ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2005
Members Present: Ms. Marteney, Mr. Baroody, Ms. Brower, Mr. Westlake, Ms. Aubin, Mr. Rejman
Member Absent: Mr. Darrow – called
Staff Present: Ms. Hussey, Mr. Hicks
APPLICATIONS APPROVED: 70 Hamilton Avenue, 24 Owasco Street, 96 Lake Avenue, 297 Grant Avenue, 50 Chase Street
APPLICATION DENIED: 11 Maple Street
Mr. Rejman: Good evening, this is the Zoning Board of Appeals. Tonight we have the following items: 11 Maple Street, 70 Hamilton Avenue, 24 Owasco Street, 96 Lake Avenue, 297 Grant Avenue, 50 Chase Street.
We are missing one member tonight. Be advised that you need four affirmative votes to have your application approved. Minutes of the last meeting, are there any corrections or additions? No corrections? Stand as printed.
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11 Maple Street, R-1, Edward and Theresa Rogalski, 864 square foot 3 car garage. Variance for 114 square feet over allowable 750 square foot size; variance for front yard placement.
Mr. Rejman: 11 Maple Street, are you here please? Use the podium. State your name. Tell us what you would like to do.
Mrs. Rogalski: Theresa Rogalski.
Mr. Rogalski: Ed Rogalski.
Mr. Rejman: OK guys, what would you like to do there?
Mrs. Rogalski: We would like to build a 3-car garage in the front yard; I don’t know what else you need.
Mr. Rejman: Three-car garage, front yard. Some questions have come up as to the allowable for footage. Three-car garage in the front yard would be 114 square feet. Let me ask this question. The existing garage in the back would that stay or would that be demolished?
Mrs. Rogalski: That would be demolished.
Mr. Rejman: OK. Because had that stayed it would have been excessive. Questions from the board?
Mr. Westlake: There really isn’t very much information in the packet. Not much to go by.
Mr. Rejman: Why did you think you would like it in the front yard versus where the one is now?
Mrs. Rogalski: The garage in the back is enclosed from the fence, we do have our yard fenced because we have a disabled child, so that keeps her safe, so the garage is not useable to park in and we have a very large front yard, our house sits back from the street.
Mr. Rejman: We need that for the minutes. Anyone here wishing to speak for or against the application? Sure, please step off to the side for a moment (to the applicants) and let this gentleman come up.
Mr. Blumrick: Good evening everyone one, my name is Bradley Blumrick, I live at 14 Maple Street. I will make this short and sweet. Granting this variance will adversely affect the character of this neighborhood. It will lower property values of surrounding properties. I believe this board would be setting a very dangerous precedent by granting a variance in the City to anyone building a garage in the front yard. And the very reason that this board exists and Code Enforcement is to prevent people from building three car garages in their front yard in the City. I also have a petition signed by virtually every neighbor from Genesee Street to Walnut Street on both sides objected to this.
Mr. Rejman: Do you have a copy of that?
Mr. Blumrick: Yes this is it.
Mr. Rejman: Pass it around to us. How many people are on there?
Mr. Blumrick: 20 or 23.
Mr. Rejman: Will the applicant come back please. In all fairness please let them see that. At least they can see which neighbors are opposed before we make it part of the record.
I know that you said you had a disabled child and the back yard is fenced and everything, but you made any considerations of the fact that you could just re-route the fence and put the three car garage in the back? What would be the opposition to that?
Mrs. Rogalski: Because the house sits so far back from the property, the back yard is from about me to that wall. Fencing differently and putting the garage in the back would make the yard even smaller and that is not a problem for us but that is one of the few things that our daughter does have the back yard to play in where she can be safe.
Mr. Rejman: OK. Wait a moment and let the members see that (petition). Questions from the board?
Ms. Brower: Your back area is the greened fenced area?
Mrs. Rogalski: Pardon?
Ms. Brower: What color is the fence back there?
Mrs. Rogalski: Three sides are chain linked; the side that does face the street is white vinyl fence. Like a white picket fence.
Mr. Rejman: Any further questions from the board?
Mr. Westlake: I don’t think so.
Mr. Rejman: OK, we will close the public portion and discuss this amongst ourselves.
Mr. Westlake: Are there two variances here? One to place it in the front yard and the 114 square feet?
Mr. Rejman: One because it is a three-car garage, needs 114 feet and the other is the placement in the front yard.
Mr. Westlake: Do two?
Mr. Rejman: Yes. But let’s discuss things first. Concerns, comments.
Mr. Baroody: There is a garage in the back there now which could be revamped even though the front yard is big it wouldn’t look good with this size of a structure in the front yard.
