Minutes of June 9, 2009 of the Town of Rochester Zoning Board of Appeals, held at the Town Hall, Accord, NY.
Meeting was called to order at 7:00 PM by Chairman, Brian Drabkin.
Present: Absent:
Brian Drabkin, Chairman Elizabeth Kawalchuk
Beatrice Haugen-De Puy, Vice Chair
James Kingston
Marijane Knudsen
Jennifer McKenzie, Alternate
Pledge to the Flag.
Chairman Drabkin noted that the Alternate would sit on the Board in place of Mrs. Kawalchuk, Board Member, who was absent.
ACTION ON MINUTES
Board Member, Mrs. Haugen De Puy, motioned to accept the May 12, 2009 minutes. Seconded by Board Member Kingston. All members present, in favor.
CONTINUED PUBLIC HEARING
THEODORE DEUTERMANN c/o Eric Bean– 2’ Area Variance for fence height, 246 Sammsonville Road, Tax Map # 76.1-2-1.1, R-1 District
Chairman Drabkin called the applicants forward and noted that the Public Hearing was held open pending Ulster County PB response. The response came back as NO COUNTY IMPACT. The Board also received letter from Kate Geiger regarding support for the fencing in respect to Mr. Bean’s Photography business.
Eric Bean and Theodore Deutermann were present on behalf of their application. Mr. Bean explained that he and Mr. Deutermann purchased the property in the fall of 2008 and noted that they waited out the winter to see where the snow removal of Samsonville Road would affect a future fence on their property. They have lived in the area for over 3 years. When they bought the house they knew it was on a busy road and they both work from home. They reside across the street from apartments and noted that in February and November there were arrests made due to drugs and burglaries in the area. They are looking for the area variance because there property slopes down in such a way that the 4’ fence in the front and the 6’ fence in the side would not be effective for privacy, safety, and to block the headlights that shine in their house from road traffic. They also have family and nieces and nephews that visit often and they are concerned regarding their safety as well. Mr. Bean works from home as a photographer and does a lot of work and portraits outside in the yard. Mr. Deutermann also works from home and is an artist and sculptor and in the summer he also works outside. This past winter there were children who lived in the apartments across the street that just came over and used their property to sleigh ride on without permission. That is a concern for liability to them. Mr. Deutermann has allergies and they are hoping that the fence will cut down on the dust from the road traffic as well.
CONTINUED PUBLIC HEARING
THEODORE DEUTERMANN c/o Eric Bean(cont’d)– 2’ Area Variance for fence height, 246 Sammsonville Road, Tax Map # 76.1-2-1.1, R-1 District
Mr. Deutermann noted that he was out in front of his house this past summer with his dog and he noticed that there were people talking in his yard. They went to his car and opened his car door up. If they had a fence—he felt it would have derailed these people from entering his vehicle. He felt strongly about the need for the variance for safety issues. He reiterated that they were asking for the 8’ instead of 4’ in the front and 6’ on the sides of the property because of the way the property slopes down. They presented pictures to the Board at the previous meeting and this meeting showing this issue.
Mr. Bean grew up further up state in New York in a farming community and he understood rural settings and he wanted to keep that in their yard. They didn’t want to remove any of the oaks or rose of sharons or any of the plantings. They were going to put the fence behind them. They hired a good local fence guy who does quality work and they really went through and took the Board’s suggestions and followed through on what they have been asked to do.
At 7:10 PM, Chairman Drabkin opened the hearing to the public. There was no public comment.
Mr. Deutermann stated that he really felt that this fence would impact their quality of lives for the better.
Ms. Mckenzie, Alternate Board Member motioned to close the Public Hearing. Seconded by Board Member Kingston. No discussion.
Vote:
Drabkin- Yes Kawalchuk- Absent
Haugen-De Puy- Yes Knudsen- Yes
Kingston- Yes McKenzie, alt.- Yes
Vice Chairperson Haugen- De Puy motioned for the Town of Rochester ZBA to be Lead Agency and that this action be Typed as Unlisted under SEQRA with a Negative Declaration as there will not be a significant impact to the environment. Motion was seconded by Chairman Drabkin. No discussion.
