a two-family house, in an R-3a tI (residential) use district. The property ;3 has no off-street parking, and is deficie t in the required frontage, front yard and i side yard. MR. HOARD: Mr. Minks is here to present the appeal . c 1MR. MINKS: I 'm David Minks the owner. First I should describe the property. The property is located at 207 W. Court. It has aluminum siding and is a fairly attractive house and in a lower income area. e � As an example of lower income area, a one-bedroom rents for about 11 $150. a month. The building is structurally sound but it will re- 1 1 ; quire extensive interior work and previous to my purchase it was operated as a dual family unit. As such the structure as it stands =, is presently halved and would require very little modification for 1a private entrance to the second floor , for the second family. I i think most people when they bring a variance to this group have one 1Ithing in mind and that is to have a sound economic basis and that is � my point tonight. The property that I have is in an area that is it 1�populated by people who are just starting, struggling and most of the homes are either multi-family or dual-family dwellings . This i , one stands alone in that area as a single-family unit. With the kind i` of modifications and changes I plan to make, there just simply has i jjto be a sound economic basis . As far as the impact , the area is root really suited for children. For a young family starting out, , having one child that would probably be satisfactory. There is a i ;(small back yard and there is virtually no front yard. The off-street ,1 itis a - off-street parking is a problem - there is no parking but I �Ithink it ' s a problem that 's faced by most of the houses in the area, 11since as I 've said, they are multi-family dwellings . I firmly sub- �I iscribe to the Ithaca housing standards and have worked with the ,i 11inspectors on two of my other properties . I 'm not a big time land- ; lord but I do feel that for health and safety reasons all the house it ;should comply. I don' t think there is a better time than now with 11 i 'I i ii ;I i I� `P this house, since it was burned and is not occupied - there is not i la better time than now to get in and to comply - to actually meet j `fall city standards and to continue to operate legally. There are i many houses in the area that are packed with college kids for $85 . CO a head. Well that requires a lot of scrambling in August and I 'd rather not do that, I 'd rather rent to two families ; preferably childless, and not have any problems and I think that I can contin e 11 ;Ito maintain these properties as the Ithaca standards dictate . ;! CHAIRMAN MARTIN: How were you able to rent it before the fire - i !jwhat kinds of - were you filling it up with single individuals or , were you renting to families? !IMR. MINKS : I purchased it after it burned. CHAIRMAN MARTIN: After it burned. Can you tell me it ' s rental hi - tory, was it rented to families prior to the fire? Because you de - cribed it as an area not suitable for families - I see a school . . . . i, and youth facilities and a park nearby and I would think that ther i 1being few single family homes in the neighborhood it would be an jjespecially scarce resource - well in fact . . . 1MR. MINKS: Well if you include the park that is kidde-korner fromi I: it - it ' s ideal - they can go there and play. i' IICHAIRMAN MARTIN: That' s what I 'm talking about. I` MR. MINKS : I 'm not considering that - I 'm just considering the I I ; house itself as it stands with the back yard. Where is your child it ligoing to play? That' s what I 'm saying. I 'm saying, if I would IIshow that house to prospective tenants I wouldn' t jump at the op- i` portunity with two or three children - I would lend myself to rent I Jing to people with one child or . . . �R ( CHAIRMAN MARTIN: You don't want families with lots of children is what you are saying? ;IMR. MINKS: That' s right.if I+ CHAIRMAN MARTIN: So you would like to . , . ! MR. MINKS : That 's right. It ' s not satisfactory CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Configured in a way that ' s not a g y possible tenant . i f MR. MINKS : That's correct. It ' s not satisfactory. I wouldn't raise if child there. it i i 19 - i i CHAIRMAN MARTIN: The question is not whether you would but whethe there are families who would be attracted to that as a possible f :; rental home and - how many bedrooms does it have - did it have prior ito the fire? And give us a feel of what was there before the fire 'land what you are proposing to put in, in terms of what the units 1 i twill have . ` MR. MINKS: Well there are beds all over the place. I couldn' t lbelieve the beds . There is a bed :, CHAIRMAN MARTIN: T don' t want to know how many beds , but how many it !! rooms does the house have? �I iiMR. MINKS: On the first floor there are at least three bedrooms i and on the second floor . . . i, IjCHAIRMAN MARTIN: Plus other rooms? IMR. MINKS: Plus other rooms . And on the second floor there are a least two. ii MR. GAINEY: How many rooms total? 11MR. MINKS: I gave the Planning Board plans . Let ' s see . . . there r, are four rooms, no five rooms plus a sun porch on the first floor li ;land there are three rooms total on the second floor. I think that ' s '! right . If Mr . Hoard disagrees , please do. .i 1MR. HOARD: Well let' s see, you show two bedrooms on the first flo r. I � IMR. MINKS : Well that ' s the proposed. . . f r I MR. HOARD: Well on the first floor , the partitions show a very i large kitchen, dining room, living room and two other rooms so ,, possibly, depending on how it was rented, no telling how many were d rented as bedrooms before. IjMR. MINKS: Now whatl propose would be two bedrooms on the first' floor and one on the second. That's a total of . . . I jICHAIRMAN MARTIN: So you would have two units stacked? IIIMR. MINKS : That ' s right. In fact they are stacked presently, f ` I :; There is an entrance to the second floor - it doesn't meet city 1standards because it 's not fire walled but it 's very easily done ,land it is presently configured as a two family unit . I i� it �i I I, j - 20 - 11! CHAIRMAN MARTIN: And the problem with the Zoning Ordinance ., in I! 11your plans is that there is no off-street parking and the lot size ! is small? i if MR. MINKS: Small. Correct. !I i I� i'ICHAIRMAN MARTIN: There is no problem with use. Any questions from iI members of the Board? i� HMR. GAINEY: There' s no room for off-street parking now, right? !I IIMR. MINKS : No sir. There is the street in front - but it has no i j parking. JDR. GREENBERG: And I think you've indicated it, but I ' ll ask the + quesj tion just to have it on the record, you do not intend to live ,I Ithere yourself? i. 11MR. MINKS: No sir, I do not . There - as far as parking is concerned u iIthough there is a large city park - that ' s across the street from I ; GIAC and there are many parking spaces around there and in that is ; area and most people use those. it !IDR. GREENBERG: It belongs to the Board of Education, they are not ';! willing to call it parking spaces for the public. I looked in to that for my own problem. I live in the area. t ( CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Any further questions for Mr. Minks? Do you hav ii ! anything further to add? �i !IMR. MINKS: No. Thank you. ! CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Thank you. Is there anyone else with testimony !Ion the request for an area variance by the Minks? We move on to i jthe next case. fi i l I 'I i� I l !I j1 'I �I - 21 - l BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS i+ CITY OF ITHACA, NEW YORK SEPTEMBER 11 , 1978 !I EXECUTIVE SESSION i 'IAPPEAL NO. 1213 : i w. CHAIRMAN MARTIN: I move that the area variances requested i in case 1213 be denied. i. IMRS. MAXWELL: I second the motion. ii ( FINDINGS OF FACT: 1 . The testimony presented does not warrant EI a finding that the property cannot reason i I ably be used as a single-family dwelling. i Any deficienciesin yard space in terms I� of play area for children are more than off-set by public open space in the imme- diate vicinity. i 2 . The deficiencies of the property are com- pounded if it is turned into two units an ii j they include no off-street parking and a w sub-standard lot size . VOTE: 5 Yes ; U No; 1 Absent I Area variance denied. i i I� i i i i �I I' �I I ik 11 � i - 22 - I� '' APPEAL NO. 1217 : Appeal of John Petrillose Sr. , for a use variance under Section 30 . 23 , Columns 2 a d 3 (permitted primary and accessory uses) to permit use of the property at 128 Dryden Road as a used car lot . Used car lots arc not a permitted primary or accessory use in the B-2 (business) use district in whi h the property is located. ' CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Is there anyone here to present that appeal? i4 'IMR. PETRILLOSE : My name is Robert Petrillose and I live at 166 Pleasant Grove Road and I represent John Petrillose, my father who 'i H owns the former Blue Sunoco Station at 128 Dryden Road. His brother i' operated it for twenty-five - twenty-six years. It has been empty iI for two years and my son and myself would like to put a few used i1 cars there. I� CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Okay. Mr. Petrillose under the Ordilnance, this i � is the first case in which a use variance is being sought . That i to say you are requesting permission to use that for something tha !� a B-2 zone does not ordinarily permit. A B-2 zone permits quite a range of commercial business uses . Before granting a use variance the Ordinance would require us to find that the building and land i in question can' t reasonably be used for any of the things that ar permitted in a B-2 zone. Just looking at the property, I mean - the range of adaptive uses of former gas stations, are found throu h- ii out the City. The Circus for one, the Pizza restaurant on State j� Street, . . . �i MR. PETRILLOSE: Our Carry-Out next to the restaurant was formerly i ii a gas station. CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Alright, so why can't one of these things that I! would be permitted in a B-2 zone be done with this property rather 3, than something which is not permitted in a B-2 zone, namely a used !I car lot? it MR. PETRILLOSE : Well, we didn't think it was feasible to put anotlier j restaurant or another bar or a wholesale - we 've had an opportunity i' j to rent it for a wholesale discount beverage, we didn't think that was something we needed on the hill at the present time. Also we I have a very congested area there for street travel at night and th s would encourage- would certainly make the parking worse and i 'i I �i 23 'f intensify the problem of traffic . If anyone has gone up and down that street at night - 9 , 10 : 00 o' clock at night, there is quite ai r '! risky problem there. 'j MR. GAINEY: Do you plan to just display cars in this area or do 11you plan to repair. . . ? s, MR. PETRTLLOSE: That' s all . No banners , no string of lights or ip I' lianything like that. About six cars is all we can put there. I ! CHAIRMAN MARTIN: You are going to leave the building and just put jicars in front of it? MR. PETRI'LLOSE : That ' s right. 1MR. GAINEY: Are you going to be repairing cars? ,1MR. PETRILLOSE: No . We are not going to hire anybody to repair I' cars , I might put a set of plugs or do a brake job there myself if . . . but as far as having any body shop or noise after hours or �Ianybody operating it, no. My son and myself. I 'm still in the restaurant with my father. My son will be there at all times . lAnd we plan on operating from 9 : 0.0 until 6 : 00 . Saturday until noon. ! CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Have you tried to put the property to some other H use, I mean have you tried to rent it to others to use for retail outlet or something that would be permitted? I ;i ,SMR. PETRILLOSE : Yes but we felt that it was a very valuable piece ,i ;hof property as such - that we would have to - - we know the City ,} has asked for it and Cornell is interested in it . f CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Alright. IMR. PETRILLOSE : So this would be a limited time that we would i ii jjprobably want to use it . . . ,; CHAIRMAN MARTIN: It ' s a holding action . . . i 1 MR. PETRILLOSE : For our family only, that 's all , we would want it !i 1 jfor that. i CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Because a used car lot that can hold no more tha I lisix cars can' t really pay for itself? i! 11MR. PETRILLOSE : It isn' t big enough. That 's right, two inside ; not if we had to pay rent if we had to pay a large substantial rent ii 'Iwhich it would be there. f ! 11CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Further questions from members of the Board? ! �i ;SMR. KASPRZAK: How big is that lot actually? i ii 'i - 24 - I i (i MR. PETRILLOSE : I believe it is 102 ' deep and not more than about 45 in width. The present building sets back a little more than ha f ,' way back, I believe, on the depth size. !j CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Further questions? To focus in again on the I questions that, as I see it, is a stumbling block here and that is , is it feasible to use that property for anything on the list i 'I for a B-2? Is it economically feasible? We would have to find i! Ithat it was not in order to grant you this variance. MR. PETRILLOSE: It is not. We would have to completely rebuild another building for someone. We 'd have to build a new building o t I � to the street . . . ' CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Some adaptive use of the kind that I told you f ,- already is not possible? !' MR. PETRILLOSE : Well only - just discount liquor and beer is the i only person that we 've really had to . . . i CHAIRMAN MARTIN : And after you listed it as available. . . ? MR. PETRILLOSE : Oh yes , Mr. Wright has had it for rent - Mr . Wright ihandles my dad' s properties in the past. 'i " CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Alright, it ' s been listed for rent for how long? MR. PETRILLOSE: Yes it has . Oh he has had it since my Uncle Geor e i left there. I think he left there two years ago in May. li I CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Alright. So that it has been available for rent (land you've had an intem-5: lpropective tenant to two? 