Tarrytown NY - Zoning Board of Appeals Minutes 5/14/2012

Zoning Board of Appeals Minutes 5/14/2012

Zoning Board of Appeals

Village of Tarrytown

May 14, 2012; 8:00 p.m.

PRESENT: Chairwoman Lawrence; Members Maloney, Jolly, Brown; Counsel Shumejda; Secretary Bellantoni

ABSENT: Member Weisel

APPROVAL OF THE MINTUES – April 9, 2012

Ms. Lawrence moved, seconded by Ms. Brown, and unanimously carried, that the minutes of April 9, 2012, be approved as submitted. Motion carried.

NEW PUBLIC HEARING – Lotz - 15 Hanford Place

The Secretary read the following Notice of Public Hearing:

“PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that the Zoning Board of Appeals of the Village of Tarrytown will hold a public hearing at 8:00 p.m. on Monday, May 14, 2012 in the Municipal Building, One Depot Plaza, Tarrytown, New York to hear and consider an application by

Norman Lotz

15 Hanford Place

Tarrytown, NY 10591

for a variance from the Zoning Code of the Village of Tarrytown for property located at the above address regarding the installation of an air conditioner condenser unit within the side yard setback requiring the following variance:

Obstructions in yards: (§305-47B)

One side yard: Minimum Required: 8 ft.; Proposed: 5’-2”; Variance Required: 2’- 10”

Documents are available for inspection in the Planning and Zoning Office at Tarrytown Village Hall. The property is shown on the Tax Maps of the Village of Tarrytown as Sheet: 03, Block: 0013, Lot: 110-112a and is located in an R5 (Residential) zone.

All interested parties are invited to attend and be heard. Access to the meeting room is available to the elderly and the handicapped. Signing is available for the hearing impaired; request must be made to the Village Clerk at least one week in advance of the meeting.

By Order of the Zoning Board of Appeals

Dale Bellantoni, Secretary”

The certified mailing receipts were submitted and the sign was posted.

Norman Lotz, homeowner, introduced himself and proceed to explain the reason for his appearing before the board. Mr. Lotz would like to install an air conditioner condenser unit next to his neighbors, the Vidal's, home. In order to do so, he must encroach onto the side yard setback. Mr. Lotz said it is the only place available for installation and stated that it is the lowest noise and the highest efficiency unit.

Ms. Lawrence asked Mr. Lotz if he spoke with his neighbors. Mr. Lotz said that he did and that they did not have a problem with the unit being place in the proposed area.

Mr. Maloney asked Mr. Lotz if the neighbors gave him a letter stating that they did not have a problem with its placement. Mr. Lotz said no because he did not know he had to have one.

Ms. Lawrence noted that the decibel level of the unit is not stated.

Mr. Shumejda explained that the board could approve the variance with two conditions; one, that Mr. Lotz presents a letter from the neighbor stating no objection to the unit; and two, that the decibel level of the unit complies with the noise ordinance.

Mr. Maloney asked if the proposed location was the optimum spot. Mr. Lotz said the houses are very close together in his neighborhood and that it is the only place for the unit to go because there is a deck in the back of the house and a driveway on the other side.

Ms. Lawrence asked if he was going to place a fence or any kind of a barrier around the unit. Mr. Lotz said no because there isn't enough room.

Mr. Jolly asked if he had window air conditioners because the neighbor might be so used to that noise that they may not even notice the noise from this unit. Mr. Lotz said yes, he had a large 220 A/C unit in the window right over the spot where the condenser will go.

Ms. Lawrence asked if there were any more questions.

Ms. Lawrence read the following Environmental Review from Michael Blau, Environment Review Officer, dated May 14, 2012

“I have reviewed this application to install an air conditioner unit and determined the proposal appears to pose no significant adverse environmental impact.”