Ms. Marteney: Definitely change the look of the neighborhood and there is opposition from the neighborhood.
Mr. Westlake: One of those City lots you can do much with it.
Mr. Rejman: That is the bad part. OK, we will take this in two button.
Mr. Westlake: I would like to make a motion that we grant Ed and Theresa Rogalski of 11 Maple Street, a variance to place a three car garage in their front yard.
Mr. Baroody: I’ll second that.
VOTING AGAINST: Ms. Marteney, Mr. Baroody, Ms. Brower, Mr. Westlake, Ms. Aubin, Mr. Rejman
Mr. Rejman: Application for three-car garage in the front yard is not approved. We don’t have to do the second one because it is a moot point.
Ms. Hussey: That is correct.
Mr. Rejman: Second is a moot point, application is not approved.
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70 Hamilton Avenue, R-1A, Susan Helas. 10 foot x 18-foot carport. Variance for 5 foot 6 inch side yard setback.
Mr. Rejman: 70 Hamilton Avenue, are you here?
Ms. Helas: Hi, my name is Susan Helas, of 70 Hamilton Avenue and I would like to put a carport on east side of house, attached to my house, the dimensions are 10 feet x 18 feet.
Mr. Rejman: OK and you are looking for a 5 foot 7 inch side yard variance.
Ms. Helas: Yes.
Mr. Rejman: House sits a little too close to the side yard.
Ms. Helas: It is close 1 ½ feet to the other yard however my neighbor doesn’t use that yard it is just a small side yard and she also communicated that they did not mind me having it – here is the letter. She indicated she has no problem with it.
Ms. Marteney: Will you have gutters?
Ms. Helas: Yes, I am going to be getting a permit and I going to reside, new windows and definitely we would never allow to have water drain into her area.
Mr. Rejman: Always like to keep the water on our own property.
Ms. Helas: She already has some trouble of her own, I certainly wouldn’t add to it.
Ms. Marteney: How far back from the front corner, when I drove by there was a car parked there, just wondered how far back the edge of the carport is going to be from Hamilton and the corner of the house.
Ms. Hales: Midway
Ms. Marteney: OK what is the space right here from the edge of the house
Ms. Hales: To be honest with you, I don’t know, we just made the measurements there (shows Ms. Marteney).
Ms. Marteney: From the edge of the house corner back is 4 feet to where the carport starts.
Mr. Rejman: Is there anyone wishing to speak for or against the application? Seeing none, we will come back. Questions from the board.
Mr. Westlake: I don’t see a problem with it.
Mr. Rejman: Fairly genetic.
Ms. Marteney: Your garage looks really bad.
Ms. Helas: It is and that is my problem, plus it has a dirt floor back there and I tried to put a car in there and it doesn’t fit. I just don’t want my car to get ruined by having it out in the snow and weather.
Mr. Rejman: OK, let’s close the public portion and discuss this and see what we can do.
Ms. Marteney: There is no place on the other side of the house to put one.
Mr. Rejman: And it is a carport and not an enclosed structure.
Mr. Westlake: I would like to make a motion that we grant Susan G. Helas of 70 Hamilton Avenue a 5 foot 6 inch side yard set back variance for the purpose of erecting a carport.
Ms. Brower: I’ll second that motion.
VOTING IN FAVOR: Ms. Marteney, Mr. Baroody, Ms. Brower, Mr. Westlake, Ms. Aubin, Mr. Rejman
Mr. Rejman: Application has been approved.
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24 Owasco Street, C-1, Adelphia Cable. Parking lot. Variance for 38 feet 10 inches rear yard buffer and 119 of required 180 plant units.
Mr. Rejman: 23 Owasco Street are you here?
Mr. Gill: Hello, my name is Bob Gill, I am the architect for Adelphia Cable and with me this evening is Mr. Danny Bellows, he is the area manager and we are here to discuss our project which is basically installing a 20 car parking lot on the north side of our building. The reason we are doing this the customers don’t have a good place to park to pay their bills. They park on Owasco Street and are not able to enter the building we feel in a safe manner. We would like to put that parking lot in. We had our preliminary meeting and they said we would require a 60-foot buffer and basically our request this evening is to get some relief from that requirement to put in our parking lot.
The parking lot will actually be on grade to our new entrance and will allow more safer and more handicap accessible entry into the building. Along with this we intent to do some minor renovations to the interior of the building as well just to give you a total picture. We need the parking lot to make the interior renovations work with the whole project. We are here to answer any questions that the board might have. Thank you.
Mr. Rejman: Is this solely for customer or are you contemplating growth in business and more employees?
