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AV 67-2021 Minutes 11.17.21(Queensbury ZBA Meeting 11/17/2021) 1 AREA VARIANCE NO. 67-2021 SEQRA TYPE TYPE II STEVE MC DEVITT AGENT(S) ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN PARTNER (CHRIS KEIL) OWNER(S) STEVE MC DEVITT ZONING WR LOCATION 32 NORTH LANE (REVISED) APPLICANT PROPOSES A 1 ½ STORY ADDITION TO AN EXISTING HOME. THE FIRST-FLOOR ADDITION IS TO BE A 320 SQ. FT. GREAT ROOM AND A 128 SQ. FT. SCREENED PORCH. THE EXISTING OFFICE SPACE IS TO BE MOVED UPSTAIRS AS 448 SQ. FT. ADDITION WITH 266 SQ. FT. LIVING SPACE. THE FIRST FLOOR WILL HAVE LAUNDRY AREA ADDED. A CRAWL SPACE ALSO TO BE CONSTRUCTED. SITEWORK INCLUDES STORMWATER. SITE PLAN FOR NEW FLOOR AREA IN A CEA. RELIEF REQUESTED FOR SETBACKS, PERMEABILITY, AND FLOOR AREA. CROSS REF SP 58-2021 WARREN COUNTY PLANNING SEPTEMBER 2021 ADIRO NDACK PARK AGENCY ALD LOT SIZE 0.26 ACRES TAX MAP NO. 226.19-1-58 SECTION 179-3-040; 179-6-065; 179-13-010 CHRIS KEIL, REPRESENTING APPLICANT, PRESENT; STEVE & ELLEN MC DEVITT, PRESENT STAFF INPUT Notes from Staff, Area Variance No. 67-2021, Steve McDevitt, Meeting Date: November 17, 2021 “Project Location: 32 North Lane Description of Proposed Project: (Revised) Applicant proposes a 1 ½ story addition to an existing home. The first-floor addition is to be a 320 sq. ft. great room and a 128 sq. ft. screen porch. The existing office space is to be moved upstairs as 448 sq. ft. addition with 266 sq. ft. living space. The first floor will have laundry area added. A crawl space also to be constructed. Site work includes stormwater. Site plan for new floor area in a CEA. Relief Required: The applicant requests relief for setbacks, permeability, expansion of a nonconforming structure, and floor area for the construction of additions to an existing home. The project is located in the Waterfront Residential zone on a 0.26 ac parcel. Section 179-3-040 -dimensional The addition is to be 21 ft. from the north side where a 30 ft. setback is required. The site permeability is to be 72% where 75% is required. The floor area is to be 30.5% where 22% is the maximum allowed. 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 neighborh ood or a detriment to nearby properties will be created by the granting of this area variance. Minor impacts to the neighborhood may be anticipated. 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 to reduce the size of the additions. Noting the location of the existing home is not compliant. 3. Whether the requested area variance is substantial. The relief requested may be considered moderate relevant to the code as the additions make it further non -compliant. Relief is requested for north side of 9 ft., floor area is 8.5% in excess and permeability is 3 % additional hard -surfacing. 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 will have minimal to no adverse effects or impact on the physical or environmental conditions of the neighborhood. 5. Whether the alleged difficulty was self-created. The difficulty may be considered self-created. Staff comments: The existing home is a 2,721 sq. ft. 1 1/2 story home. The addition is 320 sq. ft. great room on the first floor and 128 sq. ft. enclosed screen porch. The second floor is to have 224 sq. ft. addition as an office. The project 428 sq. ft. basement addition is no longer part of the application; the plan is to install a crawl space.” MR. MC DEVITT-My name is Steve McDevitt. I live at 32 North Lane. I just wanted to quickly say I have been coming to Lake George for 33 years. My wife Ellen and I hope to fulfill a lifetime dream and retire in Lake George in 2022. The design of this project is to consolidate as much as possible our living area to one floor. We plan to move the laundry from the cellar to the office space currently on the first floor. We also plan to update the kitchen, bathroom and add food storage with a pantry on the first floor. The proposed great room will replace the existing deck that runs across the rear of the house. This will allow (Queensbury ZBA Meeting 11/17/2021) 2 for year round use of the new space. It will also be a wonderful new area for family gatherings when our two sons visit for the holiday. On the second floor we plan to add an office which is being replaced on the first floor by the new laundry area. We believe the proposed project will enhance the character of the existing neighborhood and have received positive feedback from our neighbors on North Lane. They have graciously sent in letters of support to both the Zoning and Planning Boards. Thank you for your time. MRS. WETHERBEE-MC DEVITT-So I’m Ellen Wetherbee-McDevitt of 32 North Lane. I grew up on Lake George. I have great love and respect for the lake and the surroundings. It ’s been part of both sides of my family for multiple generations. Assembly Point is not a vacation destination. It’s home. My husband and I have had the good fortune to own this home for the past five years and we’ve lived here year round for the past 20 months. We’re retiring here. We look forward to spending our lives year round on Assembly Point. We have two grown boys who’ve spent the best times of their lives on Lake George. Our goal is simply to create a bit more space for times when we’r e all together as a family. We all love being on Assembly Point at all times of the year and we look forward to creating a life of memories in a house that’s just a bit bigger to accommodate another generation who will love and care for the lake as much as our entire family does. MR. KEIL-I’m Chris Keil with Environmental Design Partnership. So we presented this project back in September and I thought we were pretty close on some of the things. The overwhelming opinion that I recall from the Board members was that we were close to having a project. So we’ve sharpened our pencils a little bit more and kind of went back and modified the volume, the FAR, to address that, you know, converting basement to basement crawl space which dropped that request for relief down four percentage points. So with that we think it’s a pretty modest ask overall. And