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Minutes AV 28-2022 (Tarrant) 6.29.22(Queensbury ZBA Meeting 06/29/2022) 1 AREA VARIANCE NO. 28-2022 SEQRA TYPE TYPE II ROBERT & JEAN TARRANT AGENT(S) HUTCHINS ENGINEERING OWNER(S) ROBERT & JEAN TARRANT ZONING WR LOCATION 308 CLEVERDALE ROAD APPLICANT PROPOSES TO DEMOLISH AN EXISTING HOME AN TO CONSTRUCT A NEW HOME WITH A FOOTPRINT OF 1,005 SQ. FT. INCLUDING THE PORCH/DECK AREAS. THE NEW FLOOR AREA IS TO BE 2,266 SQ. FT. PROJECT INCLUDES A NEW SEPTIC SYSTEM AND SITE WORK FOR STORMWATER AND LANDSCAPING. THE EXISTING GARAGE OF 365 SQ. FT. AND 220 SQ. FT. SHED ARE TO REMAIN. SITE PLAN FOR NEW FLOOR AREA IN A CEA AND HARD SURFACING WITHIN 50 FT. OF THE SHORELINE. RELIEF IS REQUESTED FOR SETBACKS. CROSS REF SP 41-2022 WARREN COUNTY PLANNING JUNE 2022 ADIRONDACK PARK AGENCY ALD LOT SIZE 0.24 ACRES TAX MAP NO. 226.12-1-82 SECTION 179-3-040 LUCAS DOBIE, REPRESENTING APPLICANTS, PRESENT; ROBERT & JEAN TARRANT, PRESENT STAFF INPUT Notes from Staff, Area Variance No. 28-2022, Robert & Jean Tarrant, Meeting Date: June 29, 2022 “Project Location: 308 Cleverdale Road Description of Proposed Project: Applicant proposes to demolish an existing home and to construct a new home with a footprint of 1,005 sq. ft. including the porch/deck areas. The new floor area is to be 2,266 sq. ft. includes the outbuilding to remain. Project includes a new septic system and site work for stormwater and landscaping. The existing garage of 365 sq. ft. and 220 sq. ft. shed are to remain. Site plan for new floor area in a CEA and hard surfacing within 50 ft. of the shoreline. Relief is requested for setbacks. Relief Required: The applicant requests relief for setbacks for the new home to be constructed in the Waterfront Residential zone WR. The parcel is 0.24 ac. Section 179-3-040 dimensional, Section 179-4-080 decks/porches The porch stairs are to be 37.5 ft. from the shoreline where a 50 ft. setback is required. The house is to be 16.3 ft. from the north side and the garage is to be 1.0 ft. where a 20 ft. setback is required. The house is to be 15.8 ft. from the south side and the existing shed is to be 1.5 ft. where a 20 ft. setback is required. The garage is to be 6.5 ft. from the front setback where a 30 ft. setback is required. Criteria for considering an Area Variance according to Chapter 267 of Town Law: In making a determination, the board shall consider: 1. Whether an undesirable change will be produced in the character of the neighborhood or a detriment to nearby properties will be created by the granting of this area variance. The project may be considered to have little to no impact on the neighboring properties. 2. Whether the benefit sought by the applicant can be achieved by some method, feasible for the applicant to pursue, other than an area variance. Feasible alternatives may be considered as the project is a new home. 3. Whether the requested area variance is substantial. The relief may be considered moderate relevant to the code. Relief for the shoreline setback is 12.5 ft. The north side relief for the house is 3.7 ft. and for the garage is 19 ft. The south side setback is 4.2 ft. for the house and the existing shed is 18.5 ft. The garage relief is to be 23.5 ft. 4. Whether the proposed variance will have an adverse effect or impact on the physical or environmental conditions in the neighborhood or district. The project as proposed may be considered to have minimal to no impact on the environmental conditions of the site or area. 5. Whether the alleged difficulty was self-created. The project as proposed may be considered self- created. Staff comments: The applicant proposes to construct a new home on the site with associated site work. The plans show the new home with elevations and floor plans. The site work includes new septic, stormwater management, new plantings for the site. The applicant has indicated the house proposed is a smaller footprint than the original home that was constructed in the 1800’s.” MR. DOBIE-Good evening, Board. For the record, Lucas Dobie with Hutchins Engineering. Very happy to be here tonight with my clients, Robert and Jean Tarrant, 308 Cleverdale. So if you’ll just bear with me (Queensbury ZBA Meeting 06/29/2022) 2 I’ll give you a little history lesson on it. The property’s been in this family since the 1940’s and it’s my understanding this home was built in 1888. It’s one of the oldest homes on Cleverdale and it’s really showing its age quite honestly. It’s a stone and mortar piered foundation that’s leaning awfully bad. So there’s really no feasible way to try and jack this camp up and put a new foundation. It would ruin the camp. There’s nothing level or square about it. They’ve put a lot of thought into it. They’re retained an architect, Curt Dybas, to design a very similar style camp, a little bit smaller. This is the first project I believe I’ve ever done on the lake with a smaller footprint. It’s much more conforming. We’ll see a reduction in 435 square feet in footprint. With this project, it will bring the parcel, which is just under a quarter acre, 50 foot lot, into conformance with floor area ratio, into conformance with permeability where it is not now. It’s very rare that any of these Cleverdale lots are able to meet that. So I believe they made a nice concession, reducing the house footprint, pulling it back from the shore by a little over three feet, and then we’ve re-designed, very cognizantly, of the Adirondack Park Agency, because they have very