DRAFT
TOWN OF SARATOGA
ZONING BOARD
OF APPEALS MINUTES
October 27,
2008
7:30 PM
Chairman
Stephen Bodnar called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. and led the flag
salute.
Chairman
Stephen Bodnar explained the Rules of the
Board.
Zoning
Clerk Linda McCabe called the roll: Chairman Stephen Bodnar � present, Clifford
Hanehan � present, Thomas Carringi � present, Barbara Faraone � present,
Clarence Fosdick � present, William Moreau � present, James Burke � present,
Alternate
John Deyoe � present.
Also
present: Town Zoning Officer Gil Albert, Town Attorney William Reynolds, Mr.
and Mrs. Lord, Jim Vianna, Joshua Galarneau, Mr. Marotta, John Hall and other
interested persons. (Sign-in sheet is on file in the Clerk�s office)
Approval
of Minutes: A motion was made by James
Burke and seconded by Thomas
Carringi to accept the minutes of the September 22, 2008 meeting as written.� Chairman Stephen Bodnar � aye, Clifford
Hanehan � aye, James Burke � aye, Thomas Carringi � aye, Barbara Faraone � aye,
William Moreau � aye, Clarence Fosdick � aye.
Approved 7 � 0
Order of Business:
AREA VARIANCE
David J. Lord
#08-11
1241 Rt. 9P
Saratoga Springs,
NY� 12866
S/B/L 193.18-1-7
Lake Residential
Applicant is proposing to construct a 4� addition to the North side of his existing house, along with removing and replacing the second story, located at 1241 Rt. 9P.� They are seeking an area variance of 4,725�, a front setback of 10� and a two-side setback variance of 16� because he doesn�t meet zoning regulation requirements.
Board member Barbara Faraone recused herself because she is a friend of the Applicants.� Alternate member John Deyoe was elevated to full voting status.
David J. Lord appeared before the Board and made his presentation to construct a 4� addition onto the north side of his home which would allow him to build stairs going from the first to the second floor.� Currently there is a spiral staircase there, but he would like to replace that staircase with one built to code.� He also would like to remove the second floor which is too low and rebuild the second floor with 8� height.� This floor would be a bedroom, bathroom and walk-in closet.� The existing west side is 40� from the road; town requirement is 50� so he needs a 10� variance to be compliant.� He also needs
a two-side setback variance of 16�.� Mr. Lord handed his neighbor notifications to the Clerk for filing and asked if the Board had gotten the extra drawings he brought in.
Chairman Stephen Bodnar told Mr. Lord that the Board had received the additional professional drawings and thanked him.� Chairman Stephen Bodnar asked if the Board had any questions for Mr. Lord and Clifford Hanehan asked if the total height of the proposed house would be 26� when completed and Mr. Lord said that is correct.� Chairman Stephen Bodnar asked if there were any other questions; there were none.� Zoning Officer Gil Albert stated he sees no problems with this site.� Clarence Fosdick and Bill Moreau questioned what the jut-out/jog was on the drawing on the opposite side of the house from the fireplace and Mr. Lord stated it�s always been there and he thinks it was just architectural; perhaps the original builder extended that wall so the chimney didn�t stick out.� Cosmetically it gives an appearance of a flat wall.� Zoning Officer Gil Albert questioned the age of the house and Mr. Lord stated the foundation was in the mid 1950�s and the house, as it appears now, was remodeled in the mid 1980�s.� Zoning Officer Gil Albert questioned if the footprint with the jog was from the 1980�s and Mr. Lord said yes.� Board discussion continued.� Chairman Stephen Bodnar asked if the Board had any other questions; there were none.
Chairman Stephen Bodnar read the letter from the Saratoga County Planning Board stating there would be no significant county wide or intercommunity impact.
After providing Proof of Notice in The Saratogian on October 18, 2008,
Chairman Stephen Bodnar opened the Public Hearing at 7:55 p.m.� Chairman
Stephen Bodnar asked if anyone had any questions, if so, please state their
name and address and direct their questions to the Board. �No one came forward; Chairman
Stephen Bodnar closed the Public Hearing at 7:56 p.m.
Chairman Stephen
Bodnar made a motion, seconded by James Burke, to approve the variance as presented because there will be no
significant change to the property.�� Chairman
Stephen Bodnar � aye, James Burke � aye, Thomas Carringi- aye, Clarence Fosdick
� aye, Barbara Faraone � recused, William Moreau � aye, Clifford Hanehan � aye,
Alternate John Deyoe � aye.� Approved 7 � 0.