Mr. Gill: Actually it is for the customers and with that we allow to have more accessible for some of our trucks on the south side of the building.
Mr. Rejman: That will free the south side up.
Mr. Gill: Yes it will. If we are granted this variance our request for the building permit can continue, we are on line to go to the Planning Board next week. We have developed a landscape plan that complies with the City’s requirements by number of units and I also have been talking with the City Engineer in order to grade and drain the parking lot and that is being coincided with this request as well.
Mr. Rejman: Questions from the board?
Mr. Baroody: You mentioned the landscape plan you need relief from a 119 plants?
Mr. Gill: No, we are going to provide them.
Mr. Baroody: You re still going to have the required 180 plants?
Mr. Gill: Yes that is correct.
Mr. Baroody: We will have to amend this application.
Mr. Gill: We are ready to turn in plans this evening; I have to know where to submit these plans before I leave.
Mr. Rejman: Brian will help you afterwards.
Mr. Hicks: Actually he will need relief on the planting units for the simple fact that with the area he is allowed to plant in if he uses the planting calculations that we have for our buffers, he may run out of room and still have plants to plant.
Mr. Gill: OK.
Mr. Hicks: So that is all done on footage so that should stay the way it is.
Mr. Gill: OK, thank you very much. Sorry about that. That was put together by my landscape architect.
Mr. Rejman: Brian if we need relief from the plants, is there a way you can compute that tonight?
Mr. Hicks: It is actually right on the front sheet.
Mr. Rejman: Oh, I am sorry. 119 Planting units.
Mr. Hicks: It is all calculated what you are requiring.
Mr. Rejman: Anyone wishing to speak for or against the application? Seeing none, come back to the board. Questions from the board?
Mr. Westlake: I think it is good, make it a little nicer there.
Mr. Rejman: It will make it a little nicer. Brian that is in a C-1 area? Correct?
Mr. Hicks: Yes it is.
Mr. Rejman: Zoned C-1? The house north of that are in a C-1 area or is this a spot zoned piece of property?
Mr. Hicks: This is a C-1 area it starts right at Genesee Street and just about ends around Kinney’s Drug.
Mr. Rejman: Takes in that whole neighborhood.
Mr. Hicks: And then we pick up a couple independent properties as you head south.
Mr. Rejman: OK, that is all I need to know. Final questions? Close the public portion.
Ms. Marteney: It seems like a good thing to do to get the customers off the street, for safety and with the next entrance on the side that will be better.
Mr. Rejman: I have seen times when it is congested down there.
Mr. Westlake: Me too.
Mr. Rejman: So we are looking for two things then. 38 foot 10 inch variance and again we will take this in two parts.
Mr. Westlake: I would like to make a motion that we grant Adelphia Cablevision of Central New York Inc., 24 – 32 Owasco Street, a 38 foot 10 inch required rear buffer area variance so they can install a new parking lot.
Ms. Brower: I’ll second that motion.
VOTING IN FAVOR: Ms. Marteney, Mr. Baroody, Ms. Brower, Mr. Westlake, Ms. Aubin, Mr. Rejman
Mr. Westlake: I would like to make another motion that we grant Adelphia Cablevision of Central New York Inc., 24 – 32 Owasco Street to reduce the amount of plantings to199 from the required 180.
Mr. Baroody: I’ll second that.
Mr. Rejman: Question?
Mr. Hicks: He needs to reduce it by 119.
Mr. Westlake: I want to amend the motion to reduce it to 61 from the required 180.
Mr. Baroody: I’ll second that.
VOTING IN FAVOR: Ms. Marteney, Mr. Baroody, Ms. Brower, Mr. Westlake, Ms. Aubin, Mr. Rejman
Mr. Rejman: Application has been approved. Talk with Brain and he will tell you step #2.
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297 Grant Avenue, C-3, David Liseno. Subway in Wal-Mart Store. Sign. Variance for 20 square feet to erect sign.
Mr. Rejman 297 Grant Avenue, are you here?
Mr. Liseno: My name is David Liseno, I am 6 Subway Restaurants in the Central New York area and I am about to place one in the Wal-Mart Super Center where the Radio Snack Bar use to be. When Subway Corporate enter into a master agreement Wal-Mart to place Subway Restaurants into selected Wal-Mart locations, one of the concessions of Wal-Mart was to provide outside signage of a character in line with Subway does on a corporate level in most of their stores, not to exceed 20 square feet. I am looking for the approval of the City to allow me to put the Subway logo sign on the outside of the building, small sign not more than 20 square feet.
Mr. Rejman: OK. Questions from the board?
Mr. Westlake: You are going to put it on the side of the Wal-Mart building itself?