strict requirements for non-conforming re-builds, that you’re allowed to expand to the rear. They generally let you re-build in footprint. We’re doing actually smaller than what’s there and a little farther back. So we did make an inquiry to the Park Agency. They wrote us a letter saying it doesn’t require a permit but they had review authorization of the findings of the local municipality. So I just wanted to get that on the record that we designed to their criteria, and with the balancing test, I believe it’s a nice improvement to the neighborhood, bringing the home further away from the southerly neighbor. So that’ll be a benefit for them, and we have an enhanced treatment wastewater system called Fuji Clean, and then a new field on the roadside where we received a slew of septic variances last month for the Town Board for that, and we’re also providing stormwater management where there is none now and shoreline buffering. I guess the final main point I’d like to make is that the main body of the house, well the gable and the lakeside, the main body itself meets the 50 foot setbacks. So the relief, the shoreline relief, which we understand can cause heartburn, is for the porch, which is the first floor shed roof porch, and the stairs coming down, again, further back than what’s there now. The average lot width is just over 60 feet. So that kicks us to the 20 foot side setbacks. If we were just under 60, it would be 15f feet and we wouldn’t need the side setbacks, but that’s the geometry of the parcel. We’ve been working on it almost a year on and off and there’s a lot of pieces. I believe it’s a very reasonable project. Everything fits together well. I believe it’s a nice improvement to the neighborhood. So we’re here to ask for your approval on this tonight. We received a positive recommendation from the Planning Board last week. Their goal is to do the teardown after Labor Day and then get it buttoned up throughout the winter. So they’ll be ready for next spring. The camp now has four bedrooms. This is going to three, a little bit of a less intensive use if you will. With that, I’d be happy to answer any questions from the Board. I appreciate your time tonight. MR. MC CABE-Do we have questions of the applicant? And you didn’t draw up Chris Navitsky. So you must have done a good job. So at this particular time I’m going to open the public hearing and see if there’s anybody in the audience who would like to address this particular project. Was there anything written, Roy? PUBLIC HEARING OPENED MR. URRICO-Yes, there were three letters. “We are homeowners located at 302 Cleverdale Road and we completely support the variance the Tarrant’s are requesting. Douglas and Susan Livingston” “We are in support of granting Bob and Jean Tarrant a variance to take down and build a new home on their property on Cleverdale Road, Cleverdale, NY. The Tarrant family have been strong advocates for maintaining the beauty of Lake George for as long as we have known them and their family….Which goes back generations. We believe a modern septic system has already been approved and the planned h ome design is smaller in size than the existing home. When have you seen that recently on the lake? I cannot remember. The design of the home will maintain the beautiful contiguous look of the neighbor’s homes to the north and south of the property. We understand the new porch although closer than the fifty feet setback required from the lake will be where the existing porch is located. We believe this variance should be ok’d by the Board. The property has been a generational home whose owners have shown excellent stewardship of the lake and we would expect this to continue as the Tarrant’s adult children are well educated as the home passes to them down the road. Thank you for serving on this public service Board. Amy and Dan Feeney Sandy Bay Onaway, LLC 296 Cleverdale Road Cleverdale, NY 12820” There’s one more letter. “I write in complete and enthusiastic support of Robert and Jean Tarrant's request for the variances necessary for them to replace their current home {Tax ID # 226.12-1-82) with a new, updated, and more environmentally sound structure. Bob and Jean have been lifetime residents of the lake, as was Bob's father Bill and his (and my) grandfather, Frederick K. Tarrant, and their three adult children will likewise be excellent stewards of the lake as well. The Tarrant property has been a four-generational abode, and their investment in it and its systems are a testament to their commitment ...and a cause for celebration among the neighbors who know and love them. The Tarrants have always put the health of the lake and their love and respect for community at the forefront of their lives here on Cleverdale, as evidenced by the care and thoughtfulness they have put into planning this project: the enlistment of extremely experienced, lake- sensitive professionals in design, the plan for a smaller footprint than the current structure, their insistence that the finished house be in keeping with neighborhood properties, and the complete transparency of their objectives with their neighbors before anything got started. While variance requests must be assessed on their merits, the variances sought by the Tarrants seem modest in light of the larger environmental benefits to be derived from the finished house. Especially vital, it seems, is the sequencing (Queensbury ZBA Meeting 06/29/2022) 3 of elements of this project: their commitment to a state-of-the-art septic