Granted
Board member Barbara Faraone rejoined the Board.
John D. Hall & Louise Winney #08-12
295 Fitch Rd.
Saratoga Springs, NY�
12866
S/B/L 194-1-32.2
Applicants propose to subdivide 3.2+/- acres, with 180� of road frontage and an existing trailer, from a 5.2+/- acre parcel, in order for their daughter Amy Hall, to build a house.� This is located on the north side of Nielson Rd.� They are seeking a variance because they lack 20�of road frontage according to zoning regulation requirements.
Jim Vianna appeared before the Board on behalf of the Applicants, explaining that the Applicants want to subdivide a 5+/- acre parcel into 2 lots so their daughter can build a home.� The lot for the daughter will be 3.2 acres and it lacks 20� of road frontage.�
There is an existing farm house and trailer on the 5+/- acre parcel.� The trailer will be removed once the house is built.� It currently shares water with the existing house; this
will be severed and a new well will be dug.� The existing sanitary on lot one will remain and be maintained.�
Chairman Stephen Bodnar explained that this Applicant went before the Planning Board last month in order to subdivide this parcel and he then read from the September 2008 Planning Board minutes.� He stated Planning Board Chairman Ian Murray gave a denial for the subdivision because the Applicant lacked the required road frontage.� He also stated that the Planning Board sent the Applicant to the ZBA with a positive recommendation.
Board discussion continued.� Chairman Stephen Bodnar noted it appears this parcel was part of a much larger property and he questions if they are allowing a subdivision where a major subdivision could follow and Jim Vianna stated he understands that line of thought but the deeds cover this and it was all subdivided before.� The deeds are separate.� Chairman Stephen Bodnar asked if there were any further questions from the Board; there were none.
After providing Proof of Notice in The Saratogian on October 18, 2008
Chairman Stephen Bodnar opened the Public Hearing at 8:07 p.m.� Chairman
Stephen Bodnar asked if there were any questions, if so to please state their
name and address and direct their questions to the Board. �No one came forward; Chairman
Stephen Bodnar closed the Public Hearing at 8:08 p.m.
Clifford Hanehan made a motion, seconded by William Moreau, to approve the 20� road frontage variance as presented.� Chairman Stephen Bodnar � aye, James Burke � aye, Thomas Carringi- aye, Clarence Fosdick � aye, Barbara Faraone � aye, William Moreau � aye, Clifford Hanehan � aye.� Approved 7 � 0. ���
Granted
Cal & Susan Ambrosy #08-13
63 Spring Water Dr.
Saratoga Springs, NY�
12866
S/B/L 206.6-2-37
Applicants propose to remove
an existing house on a private drive in the Town of Saratoga and construct a
new single family residence. They plan to hold the front left corner of the
existing building so there will be no encroachment, other than already
existing, onto the left property line and/or front property line.� They need a frontage variance along with
side yard setback variances because this lot does not meet zoning regulation
requirements.
Board member Barbara Faraone
recused herself because she is a friend of the Applicants.
�Alternate member John Deyoe was elevated to full voting status.
Joshua Galarneau appeared
before the Board on behalf of the Applicants.�
He stated they are requesting a one-side yard setback and a road
frontage variance.� They are not making
changes to the lot size.� As it exists
now it has 66.6� of road frontage and the requirement is 100�.� There is an existing house which will not
meet the needs of the Applicants, and this is why they would like to construct
a new house.� The new house will be
located roughly where the existing house is.�
They will hold the front left corner and will not be going any closer to
the north toward Spring Water Dr. and will not going any further toward Rt.
9P.� Although the new house is bigger,
approximately 3400-3500 sq. ft., it will only extend further to the south and
to the rear of the property.� Joshua
Galarneau stated they only received two responses to the neighbor
notifications.� He handed those to the
Clerk for the file.� He also stated he
met with the neighbors to the north and the neighbors next door; adjacent to Rt.
9P, and went over the plans with them. They did not object to the project.
Chairman Stephen Bodnar read the letter from the Saratoga County Planning Board stating that there would be no significant county wide or intercommunity impact.