Mr. Liseno: It will be on the front of Wal-Mart building, right on the building.
Ms. Marteney: He is requesting this because Wal-Mart has already used all of the square footage for signage.
Mr. Liseno: Exactly, I should have said that. By code there is no more square footage.
Mr. Hicks: If I can clarify just a little bit. With the road frontage that Wal-Mart has at this point in time they exceed the allowable signage by 1400 square feet. So anything that we do out there is going to need a variance for any future signage.
Mr. Rejman: So we understand what is going on, Subway would like a 2 foot by 9 foot 8 inch sign attached to the Wal-Mart building and they need a 20 foot variance. Let me go through this first. Is there anyone wishing to speak for or against this application? Seeing none, we are back to the board. Questions from the board?
Mr. Westlake: I don’t see any problem with it.
Mr. Rejman: It is this little Subway sign that they are going to attach to the front of the building.
Ms. Marteney: Do they want one on the road?
Mr. Westlake: If he does, he will have to reapply and come back.
I would like to make a motion that we grant David A. Liseno of 202 Dublin Lane, Elbridge, New York, actually variance for him or for
Mr. Rejman: Variance goes with the property, so it is 297 Grant Avenue.
Mr. Westlake: For 297 Grant Avenue to allow a sign for Subway and the variance would be 20 square foot.
Mr. Rejman: Variance always goes with the property.
Ms. Marteney: Wal-Mart is not asking for it.
Mr. Rejman: He can show a lease.
Ms. Hussey: Is a lease executed?
Mr. Liseno: Yes there is. Wal-Mart provided the approval for the signage. I have a letter.
Ms. Hussey: Let me read that into the record. Here is a letter from Wal-Mart Food Service Division, dated August 18, 2005, regarding Wal-Mart Store #1830.
“To Whom It May Concern:
I hereby authorize Subway and its representatives to act as agents on Wal-Mart Stores’, Inc. behalf; only for building permits and or exterior signing permits and any permits associated with the building and or exterior signing of the Subway space in the Wal-Mart at the below location:
Wal-Mart #1830
297 Grant Avenue
Auburn, New York 13021
Subway’s exterior signing shall not exceed 20 square feet. This authorization shall terminate upon grant of the desired permit(s) or on October 30th, 2005, whichever is earlier.
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. retains the right to terminate this relationship at its sole discretion. Upon such termination, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. may name another agent or act on its own behalf.
Sincerely,
Mandy Sayer for Wal-Mart Stores”
Mr. Rejman: Can we get a copy for the record?
Mr. Liseno: You can have that one.
Ms. Hussey: Thanks.
Mr. Rejman: The motion stands. Is there a second?
Mr. Baroody: I’ll second the motion.
VOTING IN FAVOR: Ms. Marteney, Mr. Baroody, Ms. Brower, Mr. Westlake, Ms. Aubin, Mr. Rejman
Mr. Rejman: Application has been approved.
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50 Chase Street, Ext. I, Patrick Cusick. Building addition. Variance for 13 feet 6 inches of required 25-foot setback of side yard.
Mr. Rejman: 50 Chase Street, are you here?
Mr. Cusick: I am Patrick Cusick owner of Marietta Diesel at 50 Chase Street. I do have some additional paper work to put with the project. Survey and pictures of the building.
Mr. Rejman: We have got these.
Mr. Cusick: The first picture there shows the layout of the building. I was under the impression that the Planning Board had the previous copies and I made more.
Ms. Marteney: Certainly is a strange shape of a piece of property.
Mr. Cusick: Yes it is. On the north side of the building is the proposed area for the new addition. There is 30 feet of land that we are purchasing from Paul Hickey are neighbor to the north. Right now it is basically a field from our building to his building, which is approximately 300 feet or so. To the west which is across from Chase Street is also a vacant property and also behind us to the east is vacant property and then there is on the south and there is a parking lot area and then it becomes a wooded area which we need we left there as a barrier because on the other side of the fence is a residential area. With the purchase of the 30 feet it still doesn’t allow us enough area there to put the building up that we require.
Mr. Rejman: So you are looking for a 13 foot 6 inch side yard variance to do the project?
Mr. Cusick: Yes.
Mr. Rejman: Patrick, that has been there a long time. When I worked for Agway we took our trucks there, how long have you been there?
Mr. Cusick: We have been there since 1996, the building itself?
Mr. Rejman: No the business.
Mr. Cusick: The business, we started the business here in Auburn in 1996.
Mr. Rejman: It was a lot earlier than that.
Mr. Cusick: We purchased the building I believe in either 1997 or 1998.
