Minutes of March 10, 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 Beatrice Haugen-De Puy, Vice Chair
James Kingston Jennifer McKenzie, Alternate
Elizabeth Kawalchuk
Marijane Knudsen
Pledge to the Flag.
ACTION ON MINUTES
Mrs. Kawalchuk motioned to accept the November 12, 2008 minutes. Seconded by Mr. Kingston. All members present, in favor.
Mr. Kingston motioned to accept the January 13, 2009 minutes. Seconded by Mrs. Kawalchuk, Board Member. No discussion.
Vote:
Vote:
McKenzie, Alt. – Absent Kawalchuk – Yes
Drabkin, Chairman – Abstain Knudsen – Yes
Haugen De Puy, VC- Absent Kingston – Yes
PRE-APPLICATION DISCUSSION
HILDEGARD SIMCIK– V.H.T. Associates, Inc, Area Variance for subdividing 1.8 acres into 2 lots separating residence from commercial use, 5938 Route 209, Tax Map #76.1-2-29, ‘B’ District
Mrs. Simcik was present, but her representative, William Eggers, LS, was not. The Board agreed to move on to the next item on the agenda and come back to Mrs. Simcik’s application and give Mr. Eggers a little more time to show up.
PRE-APPLICATION DISCUSSION
TOM & CHRISTINE OAKLY– c/o Donna Gjurovich, Area Variance to build single family dwelling, 301 Granite Road, Tax Map #76.4-2-20, R-1 District
Mrs. Gjurovich was present on behalf of her application and noted that her sister and brother in law own the property that she would be building her home on and she submitted a letter of authorization from the Oakley’s to proceed with the variance.
PRE-APPLICATION DISCUSSION
TOM & CHRISTINE OAKLY (cont’d)– c/o Donna Gjurovich, Area Variance to build single family dwelling, 301 Granite Road, Tax Map #76.4-2-20, R-1 District
Chairman Drabkin noted that in essence this lot is the reverse of a flag lot where there is more road frontage (being +/-200’) and a lesser area of width in the rear (being +/-100’). In the rear is where the applicant is proposing to construct the dwelling. The applicant is requesting to build a home that is 24’ wide, and therefore is asking for a 2’ variance on either side of the home for side yard property lines. He stated that she would gain a lot and she is not asking for much.
Mrs. Knudsen, Board Member suggested that the applicant discuss subdividing the property with the Oakley’s. There are 2 acres and the Town is currently 1 acre zoning, so it is feasible.
Mrs. Gjurovich noted that they didn’t want to do that. This would be her last move.
Mrs. Kawalchuk, Board Member questioned if the neighbors minded?
Mrs. Gjurovich stated that on one side is a Hasidic Camp.
Chairman Drabkin noted that through the Public Hearing process that the Board would notify the bounding owners, but it was a good idea for the applicant to approach them and get their feedback as well.
Mrs. Gjurovich noted that she could make the dwelling 20’ and meet the setbacks, but she really felt that the extra 4’ of space would make a big difference.
Mrs. Knudsen, Board Member noted that the ZBA has to give the least amount of a variance possible—and if there is an ability to build the dwelling without getting a variance the ZBA has to go by that. The applicant said herself that she could make it 20’ wide instead of 24’.
Mrs. Gjurovich stated her tremendous desire to have the house be a little wider than 20’ so that it would look more like a house and not a trailer, but she would leave it in the Board’s hands.
Mr. Kingston, Board Member agreed with Mrs. Knudsen. He didn’t think a variance was warranted if the home could be built at 20’ wide. The applicant could make it longer if she wanted the extra space.
Chairman Drabkin asked the Board for their consensus on this matter and they were all in agreement that it could be achieved by making the home longer instead of wider. It was the applicant’s right to try for the appeal and apply if she wanted, but right now the Board didn’t see this as a feasible request.
Mrs. Gjurovich noted that she didn’t want it to look like a trailer, but she understood the Board’s position. The log cabin company can make the home to any dimensions she wanted, so she would just have to go with the 20’.
PRE-APPLICATION DISCUSSION
HILDEGARD SIMCIK– V.H.T. Associates, Inc, Area Variance for subdividing 1.8 acres into 2 lots separating residence from commercial use, 5938 Route 209, Tax Map #76.1-2-29, ‘B’ District
Mr. Eggers still wasn’t present, but the Board requested that Mrs. Simcik come forward for an informal discussion about her application.
Mrs. Simcik came forward and explained that her home was on the same property as her motel- the Starlite Motel- in Kerhonkson. She stated that she could no longer get the Star Tax exemption on the property because it was listed as commercial, so she was told the only way to get it was to split the house from the motel. The acreage of the property was +/-1.8 and therefore she needed a variance to do it. She noted that there were 3 septics for the property. One for the home that was over by the garage and 2 for the motel. They had them redone and replaced with concrete tanks. She is 72 years old and cannot afford the taxes.
Chairman Drabkin noted that Mrs. Simcik is asking for .5 acres to remain with the home- where she would also need a 20’ side yard setback as the motel would be too close to the house to meet the required 40’ and she would leave 1.3 acres with the motel. He didn’t see creating a .5 acre lot as being feasible.
Mrs. Knudsen questioned if there was a restaurant in the home as listed on the survey submitted?
Mrs. Simcik noted that she has been there for 24 years and she has never had a restaurant in the home.
Chairman Drabkin repeated his concern that he didn’t think that the Board should allow the creation of lots under an acre.
Mrs. Knudsen felt that maybe this could be viewed as a change of use and could be achieved under economic hardship. She noted that the only thing that will change is the lot line and the size of the parcels in connection with the house and the motel. She’ll never be able to do anything else on either parcel. She was curious if this was ever 2 parcels in the past?
Chairman Drabkin stated that Mrs. Simcik needed another plan.
Mrs. Simcik didn’t see any other option than splitting the parcel in two. She wanted to reschedule the meeting for another time when Mr. Eggers could make it.
Mrs. Knudsen advised Mrs. Simcik to have Mr. Eggers look into a Use Variance as this may fall under economic distress. She also suggested having Mr. Eggers look through old deeds to see if this was ever two separate parcels.
Mrs. Kawalchuk, Board Member, motioned to adjourn seconded by Mrs. Kingston, Board Member. No discussion. All members present, in favor.
As there was no further business to discuss, Chairman Drabkin adjourned the meeting at 7:30 PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Rebecca Paddock Stange, Secretary