I’m grateful that the owners/applicants are here today to explain how this is really important. So we’re happy to answer any questions. MR. MC CABE-So do we have questions of the applicant? Seeing none, a public hearing was advertised. So at this particular time I’m going to open a public hearing and see if t here’s anybody in the audience who would like to provide input on this particular proje ct. Roy, do we have anything written? PUBLIC HEARING OPEN MR. URRICO-Yes, there’s three letters. The first one is, “I am writing in support of the addition at 32 North Lane that Ellen Wetherbee and Steve McDevitt wish to add to their home. I have b een a resident at 15 Forest Road for 46 years and my house is across North Lane from theirs. They are planning to become full time residents and I am happy that is t heir plan. I hope you will grant them the variance so that their house will become a comfortable year round home for them and their family. I have no objection whatsoever to a variance for their construction. Sincerely yours, Patricia Killeen” And then there are two other letters very similar in context. One is from Tim and Kathy Be chard, 3 North Lane, and the second one is from Kim Cavaretta at 28 North Lane. “We are writing in support of the building addition planned for 32 North Lane, Lake George, NY. Steve and Ellen McDevitt are our neighbors and they have shared their plans with us. We would like to let the Planning and Zoning Board know we believe the addition will maintain the character of the neighborhood and be a complement to our adjacent properties. Sincerely, Tim and Kathy Bechard 3 North Lane” “I am writing in support of the building addition planned for 32 North Lane, Lake George, NY. Steve and Ellen McDevitt are our neighbors and they have shared their plans with us and we would like to let the Planning Board and the Zoning Board know we believe the addition will maintain the character of the neighborhood and be a complement to our adjacent properties. We are Kim & Tony Cavaretta and we live at 28 North Lane, Lake George, NY 12845. Thank you for your time and consideration. Kim Cavaretta” MR. MC CABE-So that’s it? MR. URRICO-That’s it. MR. MC CABE-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 think they listened to some of our recommendations and I think they did a good job, and they’re not on the lake. So it doesn’t really concern me about the permeability and the setbacks don’t really bother me. It is a small piece of property and listening to the McDevitts trying to make it a year round place, I think you have to definitely expand it to do so. They’re not asking for anything unreasonable. So I’d be in support of it as is. MR. MC CABE-Roy? MR. URRICO-I’m in agreement with John. I would be in favor of the application, now that the changes have been made. (Queensbury ZBA Meeting 11/17/2021) 3 MR. MC CABE-Jackson? MR. LA SARSO-Yes, I would be in favor of this. MR. MC CABE-Cathy? MRS. HAMLIN-I do think the reductions are minimal, but I will vote to gr ant this variance. MR. MC CABE-So you’re saying yes? MRS. HAMLIN-Yes to grant the variance. MR. MC CABE-Jim? MR. UNDERWOOD-What’s been proposed is very reasonable. I don’t think there’s anything here that’s a land grab for a giant McMansion or any thing like that. I think it fits with what you have. MR. MC CABE-Brady? MR. STARK-Yes, I agree with what my fellow Board members have said. I would be in favor of this project. MR. MC CABE-And I, too, support the project. What’s being requested here is, for the most part, minimal. The big contention would be the floor area ratio, and what you have going against you is such a small lot. I mean the FAR is generally written for a larger lot. So you’re at an extreme disadvantage here. So it looks like you’ve got enough votes here. So, Cathy, I’m going to ask you for a motion here. MRS. HAMLIN-Thank you. The Zoning Board of Appeals of the Town of Queensbury has received an application from Steve McDevitt. (Revised) Applicant proposes a 1 ½ story addition to an existing home. The first-floor addition is to be a 320 sq. ft. great room and a 128 sq. ft. scree n porch. The existing office space is to be moved upstairs as 448 sq. ft. addition with 266 sq. ft. living space. The first floor will have laundry area added. A crawl space also to be constructed. Site work includes stormwater. Site plan for new floor are a in a CEA. Relief Required: The applicant requests relief for setbacks, permeability, expansion of a nonconforming structure, and floor area for the construction of additions to an existing home. The project is located in the Waterfront Residential zone on a 0.26 ac parcel. Section 179-3-040 -dimensional The addition is to be 21 ft. from the north side where a 30 ft. setback is required. The site permeability is to be 72% where 75% is required. The floor area is to be 30.5% where 22% is the maximum all owed. SEQR Type II – no further review required; A public hearing was advertised and held on September 22, 2021 & November 17, 2021. 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: 1. There is not an undesirable change in the character of the neighborhood nor a detriment to n earby properties. 2. Feasible alternatives have been considered and they were complied with by the applicant and changes were made by the applicant. 3. The requested variance is not substantial. 4. There is not an adverse impact on the physical or environmental conditions in the neighborhood or district. 5. The alleged difficulty is considered self-created but that’s not a determining factor here. (Queensbury ZBA Meeting 11/17/2021) 4 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 condition s: 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. 67-2021 STEVE MC DEVITT, Introduced by Catherine Hamlin, who moved for its adoption, seconded by John Henkel: Duly adopted this 17th Day of November 2021 by the following vote: AYES: Mr. Underwood, Mr. Stark, Mr. LaSarso, Mrs. Hamlin, Mr. Henkel, Mr. Urrico, Mr. McCabe NOES: NONE ABSENT: Mr. Kuhl, Mr. McDevitt MR. MC CABE-Congratulations. You have a project. MR. MC DEVITT-Thank you very much.