After providing Proof of Notice in The Saratogian on October 18, 2008
Chairman Stephen Bodnar opened the Public Hearing at 8:19 p.m.� Chairman Stephen Bodnar asked if anyone had
any questions, if so to please state their name and address and direct their
questions to the Board.� No one came forward, but Board member Clifford Hanehan
questioned the variances and Chairman Stephen Bodnar read the area variance
description for Clifford and the Board.�
Chairman Stephen Bodnar asked Town Attorney William Reynolds his
thoughts and he said it seems like the frontage variance is largest and he�d
characterize it as significant; that it would be helpful if they had more
land.� Joshua Galarneau said the
Applicants did try to purchase additional land to them to get the 100� of
frontage, but the neighbors wouldn�t sell.�
The Applicant has three parcels: one is the trapezoidal piece on the
corner of Rt. 9P and Spring Water Dr., one is to the south of them, lakeside on
Rt. 9P and the last is the parcel they propose to build the house on.� Joshua Galarneau also offered the deed for
the Board to view.� Town Attorney
William Reynolds then stated that if they would redesign the house it would
help.� Chairman Stephen Bodnar thinks
the house is too large for the lot and personally would like to see a smaller
home built there.� Clarence Fosdick
noted the fact there would be no change on the north side, south side is 35�
and this doesn�t seem inconsistent with what is out there; it doesn�t seem
unusual for the kind of variances the Board approves there.� Zoning Officer Gil Albert stated it would
still be under 20% coverage on that lot with the proposed project. Chairman Stephen Bodnar closed the Public
Hearing at 8:29 p.m.
Clarence Fosdick made a motion, seconded by Thomas Carringi, to grant the area variance as presented because it is not out of character with the surrounding area, nor does it infringe any further than the original side yard footprint.� Chairman Stephen Bodnar � aye, James Burke � aye, Thomas Carringi - aye, Clarence Fosdick � aye, Barbara Faraone � recused, William Moreau � aye, Clifford Hanehan � aye, Alternate John Deyoe � aye.��� Approved 7 � 0.
Granted
Board member Barbara Faraone
rejoined the Board.
Thomas A. &
Paula A. Marotta #08-09
2000 Barrett Rd.
Ballston Spa,
NY� 12020
S/B/L
193.6-1-21� Lake Residential
Returning Applicants propose to construct a single family residence with an attached garage, located at 1380 Rt. 9P.� They are seeking a two-side setback variance of 28.5� and a side setback variance of 10� along with an additional 9% area variance for building coverage because he doesn�t meet zoning regulation setback requirements.
Returning Applicant Thomas Marotta appeared before the Board.� He explained that he would like to construct his home at 1380 Rt. 9P.� Based on the previous meeting he had with the Zoning Board, he enlisted the help of his civil engineer and they came up with what they hope will resolve any problems with the drainage the Board may foresee. They will be installing French drains along the north and south sides of the property and if the Board were to revisit and allow them to build a deck on the north side of the house, the civil engineer recommended they use porous driveway material.� At last month�s meeting it was recommended by the Board that they consider removing the deck from the house, and if they still need to do that, they will only be using the French drains on the property.��� Town Zoning Officer Gil Albert was out to the lot last week and walked it with the Applicant and they addressed many questions that may occur this evening.� Chairman Stephen Bodnar asked the Board if they had any questions.�
Mr. & Mrs. Rice, neighbors of this property, interjected that it floods there due to the creek and it gets blocked up with debris; they brought old photos of a camp on that property that no longer exists, and was gone before the Applicant owned the property, for the Board to view.� Mr. Lee Bombard, next door neighbor to this property, stated it is unlikely that type of flooding would happen again since he removes the clogging debris.
Zoning Officer Gil Albert reiterated that a French drain will correct the drainage problem of this property and John Deyoe added that pavers/tiles would help too.� Chairman Stephen Bodnar questioned if this property is designated wetlands and Zoning Officer Gil Albert replied no.
Mr. Bombard, 1382 Rt. 9P, stated he does not think it�ll flood like that again, he likes what the Applicant wants to do and he showed more current photos of the lot from this past spring, and said the Applicant�s building won�t affect this; it�s just the way it is. The water does go out, though it takes some time to do so.�
�
Mr. Bombard proceeded to ask the Applicant if his proposed driveway will be next to his and the Applicant replied no, a 2� French drain will be.� Mr. Bombard asked the Applicant where the posts for the deck would be and the Applicant responded outside the French drain and his driveway will be gravel or porous material.� Mr. Bombard then asked the Applicant what the square footage of the house will be. The Applicant responded 2800 sq. ft., with a garage it would be about 3400 sq. ft.; but this is not the footprint due to this being a two-story home.�
�
Chairman Stephen Bodnar stopped this line of questioning and told Mr. Bombard that he needs to direct his questions to the Board.� Chairman Stephen Bodnar asked if the Board had any more questions or concerns.