'i �'; MR. PETRI'LLOSE: Yes . But they want us to change the property laround. I didn' t think it was necessary because we know that Corn 11 I I is very interested in it and also we have been approached by the ` people of the City for parking. I Ii CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Okay. So you didn't want to invest anything as �Iagain it might require because of the prospect of selling it either , is to the University or to the City? I' IIMR. PETRILLOSE: That is correct . I could give anyone a ten year a'llease and then we are in trouble. 11CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Okay. Questions? Anything you want to add? if I ii i s I I 25 (,i MR. PETRILLOSE : No. CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Thank you. , MR. PETRILLOSE: Thank you very much. ' CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Is there anyone else here who has , first of all 'I testimony in support of the requested use variance for a used car ii j lot at the Dryden Road property? Yes . !I, MR. PICHEL: My name is Mike Pichel, I am an attorney. My office d is in Sheldon Court and my window looks out upon this property and �i upon the Sheldon Court parking lot and the Cornell University. . . . ' i+ , + The Cornell University is the Sheldon.- Court parking lot and the I� Ithaca public parking lot. This property is surrounded on all sides 11by public parking and I ' d like the Board to know that I am familia �ywith some of the transactions and the sale of property in the College town area and I would submit to the Board that this property f !i is a very valuable property. I believe they would be in the range �iof $125, 000 - $150 , 000 for the land and I believe that the use that the is requesting here for his family would just be a temporary use . I think it would be ridiculous to think that this was going to las i I for any length of time and I believe that any renovation of this ;! existing gas station, which is now - I 've seen them take the tanks i '!. out of the ground and the gas station has been dismantled. I thin jthat it would be unreasonable to expect that this is going to be ' put - that this building is going to be renovated and put to any I ; other use on such a valuable piece of land and as I see it I think they are just asking to do something with it until it' s purchased j ,land I believe that the plans that I 've seen from the City show tha 1� the City is interested in purchasing this and I think it would be �j ; foolish to renovate this building and spend any great amount of '' money if it ' s going to go into city parking lot or a city ramp as has been suggested by the various plans- from Cornell University an� i' I ' from the city. So, besides that, I think anything that would be built there would be an island surrounded by parking, T think that' i� Ihis use is certainly similar to the gas station that was there and I i .! was at the last meeting, because I 'm here to present another appli-! iI cation, and the planning Board suggested that this use be permitted , i� i i I! - 26 - I but only to the family, so I don' t think there is any harm that i4 1can come to the City by letting them use it with that kind of a restriction in it because I believe it would be just ridiculous to expect somebody to build up that building and then have it put to I some other use in a short time. I� CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Questions for Mr. Pichel? Question for Mr. Pet- { rillose that your line of argument suggested to me that I will ask a; 1'; him to think about while anyone else that wants to speak can - is ! whether a condition on the variance that would limit it to a defi- nite period of time - one year - two years , would be consistent with l the temporary nature that you have argued and that Mr. Pichel has ii °] argued, is really all that's involved here. I would hate for the i ;, Board to approve something on the basis of such arguments of temp0- 1rariness. and then have it turn out to be that the purchase never i eventuates and a used car lot is there. So — affirmatively - so i ;; why don' t you think. about this? Is there anyone else who wants to ,I 11speak. on this case? Anyone who wants to speak in favor of the re- jquested use variance? Anyone to speak- in opposition to it? � Mr. Petrillose the Mr. Petrillose, suppose the Board were to grant ; la variance for two years - would that be consistent with the tempo-I Jrary nature of the used car lot that you plan? i i I MR. PETRILLOSE : Well I think that would be fair. I think what my i ,! father is trying to do is just at a holding point to see what someone ,, is going to do with that property. Because there have been several Ijpeople that are interested in the property - I say several , three . +I Pnd I felt that it would be fair as long as our family used it and ; ] only our family would use it and in two years or three years , if its jjgoes , we can' t stay there because we need more space it ' s obvious] - I !, for cars . !! CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Okay. y DR. GREENBERG : Mr. Petrillose, I 'd like to - I 'm a little bit in quand-�LTy ?' about one thing - have offers been made to you in regard Tito the purchase of this land? You say people are interested - but i '`; does that mean offers have been made? �1 I i i i I' ii 27 - i� i� i1MR. PETRILLOSE : Well we turned down one offer for $100 ,000 , yes . ' I say "we", my father did. DR. GREENBERG : In other words , somebody wants to put it to a use '!( which is consistent with the zoning provisions? i SMR. PETRILLOSE : That is correct. ( DR. GREENBERG: So far, you don't see fit to get rid of it but it ') answers the question - what I 'm interested in - is not what you I� personally can do with it , but can it be used for something other f j; than - that would fit in with the zoning? Your answer seems to be ip yes. iI MR. PETRILLOSE: Well I think that in the back of my father' s mind j ;she ' d like to see Cornell develop it or the City develop it rather ) than have a little 45 foot piece of land be, again - not really the 1� right thing done there. I think. that' s what is in the back of my ! father' s mind, to tell you the truth. i; !i ` DR. GREENBERG: Thank. you. { CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Alright, we are ready, for the next case. i j1MR. PICHEL: May I speak to this case . . . ? !1CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Bear in mind that it has to be new and it has to i1 be to the point . ;i � MR. PICHEL: I think. that the Board should be aware that any use .a i± that anybody was going to make on this property, I believe would 1require a variance. The building now doesn' t have any required side yards or back yards so if anybody does make an offer on this i j; property to use it for anything other than to clear the land and t fuse it as a parking lot I believe a variance would be required forl i I any . . . H CHAIRMAN MARTIN: An area variance- rather than a use variance? IMR. PICHEL: Yes . But a variance would be required for any use of this property. CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Because of the yard ri,gh_t. We are now ready ) it ,'! for the next case, Mr, Pane's request for a variance. ii ii n i I I j 28 - ;f BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS CITY OF ITHACA, NEW YORK �i SEPTEMBER 11, 1978 EXECUTIVE SESSION 1! APPEAL NO. 1217 : �I (' CHAIRMAN MARTIN: I move that the use variance requested in Case 1217 be denied. SMR. KASPRZAK: I second the motion. I� HFINDINGS OF FACT: 1 . According to the testimony presented it 1i would be possible to use the property for I uses permitted in a B-2 zone and indeed ji the appellant has received an offer from 1� i buyer who would make such use of it . Therefore it would not be possible to find, on this record, that the property cannot j reasonably be used as zoned. 2 . The appellant indicated that the only pur- pose here is to permit a use during a short i j period of time while the property is being I� held for sale. 3 . A used car lot is not only inconsistant with zoning but is seriously incompatible with the area. LOTE: 5 Yes ; 0 No ; 1 Absent. �+ Use variance denied. I �i I �i i 'i � 29 - j 11MR. HOARD announced the next appeal to be heard. %i APPEAL NO. 1218 : Appeal of Jason Fane for an area varianc under Section 30. 25, Columns 4 and 6 ;! (required off-street parking and minimum !� lot size) to permit continued use and occ - ; it pancy of the building at 125-127 North Quarry Street for six apartments . At I! least one apartment and four bedrooms hav j been added to a non-conforming building with ! out required building permits and zoning I! variances and five dedicated parking spaces have been sold, leaving the properly with none of the required off-street park- ing spaces . The property is located in a ij R-3a (residential) use district. i CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Is someone here to present this case? t iMS. MILLER: Again, my name is Connie Miller, I 'm an attorney for ii Jason Fane , the applicant for this application for a variance . This Lnvolves an area variance of - the question really boils down to ! done of whether two efficiency apartments which are now in the ;! building should remain as two efficiency apartments or be recombined into a single apartment to satisfy two requirements of the Zoning ,i i; Board. One is that the property is somewhat deficient in square i .; footage. 8 , 500 square feet are required for five apartments , 9 , 250 ;square feet for six apartments - this land has 8 , 700 square feet. I lSo there is that question, there is also an area variance required f+ jbecause of the parking situation. One parking space per dwelling ijunit is required, there are no parking spaces with this building s§ Iithere would be a question of a need for one additional space. At i lithe . . . ( CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Ms . Miller, the Building has, in addition to the i jiapplication, a copy of a letter from th.e Building Commissioner to I I r. Fane dated July 10th which notes a substantial number of dis- ; 1crepancies between earlier records of the Department and what was 14iscovered on the most recent inspection. All of this suggests tha �! f substantial changes were made in the building without permits . Thei 1! ;Board has , in the past, denied people who sought variances in this i�general neighborhood, to do some of the things that apparently have 11been done here without permits or variances , so I 'd be interested jjlin hearing the circumstances under which those changes were made? E' Ij I - 30 - i 11MS. MILLER: Well I cannot speak from my own knowledge, I can only it ':• speak from discussions which I have had concerning this matter wit jJason Fane. I IMR. GAINEY: Is he here tonight? i � MS. MILLER: He informs me . . . I� CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Is he here this evening? I MS. MILLER: He is not here this evening. '` CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Well he was here this evening, but he is not at f' present? i! H was here earlier, but he is not now. MS. MILLER: e r , IMR. GAINEY: Why don' t we put this off then until Mr. Fane can ,i 1 appear so that we can ask him some questions? I put myself out tonight to be here and I think Mr. Fane - something of this impor- tance, should be here right along with us . CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Well , it may be that the Board will want to put �i off decision on the case until Mr. Fane can answer the kind of 1, ,. question that at least l'd like to pose . It seems to me that then are also other people here who have come to this hearing, who have I, views on this case, and it makes sense to hear what is to be said Ii ;! this evening and it may be that the Board will decide that it also i j wishes to direct questions to Mr. Fane. So why don' t we hear Ms . Miller out and others who are here this evening on this case rather Athan dispatching everyone until Mr. Fane can get here? MS. MILLER: Okay. T advised Mr. Fane, because he asked me whether i Ijhe was required to be here for the application, I. told him that it I is not necessary for anyone to come and speak. on the . . .. j CHAIRMAN MARTIN: It certainly is not required by the Board' s prod i 11cedures that the appellant be here, but if the Board has questions 11that can be answered only by Mr . Fane in person, before the Board �I ,; considers it can reach a decision - which may be the case or may ;: not be the case. Ii MS. MILLER: Well let me continue here. The from what I understand Tithe changes that Jason has made in thio building involve the creation !! of two efficiency apartments from a single apartment unit which pre- sj Iviously existed in the same in the same area where the two effi- i� iciencies now exist. it 31 - ECHAIRMAN MARTIN : Could you speak loudly enough so those could hea 1' ;; you in the back? ,IMS. MILLER: Okay. i i' MR. HOARD : You need to get closer to the mike . I 11MS . MILLER: I don' t even know if it is on. Okay. There was ori- ginally a single apartment which is now two efficiency apartments . IThe two efficiency apartments occupy the same space and are of the !; same dimensions as the original apartment. The question which is '; involved in this application is whether these two efficiency apart- jments will have to be recombined into a single apartment or whethr !i 1l they can continue to be operated as two efficiencies . I recognize that the City of Ithaca claims that other changes have been made , I li ;lam informed that those were change$ made prior to Jason ' s purchase I of the building. 11CHAIRMAN MARTIN: What about the severence of the parking spaces? 11 MS. MILLER: From what I understand in that regard, the City at on time asked Mr. Fane to dedicate spaces to the use of this building which he . . . CHAIRMAN MARTIN: In connection with- an earlier variance request, r ,, some similar . . . �I IMS. MILLER: I don' t know in connection with what. The dedication i' was never made and I don't believe th-ere were ever any parking I spaces that went with this building . He was asked to dedicate � I 'Espaces that belong to another building nearby. CHAIRMAN MARTIN : Which has subsequently been sold? He no longer owns it? I MS . MILLER: I believe it has. i CHAIRMAN MARTIN: That' s right. � I MS. MILLER: But the dedication was never made so has never renege ,Ion that dedication. MR. GAINEY: Are we talking 125 127 N. Quarry? �JMS. MILLER: Right. ; CHAIRMAN MARTEN: What units are in those buildings now? What do we j, I 11have altogether in those two? ii ;SMS. MILLER: I am not exactly sure. I believe there is . i � i - 32 - 11 MR. GAINEY: Have you reviewed this with him at all before you cam in to represent him? It seems to me that you are not aware of too ipmuch of what we 've got to offer here. it 'IMS . MILLER: I have talked with him about it . I do not know the layout of this building, no . MR. GAINEY: You are representing somebody and you come here, we ;; would like the information so that we can ask you questions , if he is not going to be available, and it seems that neither one of you ,, are prepared for this . I 'm a little upset with this altogether, t le i Vlwhole case. To me, I don' t think they are very well prepared at i� mall. They are coming in here to argue for a variance and we 've jasked her four questions and she is not aware of what we have. ii ,IMS. MILLER: I know what the variance request is for . i MR. GAINEY: We know what the variance request is for too but we jfhave some questions that we would like to ask.. If no one is going Hto be able to answer the questions it doesn't benefit us at all . 