Letter by Craig Brown, Zoning Administrator regarding Teresi-Davis 1_4_19 TOWN OF QZZEENSBLZAY
742 Brsy Rorsd, Qveensbxery, NY. 12884-59D2
January 4, 2019
Tonathan C. Lapper, Esq-
Bartlett, Pontiff, Stewart 8c lihodes, PC
P.O_ Box 2168
One Washington Street
Glens Falls,NY 12801
RE: D¢vlr—DurX Btty Prop¢sTl¢s,LLC
T¢r¢sl
Tox.Mtzp Nor 239_ZS-2-2Z2
Dear Mr. Lappero
I am writing to you in response to your September 2Q 2018 letter regarding the property
referenced above.
On June 25, 2018 the Town o£ Queensbury Planning Board adopted a resolution
approving Site Plan 6'i-2019 £or the development o£ the subject parcel with a single-
f fly dwelling, o site wastewater system and other a fated site improvements. On
July 30, 2018, Charles Freiho£er filed a Notice o£ Appeal with Sae Town seeking to
appeal from a June 26, 201 S letter from my office to Mr_ Teresi regarding the Placaraing
Board approval. After this Appeal was £sled, I received additional correspondence from
your off ce dated September 20, 2018 and cosespondence from Mr. Freiho£er's Legal
Counsel dated October 19, 2018_ With c sideralion o£ all the above-referenced
documents, applicable Sections of the Town of Queensbury Code and Section 811 of the
Adirondack Park Agency Act, PAPA Acts I offt-r the following=
Mr. Freihofer claims that the parcel in question is required to be merged, by law,with the
adjoining parcel to tkae west since both parcels must be considered non-conforming and
they were in the same ownership on May 22, 19']3. Fur@aer, Mr. Freiho£er asserts that the
subject parcel does not meat the manamum lot saze aad shoreline width requirements o£
the curreat Town Zoning Law.
Your client takes issue with Mr. Freiho£er's interpretation of Town Zoning Law Section
199-12-060_ He £Ltr'ther argues that even i£thai interpretation were correct,that the
subject parcel nonetheless quali£ves£or an exemption pursuant to.subparagraph<DJ based
on a previous subdivision of land that created tkae parcel in 190']_
" Hoare e of Nn t « rot Beau ty ... A Gnod Pta ce to Live
Jonathan C. Lapper, Esq.
Page 2
January 4, 2019
Section 1�9-13-060 (D) of the Towa o£Queensbury Zoning Law reads=
D_ Developmenf of nonconforming lots in a ritica[¢n vironm¢ntaL area and/or the
Adirondack Purk shall be in accordant¢ with § 8II fNew York State Executive Law
Article 27 (the APA Act)_ Development of such lots shall also comply wifh Lh¢
minimum yard setback, Lot width, permeability and building heigl t Limitations as set
forth by this chapter_ In tJze ea[ that lot located within eitJz er criKcaL
¢n vironm¢nMl area or the Adirondack Park does not comply with the minimum density
um shor¢LLn¢ width r¢qu rzts rzd adjoins other loss the
rsh ip, the Lots will b¢ treated together mr a Lot for zoning purposes. La j t
o f r ing Lots shall include those lots in preexisting subdivisions which were
approved by the New York Statc Department of Health.
This Section o£the Town Code references Article 811 0£the APA Act which reads in
relevant part:
a. Single J"amiLy dwelling on ezisHng vacant lot One sing[¢family dwelling or mobile
l:ome sl:a[L be aLlo wed to be built orz any vacant lot whit/z w record on the date
that this act shall become a Law regardless of the overall intensity guid¢[In¢s, or the
minimum lot width provisions of the shoreline restrictions. For the purposes of this
cxemptlon, such a lot must not adjoin other Lots in the same o rsh iq provided
l o , that a[!such lots in the same o rslzip m y b¢treated together as a Lot_ In
addi!'on to ih¢foregoing exemption, where the agency has jurisdiction,for
other 1l an its location in a crl8c¢L ¢n vironmentaL a of a sing[¢family dwelh'ng o
mobile home o a Lot described in S/t is paragraph which is wn¢d by an individual who
has contin aQy o ed such Lot s nee May hv¢nfy-second on eteen hundred s¢venty-
thr¢e. It may not disappro a the project o y of the grounds spec fed In paragraph ¢
of subdivision ten of section eight l:und ed n but may impose s dz orzable
nditiorzs on fh¢ type and manner of PLac nt of any Individual o mite s wage
dispo a[ facilities as are in furtherance of the pu poses of this article and en
co pliance with applicable stand rds of the department ofheaLth_
My review o£both the Town Code and the referenced APA Section since it is refere ced
in the Town Code Section] does not reveal any speciSc re{rences as to the timing o£the
applicability o£the ergs pro - other than the first sentence o£the Town Code
Section that begins with: " Development o£___" This initial phrasing of rl.a section o£the
Town Code appears to offer the direction {r the intent o£the remainder of the paragraph
and sets the tone/timing for the applicability_ This paragraph continues with the
requirement to treat non-conforming parcels in the s e ownership as one lot {r z ing
purposes. I£the intent o£either the Town Code or the APA Act section was to apply the
"merger" language based on the ownership o£the affected properties on May 22, 1993 it
Jonathan C. Lapper, Esq.
Page 3
January 4, 2019
could have and should have been written as such. It is my determina5on, based upon
review o£the plain language of this provision, that any Municipal c sideration o£ the
derskvip o£contiguosss parcels for merger purposes is intended to occur at the time that
elopment is pursued.
'There£ore, it is my determination that the Davis/Teresi project requires an Area Variance
£or relief from the shoreline width requirements and that the "merger" provision does not
andate Further variances as tkve ubject property and the adjacent lot were not
orrarrvon ownership at the time of developm nt o at the time o£submittal o£any land use
development application to the Town o£Queensbury by Mr_ Teresi.
Should you have any questions regarding the above comments, please do not hesitate to
contact this ot3ice.
Sincerely,
Town o£Queensbury
Craig Brown
Zoning Administrator
CB/sh
Cc: Town Counsel
John Ca£fry, Esq.
L\Cesig aeown\2019 Lcaers\Tamsi-Davis l_4_lAaoo