Vote:
McKenzie, Alt. – Yes Kawalchuk – Absent
Drabkin, Chairman – Yes Knudsen – Yes
Haugen De Puy, VC- Yes Kingston – Yes
CONTINUED PUBLIC HEARING
THEODORE DEUTERMANN c/o Eric Bean(cont’d)– 2’ Area Variance for fence height, 246 Sammsonville Road, Tax Map # 76.1-2-1.1, R-1 District
Board Member Knudsen noted that in order to grant a variance, the ZBA must consider if the applicant’s benefit to the detriment to health, safety and welfare of the community is substantial.~ The ZBA must consider:
· whether the applicant can achieve this request by other means;~~
· whether the application will cause an undesirable change in the neighborhood character or nearby properties;
· whether the request is substantial;
· whether the situation is self created;
· whether the request will have an adverse impact on the environment.
Based upon the above facts established at the public hearing, all written documents, and site visits, Board Member Knudsen voted to approve the Applicants’ request for an Area Variance for 2’ Area Variance
for side yard fence height and 4’ Area Variance for front yard fence height to construct an 8’ fence at 246 Samsonville Road with the following conditions:
1. The fence shall be maintained in good repair according to the Code Enforcement Officer and if broken and not repaired within 90 days, it shall be removed.
2. Applicants shall meet all Local, County and State Codes.
Motion seconded by Board Member Kingston. No discussion.
Vote:
McKenzie, Alt. – Yes Kawalchuk – Absent
Drabkin, Chairman – Yes Knudsen – Yes
Haugen De Puy, VC- No Kingston – Yes
The vote was 4 in favor and 1 opposed. The motion carried.
PUBLIC HEARING
SUSAN JARVIS c/o Howard Jarvis– 32 sq ft. Area Variance for sign size, 4736 Route 209, Tax Map #69.3-2-17.110, ‘B’ District
Chairman Drabkin noted that because this application was on a state road, it was referred to the Ulster County Planning Board and that is why the Public Hearing was kept open. The County came back with the only suggestion being for the Town to revise their zoning statute in regards to having 2 sided signs. Other than that there was a No County Impact response.
At 7:15 Chairman Drabkin opened the hearing to the public.
Mr. Jarvis was present on behalf of his application and noted that he installed a sign to promote his business and he was unaware that he went over the square footage limit. The sign has 32 sq ft on each side and is only supposed to be 32 sq ft total. He covered one side and the other side is exposed, so he is no longer in violation. He wanted the variance so that his sign could be viewed from both directions on Route 209.
There was no public comment.
Vice Chairperson Haugen De Puy motioned to close the Public Hearing. Seconded by Board Member Kingston. No discussion.
Vote:
Drabkin- Yes Kawalchuk- Absent
Haugen-De Puy- Yes Knudsen- Yes
Kingston- Yes McKenzie, alt.- Yes
Chairman Drabkin motioned for the Town of Rochester ZBA to be Lead Agency and that this action be Typed as Unlisted under SEQRA with a Negative Declaration as there will not be a significant impact to the environment. A sign with two sides had no more of an impact than a sign with one side. Motion was seconded by Vice Chairperson Haugen De Puy. No discussion.
Vote:
McKenzie, Alt. – Yes Kawalchuk – Absent
Drabkin, Chairman – Yes Knudsen – Yes
Haugen De Puy, VC- Yes Kingston – Yes
Vice Chairperson Haugen De Puy motioned to permit the variance requested as she did not believe that this was self created and that it wasn’t a substantial request. It’s only natural to have a 2 sided sign. Even the County felt the Town should revise the law to permit a 2 sided sign. Seconded by Board Member Kingston. The only condition shall be that the sign shall be maintained in good repair. No discussion.
Vote:
McKenzie, Alt. – Yes Kawalchuk – Absent
Drabkin, Chairman – Yes Knudsen – Yes
Haugen De Puy, VC- Yes Kingston – Yes
Board Member Kingston motioned to adjourn the meeting seconded by Chairman Drabkin. No discussion. All members present, in favor.
As there was no further business to discuss, Chairman Drabkin adjourned the meeting at 7:20 PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Rebecca Paddock Stange, Secretary