11IThis is what this is about. We have questions to ask. of you about t '' the information and you can't answer them, And you are representin si 1somebody who is not here and they can' t answer them either. !' CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Let me propose the following; that Ms . Miller com- �Iplete the presentation of the case insofar as she has information �4 'jthat bears on it, we hear anyone else present who has come to this 1' 1hearing to speak on this case , we will hear their remarks and then,I I I j�based on the sentiments that I have heard Mr. Guiney express , I wi1�1 I(jmove that the case be put off for further hearing and decision unti� ! some subsequent hearing when Mr. Fane can be present. Do you want li to continue? e IMS. MILLER: At the last meeting (lis. Miller is referring to the of i !jAugust 29, 1978 meeting/the Planning and Development Board) there i Iwas some discussion regarding firewall between two sides of this lbui,lding. And the question was whether ,Jason had caused that fire I li i wall to be pierced and the units on either side of the fire wall to Ilbe combined into a single apartment and I am informed by Jason Fane !(that the building was that way when he purchased the property, He j Iadded a door to the archway that was between the two buildings but j i i li 33 - Ij that - he did not build the archway himself. There was - at the last meeting there was considerable opposition to this application i I! There were a number of neighbors of Mr . Fane ' s here discussing ;; various issues such as garbage problems and cutting - mowing the ( lawn and shoveling snow and things like that which I would just pont , out are irrelevant to the question which is before the Board. Andl I also believe that tonight there are a number of Mr . Fane' s tenants Ehere who have threatened to speak against his application if Mr. it Fane will not reduce their rent or give them a more desireable apart- ment and T think you will probably be hearing from them. i, MR. GAINEY: When did he buy the property at 125-127 Quarry Street . ;IMS. MILLER: I believe about four or five years ago. The property I irwas purchased about four or five years ago. SMR. NOVARR: From Gallagher? !EMS. MILLER: I do not know. 'i i1CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Well what is the Board' s sentiments? Shall we lcontinue with the hearing on this case or shall we . . . ;HMR. GAINEY: Well we might as well hear the people who have come . ECHAIRMAN MARTIN: Alright. �'MR. GAINEY: Because there is no sense in them being inconvenienced !oto come back again. oCHAIRMAN MARTEN: Alright. Is there anyone else who would like to jspeak in favor of the requested variance? The sense of the Board I, is that this case will not be decided until some future public hear- s ;ling, adequately advertised, at which the appellant himself will be ;;present to respond to questions from the Board. Am I right that that ii its the Board' s sentiments? j I;MR. GAINEY: Yes - at our convenience. i ;CHAIRMAN MARTIN: The Board will be a duly scheduled public meet- ;; ' ing and there will be adequate public notice of the hearing on thisC ;`case. Now, some of you, it appears have come here also to speak (Ithis evening in addition to Ms , Miller . Any of you who would like to ;;present testimony now rather than at a future occasion relevant to Hthe Board ' s granting or denying the requested area variances, we ax� .9 Hopen to hear from you. f ;9 (k I I j1 34 - u !SMR. PARKER: I am Reeve Parker, I live at 123 N. Quarry Street wit 'i my two children who are sitting in the second row over there; !! ; Jonathon, age 7 ; Hannah, age 10, and I want to make it clear from �P il jl the outset that none of us , us three , is unfriendly to students . Il Many of the students next door have been our friends. They have b en jour baby sitters. The question is not whether students should liv jnext door , I am all for that, but how many? - Not how many will the house physically hold, but how many are appropriate for the properly f and the neighborhood? Last year and the year before there were flapproximately twenty-five students , give or take one or two. Some were living in grossly substandard conditions . I understand some l� were living in hasement apartments that were more than 50% under ground. That others had illegal sanitary facilities . R I� MR. KASPRZAK: Are you referring to that particular building, sir? CMR. PARKER: 125--127 N. Quarry Street owned by Mr. Pane . Two week ago Mr. Pane ' s attorney Ms . Miller was of the opinion that perhaps i' gnow there were six or eight students living in thebuilding. On my ;sway to the hearing this evening, my children and I stopped next do r i to count the names and copy them down from the mailboxes. The tally ;lis twenty and I will submit the tally to the Board for its interes . ! ; And I understand that the two room basement apartment goes for $18 . 00 ' a month. In the three years since I have lived at 123 N. Quarry S . i !� I have looked forward to certain stretch of time in June and a cer tain stretch of time in August when the University is not in session nand I can park my car in front of my house at 123 N. Quarry Street 'i The rest of the time I just don't bother. There are no places ava' 1 - able on Quarry Street most days , most nights . It also involves sore I ` inconvenience when it comes to unloading groceries or unloading pu - I,1chases for the house and I 'm also involved in a dangerous illegal , temporary double parking situation, unloading my children and the I, ! !! things I have purchased in order to take them into the house - rather Athan to carry them all the way up from the garage I have to rent all Ila property two places down on Quarry Street . During the year ther if ;' are other problems and I suggest that while they are not immediately i part of the issue tonight they are relevant to the question of how i ;! many students should be living in that house, how many apartments �� II ,i .E j - 35 - ji should be permitted. There is continual litter about the house , ' students frequently use my lawn and steps as a thoroughfare, which I wouldn' t object to on an occasional basis but when it becomes a i� matter of course , I have questions about that . There are pets living next door that are continually tearing up my lawn, releaving them- (± selves - on an occasional basis it might not be a nuisance but the i ;; more students , the more pets . There are noisy late night parties jjseveral times a year and again the same questions obtained. The 111andlord is grossly negligent about snow removal . I do not believ i that more than once or twice at the most last winter, was the walk p highly dangerous is . lishoveled. As a result there was a build u of hi hl dan i; g ii Of I ever wanted to walk toward Seneca Street, I had to go out int lithe road and I noticed many other people using the sidewalk on it Auarry Street suffered the same inconvenience. Two years ago in t e ?isummer , and this may bear more directly on the 125 side of the house i Il immediately facing mine, was , I 'm of the opinion, sub-divided illegal- illy without a building permit. This May, this past May, I heard II !jsounds of what sounded like, yet again, major construction and I s w !1that a screened porch was being enclosed on the rear of the buildi 'g Ii !! again without a building permit . I happened, the next morning, to ii Ilsee Mr. Fane who lives at 133 N. Quarry Street, getting into his IIcar - so I got out of my car as I was driving to work and said than �I 4' T had noticed this construction going on and I wondered if it was , indeed, to increase the occupancy of the building and did he have I a building permit? His advice to me , and I am quoting as to the (; best of my recollection, was "Don' t go sticking your nose where itI ;! doesn' t belong. " The next day I wrote a letter detailing these cor> - ii ; plaints and I received, subsequent to that , a few days later from i L i IJMr. Fane, a letter containing these paragraphs : "If you are con- I+ I Ilcerned about parking in the neighborhood, I would urge you to adjo 'n i� !� me in requesting that the City remove alternate side of the street I I J parking restrictions on E. Seneca Street , Eddy Street and other wi e ,i ; streets . I have yet to hear a cogent defense of these rules but I1they do reduce the number of available overnight parking spaces by Ij !i 11 if li i� 36 - '! almost 50% . I have considered renting parking spaces and providin� ; them to my tenants . The main result would be to corner the local ii !imarket on off-street parking places . I do not believe that this would be to your benefit. 125-127 N. Quarry Street does not have Many off-street parking spaces of its own for the same reason that I{ ! your house at 123 does not have any. " I own one car at 123. His 11final sentence : "It has been my experience that neighbors who ; complain vociferously tend to move within the following six to ii twelve months . Is that your plan? Yours , Jason H. Fane . " `1'o { return to the issue I think it ' s not, again, whether students should live there, but how many and also a related issue, Is the Board oil ( Zoning Appeals ready at any point to condone such flagrant violation of the regulations? And such flagrant disregard to the well being 1of the neighborhood? What happens to a house and what happens to 1+ the neighborhood? I suggest that so many students living in such i ! close quarters lose their sense of living in a residential communit . They become subject to the same kinds of anonymity towards each If other that we find are problems in the big cities . And the neigh- borhood itself comes to be treated as one extended dormitory. I �E 1 think the Board of Zoning Appeals can draw a very firm line and sa - lreturn this building to compliance. Do something to provide off- street parking. Not to do this will be to further jeopardize what is already a very delicate balance of a residential neighborhood. , There are families with small children. I 'm not the only repre- sentative of such. a family in this room, There are families of sm ll Hchildren who live close by to such properties . Right now the neig - borhood is so delicately balanced that I think, if the present con Iditions were to continue, it would be very hard for me, say in fiv years, to sell my house to another family. The logical fate would 1 Jjbe for it to go the route of 125127 . Thank you. ;, CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Are there any questions from members of the I Board? Dr. Greenberg. I DR. GREENBERG: I ' ll ask the question but I didn't raise my hand u i ;! for that reason, but Mr. Parker, when you noticed that a building ;! permit wasn' t available and that a porch- was, being enclosed and yo i 37 - i fladdressed this to the attention of Mr. Fane . . . ?I MR. PARKER: I sent a copy to the Building Commissioner. DR. GREENBERG : Oh, that is what I was going to ask. i MR. PARKER: I didn' t do that two years ago because I was too naive to realize that the absence of a building permit meant that ;lit was being done illegally. Had I known that I would have done the same thing two years ago. I wish I had. i DR. GREENBERG : Thank you. 11ICHAIRMAN MARTIN: Further questions? Thank you. iMR. NOVARR: My name is John Novarr. I am trying to purchase Mar- garet Harding ' s house at 202 Eddy Street which is roughly three ; houses away from being back to back to Jason' s house. I agree with ii {; everything Reeve has said. I 'm against giving Jason any help at ; all to make more money. He would make , as near as I can tell , one of the rottenest neighbors in Ithaca, he ' s got a reputation. . . ! CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Can I interrupt you? The reputation and neigh- Ilborliness of an individual really . . . 