MOTIONS
Town of Old Saybrook
Zoning Board of Appeals
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Zoning Board of Appeals of the Town of Old Saybrook at its Regular Meeting that was held on Wednesday, June 8, 2016 at 7:00 p.m. at the Town Hall, First Floor Conference Room, 302 Main Street, heard and decided the following appeals:
Seated for this evenings meeting and voting were the following members: Rexford McCall, Chairman, Dorothy Alexander, Vice Chairman, Alan Spargo, Robert McIntyre, Philip Broadhurst, Carl VonDassel, Jr., alternate and Kenneth Mikulski, alternate
Absent: Adam Boyd, Alternate
Present: Christina Costa, ZEO and Kim Barrows, Clerk
The meeting was then called to order at 7:05 p.m. The following public hearings were conducted, as well as the decision making sessions. The meeting has been recorded and the following actions were taken:
The Chairman introduced the Board members who were seated for this evenings meeting. The Chairman then proceeded to read the Legal Notice into the record.
15/16-28C - Walter C. Bansley & Sherri T. Bansley, seek a variance of Par 10.8.2 & 10.8.3 (non-conforming lot size/12,500 s.f. required/3,720 s.f. proposed); Par 24.6.2 (maximum building/structure coverage/20% allowed/29.4 % proposed); Par 24.5.1 (street line setback/25’ required/6.4 proposed to house); Par 24.5.3 (Other property line setback East /15’ required/0’ proposed to retaining wall/4.4’ proposed to stairs & house) (Other property line setback West/0’ proposed to new wall/4.4’ proposed to deck & house) of the Zoning Regulations to permit the demolition and construction of a 1,318 s.f. residence with 125 s.f. deck with stairs at 5 Beach Road West, Map 12/Lot 147, Residence A District, Coastal Area Management Zone.
Carl VonDassel recused himself from this application. All regular members seated for the meeting
Discussion with respect to the public hearing that closed this evening. The lot is nonconforming and the existing single story, two bedroom, seasonal structure is to be demolished. The proposal is to construct a code compliant two story, two bedroom seasonal dwelling with approximately 1,318 s.f. of gross floor area with a deck and stairs. A new retaining wall will be constructed that will extend up the east and west side property lines. Even though the structure will be elevated to elevation 15, it will still remain under the 35’ height allowance.
A Motion was made by R. McCall, seconded by R. McIntyre to GRANT Application 15/16-28C - Walter C. Bansley & Sherri T. Bansley. The applicants have done their best to contain a small home on a very tight lot with a good part of the area taken up by the proposed new septic system, They have minimized the front setback from the road cutting that nonconformity down and have cut the nonconformities on the east and west sides of the building. Also the Coastal Site Plan Review Application is approved as well because it is consistent with all applicable coastal policies and includes all reasonable measures to mitigate adverse impacts. No discussion and a vote was taken: In favor: R. McCall, D. Alexander, R. McIntyre, A. Spargo Opposed: P. Broadhurst Abstaining: None The motion passed. 4-1-0
15/16-38 - Peter Rothman, seeks a variance of Par 10.7.1 & 10.7.2 (non-conformity enlargement/change); Par 24.5.1 as modified by 68.1.2B(4) (narrow street setback/30’ required/7.7’ proposed); and Par 24.5.3 (Other property line setback /15’ required/9.8’ proposed) of the Zoning Regulations to permit re-construction of a 280 s.f. porch at 22 Seacrest Road, Map 4/Lot 252, Residence A District, Coastal Area Management Zone.
Discussion with respect to the public hearing that closed this evening. The structure was built in 1927, it is a Cape style home with an enclosed front porch. Over the years the front porch is sagging a bit and the owner wants to shore it up and make moderate improvements to the front. If the porch is removed, the architecture of the house will look out of place and it will also look out of place in the neighborhood.
A Motion was made by R. McCall, seconded by R. McIntyre to GRANT Application 15/16-38 - Peter Rothman. The hardship is that the structure that was built in 1927 has shown some definite signs of deterioration in the front porch area which will then be strengthened by this proposed construction. There will be no change in the footprint and no further encroachments into the setbacks. No discussion and a vote was taken: In favor: R. McCall, D. Alexander, P. Broadhurst, R. McIntyre, A. Spargo Opposed: None Abstaining: None The motion passed unanimously. 5-0-0
15/16-39 - Town of Old Saybrook, seeks a variance of section 27.5.1 as modified by 68.1.2B4 (narrow street setback/60’ required/37.1’ proposed) of the Zoning Regulations to allow for residence to remain in existing location and allow for a subsequent proposal for a lot line change that will increase the width of the access strip on the adjacent property to the west owned by the Town/State of CT to more than 25’ in width resulting in the access strip being classified as a street line (currently other line) according to Section 9 of the Zoning Regulations, making the property a corner lot and increasing the setback to 60’ (currently 20’ other line setback). No improvements are proposed to the residence located at 185 Bokum Road, Map 61, Lot 17, Residence C District.