Mr. Rejman: Is there anyone wishing to speak for or against this application? None. Coming back. You are on a dead end street. Two nice businesses down there. Hickey’s and this. Any questions?
Mr. Westlake: I don’t think so.
Mr. Rejman: When you do this expansion hopefully it will increase your traffic flow through there?
Mr. Cusick: Yes.
Mr. Rejman: Take on some new employees?
Mr. Cusick: Yes that is our goal.
Mr. Rejman: Always nice to have new employees.
Mr. Westlake: I would like to make a motion that we grant Marietta Diesel, Patrick Cusick of 50 Chase Street Extension a 13 foot 6 inch side yard variance of the required 25 foot set back for the purchase of erecting an addition on the side of the building.
Ms. Brower: I’ll second that.
VOTING IN FAVOR: Ms. Marteney, Mr. Baroody, Ms. Brower, Mr. Westlake, Ms. Aubin, Mr. Rejman
Mr. Rejman: Approved has been approved. When might ground breaking be on this?
Mr. Cusick: We are meeting with the Planning Board in October and once we have approval, we are looking to break ground right away.
Mr. Rejman: Good luck with the project.
Mr. Cusick: Thank you.
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96 Lake Avenue, R-1. Laurie Marangola. 840 square foot garage. Variance required for 90 square feet over allowable size of 750 square feet and 8 feet over 15 feet allowable height.
Mr. Rejman: 96 Lake Avenue, are you here?
Mr. Marangola: Yes.
Mr. Rejman: State your name for the record please.
Mr. Marangola: Charles Marangola.
Mr. Rejman: OK, Charles, tell us what you would like to do there.
Mr. Marangola: I would like to put up a garage, the reason for the variance is we want a garage 28 x 30 length and width, two story over the 50 feet limit for the second story. Going to tear down the garage we have, it was there in the 1920’s when the house was built in pretty back shape. We want to relocate it back away from the house. The current one is only a one-car garage. I think your square footage is 750 and this will be 840 square feet.
Mr. Rejman: Yes, 840, so there is 90 square foot difference in the allowable square footage.
Mr. Westlake: Why so high?
Mr. Marangola: We don’t have any storage in the house and as a matter of fact my sump pump is going now, our basement we can’t use it because of the water problems, so we have no storage. We have storing things at my Mother’s house up the street. We thought if we went higher, the contractor said it wouldn’t be that expensive to do that to put a second story on. I have a lot of files in the office that I need to store.
Mr. Rejman: Is there anyone wishing to speak for or against? None. Questions from the board?
Mr. Baroody: I made a few calls and they are building with second stories for storage, pretty common.
Mr. Rejman: In Seneca Falls it is very common.
Mr. Westlake: The lot is big enough.
Mr. Marangola: I apologize for being late tonight, the reason why I was late was because at 7:15 I had a live talk show because of this topless case. I couldn’t get out of it.
Mr. Rejman: What is the size of the lot?
Mr. Marangola: The whole lot?
Mr. Rejman: Yes.
Mr. Marangola: It is about ¾ of an acre, it is 100 feet wide by 262 feet deep. Quite a large lot for the City, deep.
Mr. Rejman: The lot certainly supports the structure. There are no neighbors here against. There was one man but he just wanted to see where it was going to be and he left.
Mr. Marangola: It is going to be back further. Most is going to be on Crescent Avenue.
Ms. Marteney: Does he need a side yard variance as well?
Mr. Rejman: Brian, is there a side yard requirement?
Mr. Hicks: Required 3 feet set back and he is showing a plus or minus of 3 feet.
Mr. Marangola: We may move it farther to the north so the eves aren’t encroaching.
Mr. Westlake: He needs two variances one for the height and for over the 750 square feet.
Mr. Rejman: Yes.
Mr. Westlake: I would like to make a motion that we grant Laurie Marangola, 96 Lake Avenue, a variance of 8 feet in height.
Mr. Baroody: I’ll second that.
VOTING IN FAVOR: Ms. Marteney, Mr. Baroody, Ms. Brower, Mr. Westlake, Ms. Aubin, Mr. Rejman
Mr. Westlake: I would like to make another motion that we grant Laurie Marangola of 96 Lake Avenue for a 90 square foot in excess of the allowable 750 square feet.
Mr. Baroody: I’ll second that.
VOTING IN FAVOR: Ms. Marteney, Mr. Baroody, Ms. Brower, Mr. Westlake, Ms. Aubin, Mr. Rejman
Mr. Rejman: Application approved.
Mr. Marangola: Thank you very much.
Mr. Rejman: Next meeting will be held on October 24, 2005
Meeting adjourned at 8:00 p.m.
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