improvement (already approved) only makes sense if they can attend to the long-term viability of the house stationed below. The entire project, resulting in both a smaller footprint as well as a safe, updated septic system, is the kind of project that will add environmental security to the lake for a very long time. Thank you for your favorable consideration of this letter, the Tarrants' appeal, and for the vital work you do in stewardship of our beautiful lake. Most appreciatively, Al Freihofer” 300 Cleverdale Road. MR. MC CABE-Anybody else? So at this particular time I’m going to close the public hearing. PUBLIC HEARING CLOSED MR. MC CABE-And I’m going to poll the Board, and I’m going to start with John. MR. HENKEL-I was prepared to say that you needed less porch, but after listening to your neighbors and the engineer on this application, it definitely sounds like a good improvement and outweighs the negative part of it, and I would definitely be in favor of it as is. MR. MC CABE-Jim? MR. UNDERWOOD-I think that we should support the application has it’s been presented this evening. It’s going to add a positive impact on both the property and the neighboring properties and it will be an improvement to the site. MR. MC CABE-Cathy? MRS. HAMLIN-I’m always really reticent to give an inch on the shoreline, but nonetheless, everything here, you’ve improved compliance all the way around. I would be voting in favor of this request. MR. MC CABE-Roy? MR. URRICO-I’m on board with the variance request. I’d be in favor. MR. MC CABE-Ron? MR. KUHL-I think if Freihofer says yes, I have to say yes. I mean he seemed to be a vocal person in that whole community, but anyway, yes. I think it’s a good project. I like the fact that they’ve been good stewards of the lake and the neighbors support it. So I’d be in favor, Mr. Chairman. MR. MC CABE-And I, too, support the project. Again I think it’s impressive that you’ve tried to shrink an existing structure rather than expand it. So it sounds like we’re set to go here. So I’m going to ask Cathy for a motion here. The Zoning Board of Appeals of the Town of Queensbury has received an application from Robert & Jean Tarrant. Applicant proposes to demolish an existing home and to construct a new home with a footprint of 1,005 sq. ft. including the porch/deck areas. The new floor area is to be 2,266 sq. ft. Project includes a new septic system and site work for stormwater and landscaping. The existing garage of 365 sq. ft. and 220 sq. ft. shed are to remain. Site plan for new floor area in a CEA and hard surfacing within 50 ft. of the shoreline. Relief is requested for setbacks. Relief Required: The applicant requests relief for setbacks for the new home to be constructed in the Waterfront Residential zone WR. The parcel is 0.24 ac. Section 179-3-040 dimensional, Section 179-4-080 decks/porches The porch stairs are to be 37.5 ft. from the shoreline where a 50 ft. setback is required. The house is to be 16.3 ft. from the north side and the garage is to be 1.0 ft. where a 20 ft. setback is required. The house is to be 15.8 ft. from the south side and the existing shed is to be 1.5 ft. where a 20 ft. setback is required. The garage is to be 6.5 ft. from the front setback where a 30 ft. setback is required. SEQR Type II – no further review required; A public hearing was advertised and held on Wednesday, June 29, 2022. Upon review of the application materials, information supplied during the public hearing, and upon consideration of the criteria specified in Section 179-14-080(A) of the Queensbury Town Code and Chapter 267 of NYS Town Law and after discussion and deliberation, we find as follows: (Queensbury ZBA Meeting 06/29/2022) 4 1. There is not an undesirable change in the character of the neighborhood nor a detriment to nearby properties. If anything, there is an increase in the desirable change to the character of the neighborhood. There’s no detriment to nearby properties. 2. Feasible alternatives were not considered. This is a replacement almost in kind, and due to the size of the property there’s really not too many alternatives. 3. The requested variance is not very substantial. It’s less than 20% from the shoreline and bringing the rest of the property closer to compliance at the very least if not beyond. 4. There is not an adverse impact on the physical or environmental conditions in the neighborhood or district. Especially with the added stormwater provisions. 5. The alleged difficulty can be considered self-created, but the house was from 1880. It was definitely before we had zoning. 6. In addition, the Board finds that the benefit to the applicant from granting the requested variance would outweigh (approval) the resulting detriment to the health, safety and welfare of the neighborhood or community; 7. The Board also finds that the variance request under consideration is the minimum necessary; 8. The Board also proposes the following conditions: a) Adherence to the items outlined in the follow-up letter sent with this resolution. BASED ON THE ABOVE FINDINGS, I MAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE AREA VARIANCE NO. 28-2022 ROBERT & JEAN TARRANT, Introduced by Catherine Hamlin, who moved for its adoption, seconded by James Underwood: Duly adopted this 29th Day of June 2022 by the following vote: AYES: Mr. Urrico, Mrs. Hamlin, Mr. Kuhl, Mr. Henkel, Mr. Underwood, Mr. McCabe NOES: NONE ABSENT: Mr. McDevitt MR. MC CABE-Congratulations, you have a project. MR. TARRANT-Thank you so much.