Discussion with respect to the public hearing that closed this evening. The proposed lot line change will increase the access strip to the rear lot to 30’ to Town and State owned Preserve property located behind 185 Bokum Road. The Town and State owned land is a rear lot and is pre-existing nonconforming since it currently has only 15’ of frontage (20’ required in Residence C District) a 30’ access strip will eliminate the frontage nonconformity. The access strip currently has topographic constraints in that it is steep and narrow.
A Motion was made by R. McCall, seconded by R. McIntyre to GRANT Application 15/16-39 - Town of Old Saybrook. The hardship is that the property is a five sided lot with inland wetlands making it unique from other parcels in the Residence C District. The result of granting this variance will eliminate the frontage nonconformity for the adjacent Town and State owned lot and improve public safety by allowing for a 30’ wide access due to the steep topography to Town and State owned land which has been dedicated as open space. The lot line change will make this a corner lot with two street line setbacks but the reality is that this parcel will never function as a corner lot with two Town roads. The “streetline setback” to the existing house will be 37.1’. No discussion and a vote
was taken: In favor: R. McCall, D. Alexander, P. Broadhurst, R. McIntyre, A. Spargo Opposed: None Abstaining: None The motion passed unanimously. 5-0-0
Old Business:
Zoning Board of Appeals Guideline Amendment – Text Change
Expiration of Permit/Approval – The Board maintains a policy that the applicant obtains his/her building permit for any variance of the Zoning Regulations that pertains to construction activity (structure location or building coverage) within one (1) year [change to two (2) years] of the date of the approval of the variance. After issuance of the building permit, the applicant should begin the proposed construction activity within one (1) year [change to two (2) years]. The Board maintains this policy in order to: (1) discourage variance requests from applicants who are not serious about completing a project; (2) avoid the use of variance approval as a real estate marketing tool; and (3) protect neighbors from old variances that may detrimentally affect neighboring properties due to changing
circumstances.
The Board may extend the expiration period one (1) additional year if the applicant shows good cause and if the applicant files the request with the Board before the expiration of the initial one (1) year period [change to two (2) year period]. After that, any variance requiring a building permit that does not comply with this section is void and terminated.
A Motion was made by R. McCall, seconded by R. McIntyre to amend the Zoning Board of Appeals Guidelines Section 4 Expiration of Permit/Approval policy that the Applicant obtains a building permit within two (2) years of the date of a variance approval and allow for one extension of one additional year for good cause as drafted in the proposed draft amendment updated to June 8, 2016. This policy will retroactively go into effect to extend to all appeals granted on June 11, 2014 to May 11, 2016 to obtain a building permit from one (1) year to two (2) years. No discussion and a vote was taken: In favor: R. McCall, D. Alexander, P. Broadhurst, R. McIntyre, A. Spargo Opposed: None Abstaining: None The motion passed unanimously. 5-0-0
Minutes: A Motion was made by R. McCall, seconded by A. Spargo to APPROVE the May 11, 2016 Regular Meeting Minutes as submitted. No discussion and a vote was taken: In favor: R. McCall, D. Alexander, P. Broadhurst, R. McIntyre, A. Spargo Opposed: None Abstaining: None The motion passed unanimously. 5-0-0
Adjournment: A Motion was made by R. McCall, seconded by A. Spargo to adjourn the June 8, 2016 Regular Meeting of the Zoning Board of Appeals. No discussion and a vote was taken: In favor: R. McCall, D. Alexander, P. Broadhurst, R. McIntyre, A. Spargo Opposed: None Abstaining: None The motion passed unanimously. 5-0-0 The meeting was adjourned at 8:35 p.m.
Rexford H. McCall, Chairman
THE NEXT MEETING OF THE ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS IS
WEDNESDAY, JULY 13, 2016 AT 7:00 P.M., FIRST FLOOR CONFERENCE ROOM
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