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HomeMy WebLinkAboutBZA 3124 505 S Albany Street-Decision Letter-4-2-2019CITY OF ITHACA 108 E. Green Street — 3rd Floor Ithaca, NY 14850-5690 DEPARTMENT OF PLANNING, BUILDING, ZONING, & Division of Zoning Gino Leonardi, Secretary to the Board of Zoning Appeals Telephone: 607-274-6550 Fax: 607-274-6558 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT E -Mail: gleonardi@cityofithaca.org CITY OF ITHACA BOARD of ZONING APPEALS Area Variance Findings & Decision Appeal No.: 3124 Applicant: Anke Hoffstaetter, Owner Property Location: 505 S. Albany Street Zoning District: R -2b Applicable Section of City Zoning Code: Section 325-8, Column 4, 6, 7, 10, 11, 12, 13, and 14/15 Requirement for Which Variance is Requested: Off -Street Parking Requirement, Lot Area, Lot Width, Percentage of Lot Coverage, Front Yard, Side Yards, and Rear Yard Publication Dates: March 27, 2019 and March 29, 2019 Meeting Held On: April 2, 2019 Summary: Appeal of the owner, Anke Hoffstaetter for area variance from Section 325-8, Column 4, Off - Street Parking, Column 6, Lot Area, Column 7, Lot Width, Column 10, Percentage of Lot Coverage, Column 11, Front Yard, Column 12 and 13, Side Yards, and Column 14/15 Rear Yard requirements of the Zoning Ordinance. The applicant proposes to provide a massage practice in her single-family home and has applied for a special permit with the Planning and Development Board for a home occupation under Section 325-9 of the Zoning Ordinance. The applicant would like to offer services between 9 am and 5 pm on weekdays with some weekend hours. She plans to have no more than four clients per day and no more than 12-15 clients per week, with appointments scheduled to avoid overlap. The home occupation requires one off-street parking space be provided. Currently, there is an existing deficiency of two off-street parking spaces for the four-bedroom residence. The applicant intends to utilize the first floor bedroom for the home occupation which will thereby reduce the parking requirement to one space for the residential use. The home occupation requires one space and therefore, there will be no increase in the two off-street parking spaces originally required for the property. Due to site constraints, there has never been on-site parking and there is no area available to provide the off-street spaces on the property. Furthermore, clients will be instructed to park on South Albany Street and South Titus Avenue where on -street parking is available in these locations without hourly limitations. The property also has existing deficiencies for lot area, lot width, and percentage of lot coverage, front, side, and rear yard setbacks. These deficiencies will not be exacerbated by the proposal. The property is located in an R -2b residential use district in which the proposed use is pelt fitted by special permit issued by the Planning and Development Board. However, Section 325-38 requires that an area variance for off-street parking be granted before a building permit is issued. Public Hearing Held On: April 2, 2019 Brian Grout, owner of 411 S. Albany Street spoke in favor of the appeal No public comments in opposition. Members present: Steven Beer, Chair Teresa Deschanes Steven Wolf Tompkins County Review per Section 239 -1 & -m of New York State General Municipal Law: Not applicable Environmental Review: Type: 2 This is a Type 2 Action under the City of Ithaca Environmental Quality Review Ordinance ("CEQRO"), and State Environmental Quality Review Act ("SEQRA"), and is not subject to Environmental Review. Planning & Development Board Recommendation: The Planning Board does not anticipate any negative impacts and supports this appeal. The applicant has demonstrated that the lack of parking will not negatively impact the neighborhood because there is sufficient on -street parking for those of her clients that arrive by car. The Board supports compatible home- based businesses, such as the one proposed, because they contribute to an environment where people can live, work and access services within walking distance and positively impact housing affordability. Motion: A motion to grant the variance request was made by Teresa Deschanes Deliberations & Findings: Factors Considered: 1. Whether an undesirable change would be produced in the character of the neighborhood or a detriment to nearby properties: Yes ❑ No El There will be little to no change in the character of the neighborhood. There is a current deficiency in parking for this property and because the applicant is reducing the parking requirement by utilizing a first floor bedroom, the number of deficient parking spaces will remain the same. 2. Whether the benefit sought by the applicant can be achieved by a feasible alternative to the variance: Yes ❑ No In order to obtain the special permit the applicant must receive a variance for the additional parking space needed to get the special permit for the home occupation. 3. Whether the requested variance is substantial: Yes ❑ No There is no evidence that the variance is substantial. The deficiencies are pre-existing and parking spaces requirements will remain at current number of two spaces, which has always existed. Even in consideration that there will be clients visiting the property, the variance is not considered substantial. 4. Would the variance have an adverse impact on the physical or environmental conditions in the neighborhood: Yes E No There was no evidence that there would be an adverse impact on the physical or environmental conditions in the neighborhood. There will be a small change in the activity of visiting clients, but the impact would not have an adverse effect on the neighborhood. 5. Whether the alleged difficulty was self-created: Yes ❑ No The applicant does not need to peruse a special permit, but on the other hand the existing deficiency existed prior to the applicant purchasing the property. The applicant is not increasing the deficiency and the existing deficiency will remain the same. But, the applicant needs a variance to obtain the special permit for the home occupation. Second Motion to Grant Variance: Made by Steven Wolf Vote: Steven Beer, Chair Yes Teresa Deschanes Yes Steven Wolf Yes Determination of BZA Based on the Above Factors: The BZA, taking into consideration the five factors, fmds that the Benefit to the Applicant outweighs the Determinant to the Neighborhood or Community. The BZA further finds that variances from Zoning Ordinance, Section 325-8, Column 4, 6, 7, 10, 11, 12, 13, and 14/15 are the minimum variance that should be granted in order to preserve and protect the character of the neighborhood and the health, safety, and welfare of the community. Secre of Zoning Appeals April 4, 2019 Date