1MR. NOVARR: Excuse me. I think the way a man keeps his property , has a lot to do with what kind of a neighbor he makes and I think ,1 + ithat is the point I am trying to make. ii CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Can you tell us about this property? I� iMR. NOVARR: Yes . In 1962 when I got out of high school I mowed ! I� '; lawns and planted shrubs . I took care of that house. At that time lit was owned by the Gallaghers who own the Real Estate Operation. I .; I ' I did some very fancy plantings there. We built some nice patios . l !You can' t see them today. Everything is all overgrown. I drove by' +' I ! there the other day, there is garbage all over the property. Mr. I ! Fane doesn' t take care of his property. Mr. Fane is interested in ;++,making money and you don't make money the kind of money that he !I liwants to make - by putting money back into property - you get it by I; ';,itaking it out of the property and that is what he does . For that .;reason he makes a bad neighbor. I would hope that the BZA would not if ,laid him in doing this to the neighborhood. I would hope that where ;lit is possible you would support neighborhoods , you would support {people who are interested in keeping up the city of Ithaca - adding I , ii 38 - i to the City of Ithaca rather than detracting from it. Thank you. CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Is there anyone else who has testimony bearing o I; this case? Let me make it clear that variances are not plums to ;i good citizens or things that are denied "bad citizens" . What we iiare interested in is that property, it ' s history, what was done to it that creates this problem, dimensions of the problem. Sir . ;SMR. LEE: My name is Boardman Lee, I own the property at 711 E. i �iSeneca Street which is on the corner of Quarry and Seneca and just i ; more or less opposite the property we are talking about . I have I� lived there for twenty-five years now. 1 am opposed to the granti g of this variance because in general I have nothing against Mr. Fan personally and I 'm on the best of terms with him as far as that goEs hand I wish him all success in his endeavors but I think that he should abide by the applicable rules and regulations of the City, n I' 1,1every respect, in fairness to others in the City in the same line f ;., business and also in order to maintain the character of the neigh- { borhood, and you would think that he would be , himself, interested in being in conformity with the regulations because his property i i going to be that much more readily saleable if he should want to ell and if it is in conformity whereas if it is not, the - obviously it is not as saleable. Now, in my understanding that he used to I I solve this parking problem by owning a property across Seneca Str et I I � fiat the northeast corner of the intersection of Quarry and behind {jwhich he created a fair sized parking space, perhaps fifteen or twenty cars , and he allowed his tenants from these houses down the 11street, where there is no parking, to occupy - this place as part 'a I jof the off-street parking and he has since sold that property. So l; this is the reason why I think he is in trouble today and I just suggest to the Board that you do not permit these variances to 11occur. There is - the thought occurs to me that the East Hill ,;,! School may be a place where parking might be obtained for such j properties as Mr. Fanes . I do not know whether the School Board jwould be amenable to renting space down there or not, but that is ii {Ijust a suggestion. li i I t - 39 - �3 i 11CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Mr. Lee, not only is the mystery of the severenc �q l of those parking spaces something that bears on this case, but als :, such evidence as we 've received that changes were made to the ;' building subsequent to the last City inspection in 168 which added + 11units and therefore added to the off-street parking and other vari- ance problems . Are you able to cast any light on that? I 11MR. LEE : I know nothing about that Mr. Martin. CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Any questions? Thank you. Anyone else who has I j� testimony? Yes. MR. GOODING : My name is David Gooding, I live at 105 Eddy Street ii !' in a house that I own there. I would like to oppose the granting `jof this variance on several grounds which I think have already been i } stated. Perhaps the least serious in my view, parking is extremely i ? tight on Quarry Street and that, in itself, constitutes a problem. Il The neighborhood - that section of East Hill is presently a, in my i1, a very viable mix of student housing and families such as my own. The Zoning Board I think has gone to a good deal of trouble li Ito preserve that mix. My own property and the properties on Orcha d ,{ Place, for example, where the zoning was recently changed in an ; effort to preserve the character of the neighborhood. I would sub- 111mit that the kind of population density that has been sketched out I Ilfor us in this building goes very strongly counter to this being a it , desirable neighborhood in whichto raise a family. And the final i I ; thing is that the granting of the variance would, as far as I can ! tell, make legitimate what is an illegal conversion and perhaps a ` amore substantial illegal conversion than has presently come to lig t . I� IlThank you. I 1CHAIRMAN MARTIN : Anyone else with testimony relevant to this case? ,Again recalling that this case will not be decided this evening but! 11only after the Board has had opportunity to talk to the owner him- self in public session. We will move on - Ms. Miller? !IMS. MILLER: I would just point out again that in regard to the 11parking and the other questions that have been raised here that approval or disapproval of this application will make no difference '1 i j 1' 40 - lin terms of the numbers of people who presently reside in the (6 ' building, that the occupancy will remain the same . I was wrong at ,, the last meeting about how many people lived there, I believe ther ;his somewhere between twenty - twenty-five people. MR. GAINEY: I think you are mistaken though, because if we do vot I, against it , there will be a change in the people - the number of 3 people residing in the residence. Because if I read this correctly i out he has gone ahead with the addition of apartments with/a zoning va i- ! ance. ! MS. MILLER: This variance only relates to the question of whether two efficiency apartments will have to be recombined to a single i apartment. i CHAIRMAN MARTIN: This variance, as I understand it , is to make I l� legal the number of units there, which - some of which, based on i. ' what we have heard so far, seem to have been put there without a i building permit or without a past area variance. The deficiencies !fof the lot in question include lack of off-street parking. But i some others to and it would be, for example, quite clear under the lordinance and the law interpreting it - decisions interpreting, that i it is self created conditions - do not warrant the grant of a vari- ance. Much that we have heard suggests that the problems here hav been created by the owner himself. 1IMS. MILLER: Well the lot size is sufficient for a five bedroom li apartment so the question is one as to whether the variance will b j! ; granted for the slight deficiency in lot size. As for the parking i �Ithere has never . . . CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Wait a minute. The lot size is inadequate for jsix apartments. I ;IMS. MILLER: But it is adequate for five. ! 11CHAIRMAN MARTIN: And - how many does it have? I ;IMS. MILLER: Six. i! CHAIRMAN MARTIN: So you need an area variance for six? ,I MS. MILLER: That ' s right. i !i it i ii .I - 41 - :; CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Right . And you also need a variance from the off- !; ! street parking requirements? 1 ! MS. MILLER: That ' s right. That' s what this application boils down{ , j (Ito. And as to the parking, this building has never had parking ,! spaces . . . it CHAIRMAN MARTIN: But it formerly had fewer units and it formerly, 11according to at least some evidence, had some other parking that iF ; was associated with it which was relied on to meet the off-street (parking requirements . That no longer is there. So there have been i 1some changes that have made the parking situation worse. At least (!according to some . . . 1 !IMS. MILLER: There was some parking voluntarily available but it '!�was not parking which had ever been dedicated to this building. So : that that would be grandfathered in, I believe that the parking re-I lquirement, at least to the extent of the five apartments. i IjCHAIRMAN MARTIN: If the facts are as you are presenting them, i based on what you have been told by your client who is not here to +i '; be asked questions on the subject. i ?IMS . MILLER: That ' s right. And all I am trying to say is that this i application is very limited in its scope. That is the question at i I tissue. I 1 i MR. KASPRZAK: Miss Miller - you keep harping on that. May I point` 1 !bout that anything that you request with reference to that particular 1 I1structure will relate to the total package, not just because you !� I 11select to : apply for a minimum part? So don't give us that line, � � ((j alright? It doesn't work. 1 ,MS. MILLER: All Pm saying is that . . . 11MR. KASPRZAK: I hear you, I hear you very well. �' MS. MILLER: The variance - the area variance involves a deficiency' jin lot size and the question of the off-street parking - that is what is involved. MR. KASPRZAK: I hear you, I hear you very well . And I understand i1 '!what you are trying to say. But we have to consider the entire acka e not ,(p g just what you feel we should consider. Alright? i I it i 42 if II MS . MILLER: Well , that is what he has asked . • • { CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Ms . Miller , another possible outcome, the Board will deliberate on this case in executive session, the sense of the i Board indicates that it would not grant a variance without hearing t Mr. Fane. It seems to me that it is possible that what the Board i; �imight do is to deny the variance , recognizing the opportunity of j} Mr. Fane to ask for reconsideration of that decision based on such l ' new evidence as he is able to present in person. Could I have you' jlreaction to that proposed disposition of the case? 11MS. MILLER: Well I expect the Board of Zoning Appeals would make ` decision one way or another on the application sometime or another. i 1I don't propose to decide how you want to do it. , CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Alright . j MR. KASPRZAK: I think that' s what we will do . IMS. MILLER: Thank you. CHAIRMAN MARTIN: I think we 've heard all the testimony available this evening on this case, we ' ll move on to the next. I f I li ,f i, 1� �I i� j� �l i I i 1�r j ss 1; - 43 - BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS j' CITY OF ITHACA, NEW YORK SEPTEMBER 11 , 1978 �i EXECUTIVE SESSION s' APPEAL NO. 1218 : jiCHAIRMAN MARTIN : I move that the area variance requested i i .j I� Case 1218 be denied. Because of the impo - 'i ii tance in this case , of actions taken affegt- ing the number of units in this property 'j and the availability of off-street parkin for it , apparently taken without permits r j` variances , the Board will reconsider this !� case upon request by the Appellant only i , !j j the owner himself is available in the Boa d' s hearing to respond to the Board' s questio S . r i° Any such reconsideration would have to be after a Planning Board hearing and due ad- vertising of the request for reconsiderati n 'i i and the required notice to neighbors . IMR. KASPRZAK: I second the motion. j t. dFINDINGS OF FACT: 1) According to the testimony there is seriou j deficiency in terms of off-street parking ' and lot size for a property which has been ,j j y converted into six (6) apartments . All of the evidence available to the Board suggests i` that the extent of the deficiency is self I� j imposed; that it is the result of actions i taken by the land owner without building permits or variances . ! Jf 2) The property owner was not present in per- son to respond to Board questions about such i' action and the Appellant 's representative i !j j i! i ,I !! - 44 - i I ; EXECUTIVE SESSION (continued) APPEAL NO. 1218 : I i FINDINGS OF FACT: was unable to furnish adequate and de- tailed information about such past actions . 'I 3) The area, again according to testimony pr - sented to the Board, is one in which density and parking are serious problems so the deficiencies of this building are more than a technical matters . These problems were j the subject of testimony from several families living in the neighborhood. i 4) The Board has , in the past , denied vari- ances sought by owners desiring to do thel I sorts of conversion which appear to have been done here without building permit ori ii variances . The Board can hardly justify j granting a variance on such conscious iE Ij failure to comply with the Zoning and { Building Ordinanc es . I l VOTE: 5 Yes ; 0 No ; 1 Absent . 'i Area variance denied. I I I ! i I I l I I �I I 45 - ii MR. HOARD announced the next appeal to be heard: I! APPEAL NO. 1219 : Appeal of Mr. $ Mrs . Larry Driscoll for t an area variance under Section 30 . 25 , Col umns 11 and 13 (minimum front yard and one side yard) , to permit construction of an addition to the south side of their residence at 419 Hector Street . The prop erty, which is located in an R-2a (resi- dential) use district , is deficient in front yard set back and one side yard. IMRS. DRISCOLL: I 'm Sue Driscoll and I live at 419 Hector Street 19 and what we are proposing is to add on to our living room and dining ;) room on the south side of the house. Our lot is deficient in the 1i front. I believe the clearance has to be 25 feet from the street , we 1have 13. And we are supposed to have 10 on each side and we have 115 on the north side and we have 14 - and we have 22 feet on the j ;! south side. We are expanding on the south side out 8 feet and its ( just going to be used to enlarge our home for us , no other - you know - people will live there and it will be one story and it will conform with the house - and that ' s about it. �i CHAIRMAN MARTIN : Alright. The lot currently is deficient? i !! MS. DRISCOLL: Right. ; CHAIRMAN MARTIN: There is no way you can, consistent with the yard I �Irequirements of the Ordinance, make the addition you wish and comply? JMRS. DRISCOLL: That is correct, right. '` CHAIRMAN MARTIN: What you are doing is, adding some living room anc i ;, some dining room to your house? No additional bedrooms? IMRS. DRISCOLL: Right , i.t will be only one story and it will be on .lone side of the house. We will still have 14 feet from the proper y ;,' line on that side. ;! CHAIRMAN MARTIN: 14 feet from the property line on that side and 1, ,, then what comes after - what kinds of separation between th-e build) ing as extended and that . . . ? MRS. DRISCOLL : Okay, from the building as it exists , it will go oft 8 feet towards the drive or the property line. 'ICHAIRMAN MARTIN: Right. j MRS. DRISCOLL: It will not come out any further in th.e house yota{ ! know, from the front of the house to the street. It will be in , line with the house as it is . �� I i - 46 - CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Okay. !1MRS. DRISCOLL: And then the back will go ten feet from the livingi ii room - it will be ten feet from the front to the back of the livin ;! room and then from where the living room stops and the dining room 11KHAIRMAN tarts it will be at least another ten feet. MARTIN: Do we have drawings of . . . ? i' MRS. DRISCOLL: The house itself is 20 x 25 . I') II CHAIRMAN MARTIN: What I have is a plan of what exists . A dotted line and then a yellow line around the proposed addition. 1IMRS. DRISCOLL: Right. ICHAIRMAN MARTIN: With the front there Cpointing) . Now my questio is, how much separation now between the building, as added on to, and the next structure. MR. DRISCOLL: twelve feet, I 'm Larry Driscoll . :, MRS. DRISCOLL: There would be 14 wouldn' t there between the line I+ and Mickey' s lot? " MR. DRISCOLL : Right - 14 feet. There is a driveway which will �j { separate the addition between the next lot line so we still have a !; additional 14 feet, that includes the driveway on that side - the is ;! south side . CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Okay. 1IMRS. DRISCOLL : From the outside wall of the addition to the property ;! line it will be 14 feet. ii 1CHAIRMAN MARTIN: 14 feet. ! MR. DRISCOLL: The reason why we are expanding this - the house it- ;! self, as you can see by the print is 20 x 25 and the rooms are very :i small and the space is limited and when we moved in there , there ; was just the two of us and now there is three, a child, and we havel kind of outgrown the space that we had. HCHATRMAN MARTIN: Okay. Questions? Anything you wish to add? To (clarify what you intend? 