Zoning Officer Gil Albert stated the old building was a story and a half, the Applicant would like two stories, which is within character of the properties there.� The majority of homes there are two-story.� Town Attorney William Reynolds stated the Applicant has 50� of frontage but he needs 100�.� Clifford Hanehan stated his concern is the neighbors; they cannot dictate what the Applicant can do, but the Applicant has to live with them.� The Applicant responded that Clifford�s point is well taken.� They have no problem doing without the deck but they�d like to have it if possible.�
Board discussion continued and Chairman Stephen Bodnar asked the opinion of the Town Zoning Officer.� Zoning Officer Gil Albert stated that what the Applicant is planning to do will help everyone.� The Applicant will suffer more water problems due to the way the Bombard�s graded their driveway; Mr. Bombard disagreed and Zoning Officer Gil Albert said he is only stating what is obvious. He then explained how the French drain works and how it will help everyone out there, also adding that you have to be above flood plain to build there. �Town Attorney William Reynolds asked the Applicant what year he took title to the property and the Applicant replied 5 years ago and it was a separated, deeded parcel.� Board member William Moreau asked if there were any written agreements between the Applicant and Mr. Bombard at the time of purchase and the Applicant responded no.� Town Attorney William Reynolds asked what happened to the old buildings that were on that lot and the Applicant said the lot was vacant when he purchased the property.� Mr. Bombard stated he tore them down in 2001; he sold the property in 2003.� Town Attorney William Reynolds stated we are proceeding as if this were a vacant lot.�� Chairman Stephen Bodnar stated this has to be classified as a viable building lot and Town Attorney disagreed; stating the buildings were removed and the property sold.� The Applicant had two years to act and didn�t.� At some point this was a viable lot, now it�s a nonconforming lot and variances are needed to put a house on it.� Zoning Officer Gil Albert stated if the Board goes by the percentage of building coverage, the Applicant can go up to 3000 sq. ft. and remain in code.� Chairman Stephen Bodnar stated the Applicant has 9936 sq. ft. of property.� 1987 sq.ft. of lot coverage is allowed including the garage. Driveways are included in lot coverage only if they are paved; not any other kind.� If the Applicant goes smaller with a 24� x 56� (1394 sq. ft) plus the 24� x 24� garage it would bring it to 1907 sq. ft. which is just under the 20%, and gives 13� each side.� Chairman Stephen Bodnar asked the Applicant if he would feel oppressed building a 24� x 56� with 10� side setbacks; the house would not exceed parameters that way.�� Town Attorney William Reynolds suggested the Board table this and come back next month.� Board member Barbara Faraone stated the Applicant is looking for guidance on what is acceptable to the Board and the Town.� She questioned if the Board can give him the percentage of lot coverage; like 22% and 5� off sideline.� The Applicant said he�d like to go 14� on the driveway side for buffer and 10� on the other.� Board member Clifford Hanehan stated without the deck it would be 10� on the south side and 14� on the north and the Planning Board suggested the Applicant remove the deck so I�d like to go with that recommendation.� The Applicant said he would like definitive setbacks to proceed with; if the 10� and 14� would be acceptable to the Board he will take that to his civil engineer and redraw again.� Town Attorney William Reynolds again suggested the Board table this until the Applicant comes in with a plot plan.� Chairman Stephen Bodnar told the Applicant they will table this until he comes back with a survey map and plot plan.�
Chairman Stephen Bodnar made a motion, seconded by Clarence Fosdick, to Table this application until the Applicant comes back with a survey map, plot plan and deed for the Board to view.� Chairman Stephen Bodnar � aye,� James Burke � aye, Thomas Carringi - aye, Clarence Fosdick � aye, Barbara Faraone � aye, William Moreau � aye, Clifford Hanehan � aye.�� Carried 7-0
Tabled.
������������������������������������������� ���
Old Business:� None
New Business: Chairman Stephen Bodnar reminded the Board of the upcoming January 2009
training.����������
������������������������������� �������� ���������������
Chairman Stephen Bodnar made a motion, seconded by
Clifford Hanehan to adjourn the meeting at 10:22 p.m.� Chairman Stephen Bodnar �
aye, Clifford Hanehan � aye, James Burke � aye, Thomas Carringi �aye, Barbara
Faraone � aye, William Moreau � aye, Clarence Fosdick � aye.� Carried
7 � 0
Adjourned
�Respectfully submitted,
� �������������
����������������
�Linda McCabe
�Zoning Board of Appeals Clerk