1 i IMR. DRISCOLL: NO. I I 11CHAIRMAN MARTIN : Okay. Is there anyone else who wishes to be ! ;heard on this request for an area variance by the Driscolls? Thank ;!you. Next case? 'I "i i i - 47 - il i E BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS CITY OF ITHACA, NEW YORK SEPTEMBER 11 , 1978 g EXECUTIVE SESSION it i APPEAL NO. 1219 : ,i CHAIRMAN MARTIN: I move that the area variance in Case 4 1219 be granted. 1MRS. MAXWELL: I second the motion. i FINDINGS OF FACT: 1) The proposed addition which adds to the living room and dining room of a single �I I family dwelling requires a variance since the lot is already too small in terms of i! zoning ordinance requirements . i I� 2) The proposed addition does not represent a serious problem for neighbors, it does rot firepresent a serious increase in density. I' I VOTE: Yes 5 ; No 0 ; Absent 1 . Area variance granted. ! I 'I �I I I I i� ff 3 f it it } ii �l � 1 1 s IE IJ .i 'i - 48 - i t 11MR. HOARD announced the next appeal to be heard: !' APPEAL NO. 1220 : Appeal of Andrew and Virginia Rudd for an 1 area variance under Section 30 . 25, Column !f 11, 12 and 13 (required minimum front yard ii and two side yards) to permit construction of a 10 ' x 11 ' deck at the rear of the i single-family house at 314 Columbia Stree . The property which is located in an R-lb !� (residential) use district, is deficient in required front yard and in both side yards . MRS. RUDD: I 'm Virginia Rudd and I 'm the owner of the property. , We have brought this before the Board because the house was built f before the present zoning legislation and so it is non-conforming. i i The permission we are asking for is to build a small open deck as shown - I have a plan here for it - iM 1CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Can you leave this with_ us? ;' MRS. RUDD: Surely. It ' s actually 12 x 12 , I think the dimensions i! you gave were 10 x 10 . The deck will not change the distance of 'i 3 the present building line in relation to the property line which i i �Ideficient on that side of the house as it will extend into the bac Pyard area which has plenty of room. I have a plan here also of the additional structure and where it will be on the house. I think that ' i CHAIRMAN MARTIN: So the deficiencies of the property are in the front ,land the sides? This goes into the back? ,IMRS. RUDD: Yes. I't, in fact, well it comes off of it - off the side jjinto the back. Would you like to look at this? !i ;` CHAIRMAN MARTIN: We have a copy of it . 11MRS. RUDD: Okay. The deck is to be used as an outer space for jrecreati.on and relaxation essentially. We believe it will enhance i! the ammenities of the house especially as the house is above groun ! at the back so that the basement is above ground so there is no I i� 111access to outdoor space without going through the basement or jaround the house. It ' s only visible to immediate neighbors who bot I ` expressed their encouragement in us doing this . They are both in ! favor. We have had a good response from the neighborhood - they ari 111all glad that we are trying to improve our property. That ' s essen- j1tially it . i !i 'I i f? y 49 CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Does this replace a porch or some other . . . ? '! MRS. RUDD: No , it ' s a new extension. j CHAIRMAN MARTIN: A new extension. Will any portion of the new it ;; building be enclosed or is/all open? 11MRS. RUDD No , it ' s just to be an open platform essentially - 4above ground because it is coming off the first - the main living llfloor which is above ground, on the back. ' CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Alright. it 11MRS. RUDD: It ' ll be a wood structure just for the balustrade, for safety. ! ,' CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Any questions? �i !' MR. GAINEY: There' s no entrance on the side of that , is there? !! MRS. RUDD: The entrance is through the building. f MR. GAINEY: Through the basement? The basement comes out even ;: with the back yard? MRS. RUDD: Yes - the bottom of the basement . The deck will be a ' story above ground essentially. ; CHAIRMAN MARTIN: No questions? Thank you Mrs . Rudd. l , MRS. RUDD: Thank you. ,, CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Is there anyone else who would like to be heard iI ' in favor of this requested area variance? Anyone who would like to ,, speak in opposition to it? Our next case. i `!MR. GAINEY: I 've got one question. i �ICHAIRMAN MARTIN: Yes . Another question- Mrs. Rudd. ;SMR. GAINEY: Where the sliding glass door is - is this area there Pow? ;MRS . RUDD : It' s being - we are having it closed in - we have per- �mission for that - already passed. `IMR. GAINEY: That was an open structure right? ; MRS. RUDD: That was an open porch and we - when we began to build I lit we didn' t realize that we were in unvariance. i 'SMR. GAINEY: Thank you. ii CHAIRMAN MARTIN : Next case. 'I ii , l II II - 44 - 1 + EXECUTIVE SESSION (continued) i APPEAL NO. 1218 : i !, FINDINGS OF FACT: was unable to furnish adequate and de- ! f tailed information about such past actions . Ii 3) The area, again according to testimony pre sented to the Board, is one in which density and parking are serious problems so the i , deficiencies of this building are more th n !i technical matters. These problems were I v the subject of testimony from several ii families living in the neighborhood. 4) The Board has , in the past , denied vari- ances sought by owners desiring to do the , sorts of conversion which appear to have been done here without building permit orj 6� variances . The Board can hardly justify € granting a variance on such conscious I i� failure to comply with the Zoning and Building Ordinanc es . Ij i� € HVOTE: 5 Yes ; U No ; 1 Absent . Area variance denied. �j j !i Ij i ,I i .Y 'I 9 !� I l� I i i i, ii , I € li I li ! 'I ii i! .. I i 45 i i' MR. HOARD announced the next appeal to be heard: `s i; APPEAL NO. 1219 : Appeal of Mr. & Mrs . Larry Driscoll for an area variance under Section 30 . 25 , Col umns 11 and 13 (minimum front yard and one side yard) , to permit construction of an addition to the south side of theirl 1 residence at 419 Hector Street. The prop erty, which is located in an R-2a (resi- dential) use district , is deficient in �i front yard set back and one side yard. I IIMRS. DRISCOLL: I 'm Sue Driscoll and I live at 419 Hector Street !E and what we are proposing is to add on to our living room and dini g room on the south side of the house. Our lot is deficient in the ! front. I believe the clearance has to be 25 feet from the street , we �Jhave 13. And we are supposed to have 10 on each side and we have j� 5 on the north side and we have 14 - and we have 22 feet on the I 1south side. We are expanding on the south side out 8 feet and it s just going to be used to enlarge our home for us , no other - you know - people will live there and it will be one story and it will ! �i 'l conform with the house - and that ' s about it. j CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Alright. The lot currently is deficient? !IMS. DRISCOLL: Right. 1jCHAIRMAN MARTIN: There is no way you can, consistent with the yar `jrequirements of the Ordinance, make the addition you wish and comp y? '' MRS. DRISCOLL: That is correct, right, j 'i '' CHAIRMAN MARTIN: What you are doing is adding some living room an4 ! some dining room to your house? No additional bedrooms? I ' MRS. DRISCOLL: Right, it will be only one story and it will be oni one side of the house. We will still have 14 feet from the propertIy I ; line on that side. 1ICHAIRMAN MARTIN: 14 feet from the property line on that side and Jthen what comes after - what kinds of separation between the build! ming as extended and that . . . ? !! MRS. DRISCOLL : Okay, from the building as it exists , it will go out i 8 feet towards the drive or the property line. ; CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Right. ! MRS. DRLSCOLL; It will not come out any further in the house you 1know, from the front of the house to the street. It will be in �i i6 line with the house as it is . 1� i 1 , i - 46 - i CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Okay. ;, MRS. DRISCOLL: And then the back will go ten feet from the living j room - it will be ten feet from the front to the back of the livin �Iroom and then from where the living room stops and the dining room starts it will be at least another ten feet. i !ICHAIRMAN MARTIN: Do we have drawings of . . . ? i' 11MRS. DRISCOLL: The house itself is 20 x 25. CHAIRMAN MARTIN: What I have is a plan of what exists . A dotted line and then a yellow line around the proposed addition. IMRS. DRISCOLL: Right. CHAIRMAN MARTIN: With the front there (pointing) . Now my questio Jis , how much separation now between the building, as added on to, and the next structure. 11MR. DRISCOLL: twelve feet, I 'm Larry Driscoll . ;i j MRS. DRISCOLL : There would be 14 wouldn' t there between the line (1 !; and Mickey' s lot? ii MR. DRISCOLL : Right - 14 feet. There is a driveway which will j separate the addition between the next lot line so we still have a I{if{ additional 14 feet, that includes the driveway on that side - the 11 iI << south side . i� ,I ii CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Okay. MIMRS. DRISCOLL : From the outside wall of the addition to the prope ty �l liline it will be 14 feet. ;I t IICHAIRMAN MARTIN: 14 feet. II I�MR. DRISCOLL: The reason why we are expanding this - the house it-! ,i self, as you can see by the print is 20 x 25 and the rooms are very i1 ( small and the space is limited and when we moved in there, there I 1 °,J was just the two of us and now there is three, a child, and we have kind of outgrown the space that we had. CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Okay. Questions? Anything you wish to add? To ` clarify what you intend? !MR. DRISCOLL: NO. I it 11CHAIRMAN MARTIN : Okay. Is there anyone else who wishes to be I 'heard on this request for an area variance by the Driscolls? Thank 1�you. Next case? I� ii 47 - 1 i BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS j CITY OF ITHACA, NEW YORK SEPTEMBER 11 , 1978 ' fi EXECUTIVE SESSION ii yAPPEAL NO. 1219 : M' CHAIRMAN MARTIN: I move that the area variance in Case f 1219 be granted. MRS. MAXWELL: I second the motion. i� FINDINGS OF FACT: 1) The proposed addition which adds to the living room and dining room of a single ii ii family dwelling requires a variance since the lot is already too small in terms of 1i jzoning ordinance requirements . ji 2) The proposed addition does not represent a serious problem for neighbors, it does rot I� represent a serious increase in density. JVOTE : Yes 5 ; No Q; Absent 1 . fl Area variance granted. i� li i Ii i II if it 4� i, ii 'i !i i ii 'I i it I II iI iS S� 48 - `� I IJ iMR. HOARD announced the next appeal to be heard: kAPPEAL NO. 1220 : Appeal of Andrew and Virginia Rudd for an I area variance under Section 30 . 25, Column I 112 12 and 13 Lrequired minimum front yar i? and two side yards) to permit constructio jof a 10 ' x 11 ' deck at the rear of the single-family house at 314 Columbia Stree . !I The property which is located in an R-lb (residential) use district, is deficient i in required front yard and in both side it yards . MRS. RUDD: I 'm Virginia Rudd and I 'm the owner of the property. + We have brought this before the Board because the house was built Ej 11before the present zoning legislation and so it is non-conforming. The permission we are asking for is to build a small open deck as d shown - I have a plan here for it - i; CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Can you leave this with us? ; MRS. RUDD: Surely. It ' s actually 12 x 12 , I think the dimensions you gave were 10 x 10 . The deck will not change the distance of ii the present building line in relation to the property line which i i i deficient on that side of the house as it will extend into the bac yard area which has plenty of room. I have a plan here also of the j� additional structure and where it will be on the house. I think t at ' I CHAIRMAN MARTIN: So the deficiencies of the property are in the front iand the sides? This goes into the back? i1MRS. RUDD: Yes. It, in fact, well it comes off of it - off the side I+ jinto the back. Would you like to look at this? I HCHAIRMAN MARTIN: We have a copy of it. ,!MRS. RUDD: Okay. The deck is to be used as an outer space for ii ' recreation and relaxation essentially. We believe it will enhance I! the ammenities of the house especially as the house is above ground 11at the back so that the basement is above ground so there is no I 1access to outdoor space without going through the basement or i daround the house. It ' s only visible to immediate neighbors who bot iexpressed their encouragement in us doing this. They are both in i 1favor. We have had a good response from the neighborhood - they ar Hall glad that we are trying to improve our property. That ' s essen- �tially it . j l i 'j I ! - 49 - I I'. I� CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Does this replace a porch or some other . . . ? CIMRS. RUDD: No, it ' s a new extension. CHAIRMAN MARTIN: A new extension. Will any portion of the new it 1building be enclosed or is/all open? MRS. RUDD No , it ' s just to be an open platform essentially - " above ground because it is coming off the first - the main living floor which is above ground, on the back. ii CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Alright. '! MRS. RUDD: It ' ll be a wood structure just for the balustrade, for s safety. CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Any questions? �i i MR. GAINEY: There' s no entrance on the side of that , is there? IMRS . RUDD: The entrance is through the building. iF 11MR. GAINEY: Through the basement? The basement comes out even �I ' with the back yard? ' MRS. RUDD : Yes - the bottom of the basement. The deck will be a !, story above ground essentially. CHAIRMAN MARTIN: No questions? Thank you Mrs . Rudd. !! i MRS. RUDD: Thank you. '' CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Is there anyone else who would like to be heard in favor of this requested area variance? Anyone who would like to �ispeak in opposition to it? Our next case. 'SMR. GAINEY: I 've got one question. CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Yes . Another questions Mrs. Rudd. j i! iIMR. GAINEY: Where the sliding glass door is - is this area there I , now? i (MRS . RUDD: It ' s being - we are having it closed in - we have per- i 'mission for that - already passed. �IMR. GAINEY: That was an open structure right? ; MRS. RUDD: That was an open porch and we - when we began to build i !� I lit we didn' t realize that we were in unvariance. !JMR. GAINEY: Thank you. ! CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Next case. � I j j j� I s — 50 — BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS CITY OF ITHACA, NEW YORK SEPTEMBER 11 , 1978 i i ii EXECUTIVE SESSION 'i {I APPEAL NO. 1220 : I' CHAIRMAN MARTIN: I move that the area variance in Case 1220 be granted. 1IMS. MAXWELL : I second the motion. I '! FINDINGS OF FACT: 1 . The lot in question is deficient in the I front and on two sides, the proposed deck I( extends to the rear, therefore does not represent an increase in the zoning prob- lem. i 2 . The deck does not apparently represent any problem for adjacent owners . j VOTE: 5 Yes ; 0 No; 1 Absent. j� Area variance granted. i j Ip ! I, I! I� I t �I !I l I II Ii I 13 i� I' I i! t' �I 't i ! I I. I I II 51 E IE ` MR. HOARD announced the next appeal to be heard. rAPPEAL NO. 1221 : Appeal of Steven Mensch for an interpre- tation or area variance from Section 30 . 2 , Columns 12 , 13 and 14 (required side and fg rear yards) , and Section 30 . 37-A-5 (park- 1 !� ing in front and side yards) , to permit conversion of the building at 900 Stewart Avenue to a residence with off-street par - �; ing. The property, located in an RU (resi - dential) use district , has limited space j available for off-street parking and is ji located within the curve of Stewart Avenue , '( and the appellant is seeking interpretation of the regulations as they would apply to 1� this property. l� MR. MENSCH: I 'm Steve Mensch and the property that we are talking ,' about is the Sphinx Head building which is right past the Stewart Avenue bridge as you head into Cayuga Heights so its a kind of a i jmausoleum looking building which sits down in the gorge and it ' s jbecause of the very unusual nature of the site that these variance j� come up. There is no problem with zoning as far as converting it ii into a single family residence, which is my intention, nor is there a problem with parking except as I ' ll describe. The property is a ;! kind of like a section of a pie. It 's got a long curve on one side and then it gets very narrow and on the narrow side is Fall Creek ll Gorge - it ' s a sheer drop about 25 feet from the building and the '!Ibuilding sits crossways on the wedge . The only door to the build; g - I I; the building is long and narrow and it sits crossways on the wedge , Hit has one door on the narrow end toward the bridge. So the first '! thing I need to find out is what the front yard was because that it,; determined whether I needed a variance at all . When I went to the 11Building Department they told me ;that the entire arc was the front i� !; yard, which left me with a tiny little piece of back yard and vir- '1tually no side yards and so , with that interpretation, which no on 1Iwas too sure of, because the site just doesn' t fit any of the little ii ! diagrams, you know? So with that as the interpretation of the site �l II needed a variance because I was asking to park in this enormous I ;! front yard of mine . Well , I can - but even then I don' t need a i� ! variance if I park perpendicular to the curb. The trouble with ;ithat is that in the 17 feet from the road toward the gorge, the ; property drops 17 feet so I 'm working with a 45 degree angle and i ii 0 ii 1f ii ii - 52 - ;i I - for every foot I have to go out perpendicular , I have to build 11 i! up a foot so I 'm saying that the distance required for perpendicular iparking is excessive . They tell me that I need 22 feet from the property line. There is no parkway - all there is is the street , I the sidewalk immediately and then the drop. My property line starts 11 about three feet from the sidewalk. So if I go out 22 feet from i° that point that puts me 25 feet from the sidewalk which means I have 'i approximately a 17 foot structure to build in order to support this j! parking area. So I am asking that I be able to build a shorter parking area because we don' t have those big cars anymore for one thing, and I don' t think I need a that would amount to a 25 foot j1parking space and I 'm asking to be able to put in an 18 foot parki g 11space from the sidewalk. Okay. The other thing . . . i1 ;` CHAIRMAN MARTIN: What you are proposing is as drawn on a sketch 11we have attached to the application? i MR. MENSCH: Yes. I 'm proposing to put in a parking area which ., will be about four cars wide - perpendicular to the sidewalk. I ',. have enough frontage - I have an enormous amount of frontage - so that I can put in - I can have a curb cut of that width without a variance - so that is not the problem. The problem is how far int 1the property am I to be required to go? That is the case as it i! relates to parking. CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Alright. I lHMR. MENSCH: The other part of it is that I want - the building way I a club - was a meeting house for a secret honorary society called jthe Sphinx Head Society. It ' s a small building, it has one large g 11room which was the meeting room and a vestibule . The building Ihasn' t been used for about ten years and it is currently going int disrepair . It ' s an Egyptian building without windows. In order t j make it into a house I have to expand it . It ' s not large - I intend �! to use the large space as the living space, as a living room but I ,, have to add spaces to it . And then there is the question of how ti i iexpand the building. I 'm an architect so I'm very interested in I !f ii i� 53 - lin expanding it in a way which is consistent with the architecture ) !' I but it is not quite feasible to continue in the Egyptian manner. i? ISo I 'm trying to find a way to add value to the building which wi] l 'I I maintain its integrity. Which pretty much means I have to build j ijsomething away from the building. And in any direction that I go, because the property is such an odd shape , I 'm approaching the property lines . So I 'm asking to be able to add closer to the property lines than is permitted by zoning. In that respect - the jzoning again doesn ' t really apply to this property. If the inten- ; li i I - 54 - i !� sense of its feeling about building away in some direction or another. We have to grant variances for rather specific things . . I 11IMR. MENSCH: Well the drawing that you have before you would cover {i lmost any possibility. It' s a question of . . . CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Alright. What I am asking is , assuming the Boar f jgrants a variance, it grants a variance to do certain things invol Iving certain degrees of discrepancy from the requirements of the i . Ordinance. If we grant a variance to permit you to add on going ten feet toward Stewart Avenue and going thirty feet out at an I� angle from the main structure toward the gorge, that covers what i you want to do? j� MR. MENSCH.: Yes , that ' s right. i ( CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Including its various paramutations? i` j MR. MENSCH: Right . I may build u from there but it ' s the distance g Y P from the property line that you are concerned with and that would cover it , yes . I CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Are there any further questions? �! MR. KASPRZAK: One question. Regarding the parking. Is this corner to jl visible enough so that it would not cause any problems/ coming and going cars along Stewart Avenue? ;� . . MR. MENSCH.: Well the entire site is rather difficult as far as If as you drive around Stewart Avenue it ' s a difficult curve anyway I there. I went up there with Mr . Cox from the Department of Public jWorks and we - he tentatively, he informally said that he thought i j that they would grant a curb cut as I 've described it here . I havt not formally applied to them. They would consider the issue at th i� ,! address . i I MR. KASPRZAK: I 'm mostly concerned with the traffic flow rather tan 'i �! the curb cut itself. MR. MENSCH: Well I think that they have to address that question i fof whether a curb cut is a safe one and it was his opinion that it ;t would be granted. I I !I MR. KASPRZAK: Thank You. �j lJ CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Further questions? Anything you want to add Mr . ! Mensch? Okay, thank you. Anyone else wish to be heard on this appeal? i i i - S5 - i li BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS i i CITY OF ITHACA, NEW YORK i SEPTEMBER 11 , 1978 i EXECUTIVE SESSION !E ii !' APPEAL NO. 1221 i 1CHAIRMAN MARTIN: I move that the area variance requested i case 1221 be granted on condition that the !� treatment of parking be reviewed by the City i Engineer to assure that the parking and it { access to it is handled in the safest poss ' - i' ble manner considering the dangerous loca- 1 i tion on Stewart Avenue. { MR. GAINEY: I second the motion. FINDINGS OF FACT: 1) The property in question is unique in topography and dimensions making the area requirements of the Ordinance difficult if lnot impossible to comply with if the struc- ture is to be converted to a residence . iI�i 2) Parking adjacent to Stewart Avenue is esse - tial because of the drop off and (2) addi- tions to the building extending approximat ly ten feet toward Stewart Avenue on the one I i side and roughly thirty feet diagonally i, !� toward the gorge on the other are necessar ii to add the living spaces appropriate to a i residence and cannot be fit if all front i I ; I; and side yard requirements are strictly ii applied. i (VOTE : 5 Yes ; 0 No ; 1 Absent. `i IE Area variance granted. (with condition) li i i �I ii i it - S6 - I MR. HOARD announced the next appeal to be heard. APPEAL NO. 1222 : Appeal of George Sheldon for use and area r variances under Section 30 .125 , Columns 2 , 3, 11 and 12 (permitted primary and acces sory uses , required front and side yards) i to permit use of the third floor of the i apartment house at 102 First Street for a �j artist 's studio . The property is located i; in an R-3b (residential) use district whe e j artist ' s studios are not a permitted use ; j� the property is also deficiient in require front yard and side yard setbacks . ' MR. SHELDON: I 'm Goerge Sheldon the owner of the property. It' s II an income property that I was attracted to largely because it has very large attic. I am an artist and I bought it with the idea of ;fusing this space as a studio . I discussed this recently with Mr. Hoard and I learned that it 's not legal because I don' t live in the building. So that ' s the reason for my requesting the variance I� CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Could you explain to us what turning that into a if studio - I mean, at the moment it ' s an attic, it ' s not a studio? i MR. SHELDON: That ' s right. CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Turning it into a studio will involve what kind � of shaping, reshaping and so forth? ( MR. SHELDON: The light could be improved possibly more window ilspace, running water - those would be the minimum requirements. MR. GAINEY: Access going to be from the outside or within the j( building? 11MR. SHELDON: From inside, yes . lMR. GAINEY: From the inside. . . i CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Do you intend cooking facilities , bathroom, rang � of things that would also be useful if there ever we 're an apartmen up there? i 1 j SMR. SHELDON: Yes I think. that it would make a very fine apartment eventually. It ' s by the - according to the assessment of the aper i- i 11sal that I have made of it it has 677 square feet. More than eno gh ; for a good size apartment . Of course that's quite a way off becau e i ithat introduces other questions of fire escape and heat and so on. li� But I would certainly have that in mind - this eventuality. CHAIRMAN MARTIN: The area is zoned. for residence, as you already indicated - some range of things are permitted as home occupation i it i 57 - Iif he person lives in the building and among them, presumably, is 'i .i ( artist studio, one of the listed items . You wor t be living there i you will be using it just as a studio . Will it be bringing other people to the building? MR. SHELDON: I have sometimes given painting classes - four persons is the most I ever had at any one time. I don' t anticipate ever 11having a larger class than that , there just isn' t that much respon e 11in this community. I would hang my paintings there and occasionally I I !! bring peo-.)I.e in to look at them bui: there would be only a negligible it i' amount of traffic. i � MR. GAINEY: Will you be using this on a daily basis ', or is this , something that is more of a hobby than . . . ? I jIMR. SHELDON: Well I try to make it more than a hobby. I have cer- tain spurts when I do work day after day and other times when I don' t. I am a portrait painter, that among other subjects I paint ! pictures of people . One of the reasons it ' s important for me to I ! have a studio in Ithaca is that - I live twelve miles north of her - land it' s hard to get people to come that far. 'i CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Further questions? !j DR. GREENBERG: The access to the attic is through a hallway so you i ;' are not entering through somebody' s property? 11 if MR. SHELDON: Through a hallway, yes . I stress that this is a ver i commodious building. . . It ' s the largest building in the neighborho d , apparently most of the property went with the building at one time iIso that it 's not cramped in any way, including the attic space that � I am talking about here - large ceilings , lots of windows , etc. jCHAIRMAN MARTIN: Further questions? Anything that you want to ad ! Mr. Sheldon? j' i MR. SHELDON: I might add that the apartments on the first and �I ; second floors - there are seven bedrooms in these apartments and '111 there are five people living in the building so thatJs certainly not crowded to begin with. CHAIRMAN MARTIN : I would be remiss this evening if I didn' t ask , you about parking. i ! MR. SHELDON: You have the plan of the property there? If �I '.I ii I - 58 - I i CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Yes. MR. SHELDON: The space behind the building provides parking. iICHAIRMAN MARTIN: Alright. Thank you. Is there anyone else who would like to be heard on this appeal? We ' ll go on to the next. it i i �I !i I� ii I � I g, I I, li i' ii I, i i� I! i I� i� i ;i I� l Ij �j �I� I I+ �{{I �S I� j - 59 - BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS CITY OF ITHACA, NEW YORK r SEPTEMBER 11 , 1978 'I I �I I I EXECUTIVE SESSION II r APPEAL NO. 1222 ,j CHAIRMAN MARTIN: - I move that the use variance requested in I i. case 1222 be granted on condition (1) tha the use be limited to that described in , I the application, namely use as a portrait painter by the appellant himself and (2) i! that the building code requirements of egress be complied with. ! DR. GREENBERG : I second the motion. 'IFINDINGS OF FACT: 1. The proposed use is not likely to have adverse impact on the neighborhood and indeed would be permitted if Mr. Sheldon ii lived in the building, as a home occupati n. 2 . The building is a large one and the attic is particularly suited to this use. IIVOTE: 5 Yes ; 0 No ; 1 Absent. !' Use variance granted with conditions . i i i �! 1 ail r ii ;I I` 1� I i� i 'I i if i ! - 60 - �j �IMR. HOARD announced the next appeal to be heard. ,i Ii APPEAL NO. 1224 : Appeal of Anna and Frank A. Pearson for an area variance from Section 30 . 25, Column 6 (minimum lot size) , to permit conversion I� of the attached garage and bedroom at 105 ii Homestead Road to a studio apartment. Th property, located in an R-la use district , j� does not meet the minimum lot size require- ment equir - ment for the district. I CHAIRMAN MARTIN: We have a letter from a neighbor on this case. Ilt 'i iiwill be read into the record. i MRS. PEARSON: Here is another letter . I 'm Ann Pearson, 105 Home- stead Road and my husband and I are simply trying to improve the '; quality of our lives a little, with teenage children, by putting i iia studio apartment. Between us we have five children that we have , been raising over the last eight years .. All of them have lived with ,I Ilus at one time or another and we have one and one-half baths which 11has always been something of a problem. But with small kids it ' s I isnot so bad and we kept thinking they would grow up. Well they are ; i 11growing up but they are not leaving home and now we have a fifteen ' i ,, year old who just moved in with us - our son who is in college has said that he would rather live with us than live in an apartment i iCollegetown and we just decided it was time we should do something i� 11about making it a little more convenient for everyone concerned. It I wasn' t so bad for children but we find it ' s inadequate for young iIadults. They need privacy and we do too . Our variance would not Xchange our house size to lot size ratio at all. What this is is a ' i,! garage that has been enclosed because it is too small for a car. I`` It was built in 1939 and the last car that was in there was a 19651 i! Dodge Dart and you couldn' t get the door closed. It ' s a space 20 ' !i Ix 914" and the space upstairs , which is a bedroom adjoining anothe ! ii 1bedroom9 is approximately the same size . So this would be an up- istairs , downstairs apartment. i ' CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Since there are no exterior alterations what is I! ;Inow a house with four bedrooms will be a house with three bedrooms plus a unit? 11MRS. PEARSON: Plus a little studio apartment. i !, CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Studio apartment. Alright. IMRS. PEARSON: We have no objections from the neighbors , we have h d '1 61 - i ; support from the neighbors and two letters came voluntarily so . . . E CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Alright, the only zoning problem comes from the ! size of the lot? 'i MRS. PEARSON: Size of the lot and . . . CHAIRMAN MARTIN: All the other dimensional requirements are met - � the use is alright in terms of the Ordinance but the lot size is significantly deficient? I� ;! MRS. PEARSON: Yes . There are - well we are about 100 x 100 , so w m are about 1 ,000 and I think it ' s 1 ,500 you are supposed to be, isn t ii that}right? I ; CHAIRMAN MARTIN: 1 ,500 and you are at least , according to the fig res that we have, 9 ,849 . i MRS. PEARSON: Something like that. (tape was changed here) property both have these little apartments that you don' t even kno4 Flare there and it doesn' t change the quality of the neighborhood. I J They are just hidden. il CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Alright. For the moment it would be used totall 4. 1by your family? Eventually it would be rented when your children have . . . MRS. PEARSON: Well if we get an architect and do it right , we i ( figure we' ll put $10, 000 into it and that ' s a lot of money to hav you know - just sitting there. i I I CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Are there questions from members of the Board? ' Anything to be added? i MRS. PEARSON: We have parking . e j CHAIRMAN MARTIN: You have parking. Thank you. Does anybody else j� h wish to speak to case 1224? ii j * NOTE: Apparently Mrs. Pearson misspoke. The 1 ,000 should be 10,000 and I� the 1 ,500 should be 15,000. BR it ;I I e{ ii i A 1 ,I I� ii i - 62 - i I BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS CITY OF ITHACA, NEW YORK SEPTEMBER 11 , 1978 ii EXECUTIVE SESSION I 1APPEAL NO. 1224 : CHAIRMAN MARTIN: I move that the area variance in case it 1224 be granted. ' MR. GAINEY : I second the motion. j ; FINDINGS OF FACT: 1) The only difficulty with the proposed con l� version results from the small lot size. �i 2) No exterior change will occur - no addi- tional bedrooms will be created. i 3) There is adequate parking. j� 4) The lot is deficient for even a single- family dwelling so the Ordinance ' s requir � - ments therefore cannot be complied with !� even though the use is a permitted use. t� 5) It appears to have no serious adverse impact on the neighborhood. s VOTE: 5 Yes ; 0 No; 1 Absent . i Area variance granted. I �I ii i `I i 'C i i i - 63 - I k i MR. HOARD announced the last case to be heard. 'j APPEAL NO. 1225 : Appeal of John and Ruth Petrillose for a interpretation of Section 30 . 51 (pertain- , ing to reconstruction of non-conforming I structures) or an area variance under Sec tion 30 . 25 , Columns 4 , 12 and 13 (require off-street parking , front yard and side yard setbacks) , to permit reconstruction of the fire-damaged property at 222-224-226 if Eddy Street. The property, located in an j R-3b use district, has been declared unsa e by the Building Commissioner, and is defi- cient in required off-street parking, and front and rear yard setbacks . i IMR. PICHEL : I 'm Mike Pichel and I 'm representing John and Ruth IPetrillose. I believe that the advertisement of the application i incorrect now. I believe that the Building Commissioner agrees th t i this building does not require any kind of variance at all to be is rebuilt as it was and I 'm making an application a little bit dif- f, 1ferent than that. So what he just said . . . 31 ;, CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Wait a minute, in order to be rebuilt - it does Knot need a variance? i i', MR. PICHEL: Of any kind. It' s not deficient in parking, in yard � or anything because it ' s a non-conforming use. !ICHAIRMAN MARTIN: Because it ' s a non-conforming structure, it ' s a. . ? i d MR. PICHEL: Non-conforming structure - conforming use . . . ; CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Non-conforming structure but a conforming use so no variance is required for rebuilding under the Ordinance? ;t i MR. PICHEL : Yes . CHAIRMAN MARTIN: You are here still which means you want to do j 1, something different? I SMR. PICHEL : Yes , I want to decrease the number of units . i CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Alright. i ! MR. PICHEL: I have three photographs of the structure that were ' taken since the fire. :F ;j MR. GAINEY: You want to decrease what? 'IMR. PICHEL : Decrease the number of units . ii ;' CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Okay. Could you outline for us what was before ? and what is after and why that requires a variance? !MR. PICHEL : This building was built in the 18901s . Mr. and Mrs . , Petrillose purchased the building in 1939. The building at the 64 - time that it was built and when they purchased it was three town- !i '{ houses. If you take a look at the photographs you can see how it 1 ' was set up. There were just three townhouses attached in one row ! building. In about the 1950 ' s - this building was built before it jthere was any zoning in the City of Ithaca - and in the 1950 ' s Mr. � & Mrs . Petrillose cut up the building and converted it into seven i! iapartments for students . On one of the townhouses it was cut into I! I two - one apartment upstairs and one apartment downstairs . On the i; j� second townhouse, the same and on the third townhouse it was cut into three . Since about that time it has been occupied by student j� from time to time, depending on the wealth of the students and the jway that students live, that it has been occupied as doubles in ro ms j� that have singles and I have some of the leases that - with me thi ;i ! evening. The building was badly fire damaged in January of 1978 . i I � I have a survey by a licensed architect and engineer which states lthat the building can be reconstructed - that the foundation is ;I sound and that there is no problem to reconstruct the building. I ; The lot itself is large enough that an eight unit apartment buildi g i could be built on this lot and with parking. It would mean the !! demolition of this building and it would have to be set slightly different on the lot. Now what Mr. & Mrs . Petrillose propose to d t ;` here is to take the two most damaged townhouses that were each ( divided into two units and reconstruct those back into townhouses �i � as they were before the 19501s . The third unit which was not badl ii ;; damaged, they propose to reconstruct that one just as it was befor i' I the fire. ':! MR. GAINEY: That gives you five units , right? !IMR. PICHEL: Correct. Now the reason why this application is re- quired by the Building Commissioner is that it would create two IIadditional bedrooms than there were just prior to the fire. Becau e jon the second floor apartments , in the two that would be reconvert d back and it would be primarily bedrooms on the second floor so you jwould wind up with two additional bedrooms than there were prior t the fire , so he' s interpreted the Ordinance as an enlargement of t e ;; use. I see his position, I disagree with. th.at but that 's why we �� I i - 65 - are before the Board. i i1MR. GAINEY: These townhouses , they are going to be rented out to families or are they going to be rented out to multiple - lots of ij students? ii MR. PICHEL : I believe they would be rented to students . This is !ra student neighborhood. We aren' t going to - I 'm not saying that �I it would definitely be rented to students, but I believe that the i economics of the situation would be that they would be rented to students . i MR. GAINEY: So what you are doing you are increasing the popula i jtion of the existing structure? MR. PICHEL : No, I don' t believe so. �l `siMR. GAINEY: You just told me you are adding two bedrooms . MR. PICHEL : Yes , but I don't believe that it . . . I MR. GAINEY: You don't add bedrooms if you are not going to, right . ? f MR. PICHEL : No, I disagree. I believe that the size of the bed- rooms are such and, in fact, if it' s calculated by the size of the :, bedrooms and the size of the number of occupants that are permitte I ilin each bedroom that the use would not be increased. But it ' s I possible , I think that these bedrooms could be - all the bedrooms , u ; there are fourteen bedrooms prior to the fire. ii l MR. GAINEY: Now how many bedrooms . . . ? it 1CHAIRMAN MARTIN: But the three units thing is remaining constant , i j� right? i I MR. PICHEL: Yes , there is not going to be any enlargement of this structure. H CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Not - no changes, so let' s just focus on the two i � in which there is change? i SMR. PICHEL : Yes. �I CHAIRMAN MARTIN: They used to have I mean - two and two, now ', there will be one unit and one unit. IMR. PICHEL : Yes . In the units that are going to be changed- they was a three bedroom apartment and a two bedroom apartment and you 'I are going to wind up with two - six-bedroom apartments . The one i� unit that is going to be reconstructed as it was would remain as i I i s i 66 - i ;. was . It ' s a - I believe - well you are not concerned with that I take it - there was a two-bedroom and one-bedroom and an efficienc . ; And those would be reconstructed. CHAIRMAN MARTIN: How will those six bedrooms be deployed? They ! 11will all be up or ? iI HMR. GAINEY: They will all sleep five people , wasn' t it? There is i� { ! something now that you can only have five people - different - . . . MR. HOARD: Well, when we are getting into that many bedrooms , it ' a "i definition of a cooperative household. I !f MR. GAINEY. Is that allowed in this area? i ' MR. PICHEL : Oh yes . jiMR. HOARD: It' s allowed but it ' s a change - it ' s a conversion. '!IMR. PICHEL: These all could have - all of the larger apartments ! f !Scould have been occupied as cooperatives before and the cooperatives ylare permitted now if it is occupied as a cooperative . The bedrooms in the - as they existed prior to the fire - everyone of them is large enough pursuant to the building code that they could be occu- r ii pied by two and most of them from time to time were occupied by two. !I 11CHAIRMAN MARTIN: And the new bedrooms? !MR. PICHEL: Some would be two and some would be one . i! 11MR. GAINEY: Now we are talking - there ' s a possibility of even more I i1people? !MR. PICHEL : No, I believe the total density would be less . The I (total density - what would have been - what I believe would have be n �iiallowable prior to the fare was twenty-eight persons and fourteen ;i slbedrooms. By the size of the bedrooms in the new proposal there j�would be a total density maximum of twenty-one persons . I believe iff +: this is a decrease in use, but you may not see it that way. Now i ,this building, in order to be rebuilt, does not have to be rebuilt !�at the exact same configuration as it was before. We have to cover jIit - we can - this building can be torn to the ground and reconstru tec I Ion the same spot into seven apartments , it does not - there is no 11requirement that it be built in the same configuration and I believ ;+that what was applied for is an improvement , I believe that the - at. Ithe last meeting the neighbors seemed to think that the building wa i - 67 - ;E a beautiful building and that it should be maintained and I believe i �w that that ' s a - something that the City might want. There is no i use variance requested. I don' t believe that we are asking for any enlargement and if this permit is denied I suppose the buildin '! would be rebuilt chopped up, back into seven units . I CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Can I understand why that ' s undesirable? "; MR. PICHEL : Because I believe that the economics of the situation !! would be that it would be economically easier and I believe . . . I I� I ijCHAIRMAN MARTIN : Easier to . . . ! MR. PICHEL.: You arenot going to have to rebuild these kitchens . . . ) r : and build the other apartments. �iCHAIRMAN MARTIN: Right . . . okay. It ' s easier to turn them back j� into townhouses without . . . i ,IMR. PICHEL: You are going to have a lower reconstruction cost and , i I believe it ' s more likely that the building will be preserved. CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Right . Any questions? o, DR. GREENBERG : It ' s fairly clear, there ' s no parking, no . . . I HMR. PICHEL: There is some parking. jDR. GREENBERG : There is some parking? The question I have to ask 11of the Building Commissioner, is the increase in the number of i� j bedrooms , that ' s what you are telling us , two more bedrooms , is �Ithat correct? 'SMR. PICHEL : Yes . !i DR. GREENBERG: Make the parking requirement greater? i � MR. HOARD: Yes. i 1MR. PICHEL : Did he say yes? Look, we are eliminating two apart- I I� ments. i iMR. HOARD: But you are adding bedrooms and the zoning goes on the ! 'jnumber of bedrooms , not on the number of apartments . j ` MR. PICHEL : How many more bed - how many more parking spaces re- il I quired? ,, MR. GAINEY: One for every five, isn't it? s; '! MR. HOARD : Let' s see, right now - as it is now, you are required i to have seven; with the change you would be required to have nine. l II That would be an increase of two. I; i ii j - 68 - ; MR. PICHEL : I might state that I - I 've been here on other appli- cations and I think that the Board is aware that most of the students that rent in this area are people that rent there because they don't dhave cars and there is a public parking place - the public parking ' area is nearby and I believe that I 've been at meetings when John i, Bentkowski , who is the Building Manager from Cornell University has testified that he has parking spaces in this area which are going t I+ begging and other landlords have parking areas that also are going ; begging; that this is not a - an area where parking is really re- quired or - I don' t believe there is any parking problem in that li area. jjCHAIRMAN MARTIN: Well we 've also heard testimony this evening about ' a street a block or so away - you know - you are speaking of the area j� at large - the area at small - has serious parking problems . , MR. PICHEL: Well , there is - it ' s a different street, I don' t thi k +1 1you can compare Eddy Street to Quarry Street, where you have parki1g f. on one side and quite a lot of room . . . I CHAIRMAN MARTIN: . . . off street. Further questions from the Board ? j� Area variances involved only. No use variance. The external di- lmensions are not changing at all? 11MR. PICHEL: Correct. 11CHAIRMAN MARTIN: The number of units is decreasing, the number of bedrooms is increasing by two . Since the number of bedrooms is in-1 i jlcreasing by two the off-street parking deficiency is also increasi g jby two. So that in that one sense if none other , in terms of the ;! Ordinance, the situation is getting worse . 1; MR. PTCHEL: Well , T would call the Board' s attention . . . I ICHAIRMAN MARTIN: In terms of the Ordinance' s arithmetic . . . I I ii 11MR. PICHEL: Yes , in terms of the Ordinance ' s arithmetic I think jyou are correct but I would call the Board' s attention to the fact I( ;; that this building has fourteen bedrooms as it is now, all of them I� llare large enough to be used as doubles . I don' t know whether the ! 111i' i students would use them as doubles or not and I believe that the I = proposal is for sixteen bedrooms of which some of them are not l large enough to be used as doubles so I believe that they - the i+ i !i 69 - i I Imaximum possible useage out of this property would decrease from ; twenty-eight to twenty-one. Now I 'm not sure that it would ever be ii ,; used as twenty-eight or twenty-one. When I first came to Cornell ii I�we were - Cornell was renting out their dormitory rooms in triple 1�bunks and I believe the same rooms are now being rented out to one Istudent because that ' s the way this - the students are more affluent i Mand they can afford to occupy more space and I think economically ! that ' s the way that thesebuildings are being operated. I j1 CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Anything further to add? I JIMR. PICHEL: No. I have, if the Board would care, I have an �I I1engineer ' s report stating that the building is sound and can be i i reconstructed. I CHAIRMAN MARTIN : Alright. Do you have a copy that you can leave i� s�with us? !� MR. PICHEL : Yes . i i1CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Alright. You also mentioned leases, what - why j1 ; should we want them? Explain what - would you offer them to show lus? 1' MR. PICHEL: Well, I offer to show you that these apartments have rot ; been occupied as one person per bedroom, prior to the fire. There was some - the Building Commissioner has some question about this caus 11� he stated that an inspection was made and that he believed that th' s ! was occupied by fourteen persons just prior to the fire. I talkedf I � to Mr. Ed Wright who was - who is the rental agent for the Petril- � loses . He stated that as far as he knows , just prior to the fire j ( that the Building Commissioner is correct, that the building was 3 Illeased to fourteen persons. He said he can' t tell at all how it ws occupied and he believes it was occupied - that some of these stu- ldents may have been married and some of them had other people living 'fwith them. He said that from time to time and he dug through his i ,i Molder leases - 174, 17$ , 1763, that these apartments were rented tol 11persons - to more than one person per room and I have some of thos� E leases . I don' t have copies but if I could get them back, I could I i ;; leave them with you, if you want them. i CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Does the Board want copies as part of the record ii ii i i - 70 - in the case? I think not . MR. PICHEL : And the Building Commissioner has assured me that thi was permitted for example an efficiency apartment could have legal�y !` been occupied by two. The two bedrooms could have been occupied by, ( three. He states that when you get up to four or more persons that' ', it would be considered a cooperative instead of an apartment, but that P� la cooperative is permitted in this zone and if it was occupied as ' a cooperative it probably was . He just doesn' t have records to 1, show show that - that ' s why I brought some of the leases . i 11CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Alright. ';MR. GAINEY: Can you tell me how many people were living there 1prior to the fire? dMR. PICHEL: It was leased - . I can ' t tell you how many . . . i IMR. GAINEY: Leased to fourteen? !i ;IMR. PICHEL: It was leased to fourteen persons and Mr. Wright tells i lme he believes that there were more persons than that living there .( it (IMR. GAINEY: Earlier you stated to me twenty-eight and fourteen i Jbedrooms . MR. PICHEL : I stated . . . (IMR. GAINEY: You say now it ' s going to drop to twenty- one and six- i teen bedrooms? MR. PICHEL : No, T stated that the bedrooms were of a size - each iI 11of the fourteen bedrooms was of size that the building code would , permit it to be occupied as a double . In other words you have to `have so many square feet for a single and so many square feet for a� ;double. All of the bedrooms prior to the fire were a size that s jlth.ey would be considered a double as to the building code. After , this renovation all of the bedrooms will not be of a size and that I ! would be a maximum, as to the building code , of twenty-one. I i Ildoubt that the apartment would be occupied by twenty-eight or twent - One. 11CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Any further questions? Thank you Mr. Pichel . I !here anyone else who w ould like to speak in favor of the requeste jlrariance? '� OBERT PETRILLQSE : I 'd like to state that I lived there two differ nt iI - 71 times ; once as a child and once when I was married in 1952 and we I i ( raised three children there and it was a very, very handy spot to J live - probably one of the handiest locations I 've ever lived in. , Plus , I was just thinking at the time that Mr. Pichel was talking i I that there used to be a double car garage at the back of that pre- 1mise and the entrance is from the north but the double car garage ii ] was clear at the other - south end of the property. I believe tha I lithose old porches could be taken off and narrowed down. They are (` huge back porches and there could be probably six cars put back 'Ithere with no problem at all. They wouldn't have a great deal of access - in and out - but most students leave their car by the wee if At the time of the fire we had one car and one motorcycle ] , there, and that ' s usually the way it goes . There is very seldom ;amore than two cars to that building at any time. f, I ' CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Alright. Is this part of what ' s proposed then, !` that there would be additional off-street parking? MR. PETRILLOSE: No - well , I believe it could be made very - at I 11least four anyway and six could be there. The back - rear porches are in need of repair now since the fire and I think that they could I gibe narrowed - it would give - there was always a two-car garage th re i ;! until I ' d say in the 54 - 55 and the roof fell in one winter and I ijwe took it down, but it ' s - it could be used adequately I 'm sure, 4ecause parking is a problem there ' s no question about that. But i I most students bring their cars , if they do have a car, and use it lonce In a great while or go home - or go back with. That ' s what HI 've found - that they leave . . . iiCHAIRMAN MARTIN: Does the Building Commissioner have a reaction t ! 1 ,! that proposal? IMR. HOARD: I really don' t know if there is enough room there but . MR. PETRILLOSE: Well we did have a two-car garage there and that !; was on the south end but I think those porches could be narrow - i ; was tight with two cars but one had to come out at a time - you ( know - come out the driveway but I 'm sure that by narrowing those ! porches that you would - and I know those porches are old and theyl are pulling away from the building and they should be repaired, but , 'i ii !I 72 - i ij I think that there is adequate room there. No question about it - '� I mean there is a large garbage place under each porch. There is i three porches - three rear porches - and there was always adequate i place for trash and that sort of thing so I think they could be , narrowed some and there would be adequate room with the right thought r' II given to it. jCHAIRMAN MARTIN: Okay. Thank you. Anyone else who would like to i1be heard? Mr. Pichel? li MR. PICHEL: I would just like to comment, I believe that the porches I fare required for a second means of egress . . . i II CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Yes - the suggestion was not that the porches bej �leliminated but that they be narrowed. ! MR. PICHEL: I don't believe that that is part of the application. ii It may be possible for parking . . . . . CHAIRMAN AMRTIN: Anyone else wish to be heard on this case , eithe I j in favor . . . ? i MS. MILLER: I would just say that this is a building that I drive �jby pretty frequently and I think it' s a lovely building it was before the fire. I think it blends in very nicely with the neigh- Iborhood - it ' s an attractive structure and I think that it ought t I ! be preserved. And if the Zoning Board can help to preserve it , I I� think it would be much nicer than having a modern type of structur I built there which could be done and would be of increased occupanc . I think that this building is worth preserving - it ' s a very attra - I +itive building. I i CHAIRMAN MARTIN: Anyone else like to be heard on this case? Anyone i ;! wish to speak in opposition? I believe that concludes our cases for the evening. We will now go into executive session to deliber to i jon all that we 've heard and then we ' ll reconvene in public session i� Ito announce the results . �I j I� I I �i i �I !i it I !i 'i i� f 73 - j; BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS CITY OF ITHACA, NEW YORK fSEPTEMBER 11, 1978 i. EXECUTIVE SESSION i' iAPPEAL NO. 1225 ; CHAIRMAN MARTIN: I move that the area variance requested i 4 case number 1225 be granted on condition II 'i that the plan submitted to the Building Commissioner before a building permit is issued confirm the testimony at this hear- ing which was that the bedrooms in the re j. constructed building would be of sufficie t size to permit occupancy by no more than twenty-one (21) persons . 'i `';,IMR. GAINEY: I second the motion. i FINDINGS OF FACT: 1) As a non-conforming building with a confo m- e' ing use this building could be reconstructed i i as it was before the fire. 2) A variance is required because while the jnumber of units is being decreased the nu - ber of bedrooms is increasing by two (2) . ?i 3) The testimony presented by the appellant was that the size of the bedrooms was suf- ficiently smaller than those before that !i the actual legal occupancy was going down i' it from twenty-eight (28) to twenty-one (21) persons thus the likely density will be !i less under the proposed reconstructed i` building than the building as it was before i! the fire. i !VOTE: 5 Yes ; 0 No ; 1 Absent. Area variance granted with conditions . i' I i 9 if l - 74 - I , Barbara Ruane , Do Certify that I took the minutes of the Board ii, of Zoning Appeals, City of Ithaca, in the matters of Appeals o� numbered 1210 , 1213, 1217 , 1218 , 1219 , 1220 , 1221 , 1222 , 1224 and 111225 on September 11 , 1978 at City Hall, City of Ithaca, New York; 1 �ithat I have transcribed same, and the foregoing is a true copy of lithe transcript of the minutes of the meeting and the Executive ;' Session of the Board of Zoning Appeals , City of Ithaca, on the " above date, and the whole thereof to the best of my ability. i I Barbara C. Ruane Recording Secretary s i ijSworn to before me this i � day of 1978. i i . Notary Public RT,TTT \?�T T, Notary YU'.?iic, State of i ew York o. 4h4i� 3 Qualified in 'l onipkius County Terri Lspiccs March 3J, 19 rte I i I� it i i! i� l l