Mr. Jolly moved, seconded by Mr. Maloney, with the condition that Mr. Lotz obtains a letter from the next door neighbor (Vidal) stating that he has no objection to the placement of the condenser unit and that the Building Department approves the decibel level and having arrived at the following Findings required by the ordinance:

That no undesirable change will be produced in the character of the neighborhood nor will a detriment to nearby properties be created by the granting of the area variance;
That the benefit sought by the applicant cannot be achieved by some method, feasible for the applicant to pursue, other than an area variance;
That the requested area variance is not substantial;
That the proposed variance will not have an adverse effect or impact on the physical or environmental conditions in the neighborhood or district; and
That the alleged difficulty was not self-created which consideration shall be relevant to the decision of the Board of Appeals but shall not necessarily preclude the granting of the area variance.

To grant the requested variances as stated above for 15 Hanford Place. All in favor; motion carried.

NEW PUBLIC HEARING – Karlsson - 120 Cobb Lane

The secretary read the following public hearing notice:

Linus Karlsson

Karla Olmedo-Karlsson

120 Cobb Lane

Tarrytown, NY 10591

for a variance from the Zoning Code of the Village of Tarrytown for property located at 120 Cobb Lane regarding the renovations and additions of an existing non-conforming single-family dwelling, requiring the following variances:

A variance from Section 305-25, Table 1 of the Zoning Code entitled Maximum Floor Area.

A variance from Section 305, Attachment 5; Maximum Building Height.

Documents are available for inspection in the Planning and Zoning Office at Tarrytown Village Hall. The property is shown on the Tax Maps of the Village of Tarrytown as Sheet 4, Block 1, Parcel 33 and is located in a R20 (Residential) Zone.

By Order of the Zoning Board of Appeals.

Dale Bellatoni

Secretary”

The return receipts were submitted and the sign was posted.

Mr. Ralph Makin, architect for the Karlssons, introduced himself as well as the homeowner, Carla Karlsson. Mr. Makin explained that the Karlssons' home is pre-existing non-conforming and was constructed in the 1880's with a small addition constructed in 1903 on the northwest portion of the home. Homes of that era were built differently than today's homes which makes it difficult to meet today's zoning. Today's zoning code requires them to include quite a bit of square footage in the attic as well as in the basement because so much of the basement is out of the ground.

Mr. Makin described the layout of the home. As you enter there is a foyer, then a livingroom, dining room, small den and a small kitchen was is in that 1903 addition. Their intention is to make the home more livable by today's standards while remaining respectful to its age and design.

The 1903 addition has already been taken down and they are proposing to construction a small two-story addition on the northwest side of the house. The first floor of this addition will house the kitchen and will allow them to open it up to an informal dining/gathering area. The second floor will be made into a guest bedroom and bathroom with a balcony. The existing covered porch will be extended around the house and along the new addition.

They followed the roof line of the existing house on the first floor, but on the second floor they stepped it back and created a second floor balcony to keep the square footage and density down.

Ms. Lawrence asked how many bedrooms and bathrooms are on the second floor now. Mrs. Karlsson said there are four bedrooms and one very tiny room and there are two and a half bathrooms. Mr. Makin said they will be combining two of the rooms for the new master suite with a master bathroom and walk-in closets, so they will have three bedrooms and three bathrooms. He said all the work is interior. They are putting in new windows but they are not changing the location of the windows.

They are not adding any space in the attic. There is an existing elevator, which they are leaving. The basement is a full basement. Ms. Lawrence asked if the basement is finished now. Mr. Makin said part of it had been finished but it is in very bad shape now. There will be a staircase down from the mudroom and storage in the basement.

Ms. Lawrence asked how many square feet they are adding. Mr. Makin said they are adding approximately 221 square feet to the first floor and approximately 200 square feet to the second floor.

Ms. Lawrence asked the reason for taking down the 1903 addition and adding an additional 400 square feet. Mr. Makin said as the house is laid out now, there is no real gathering space. This plan makes the kitchen/gathering area open and more in keeping with today’s living.

Mr. Makin said the house is situated low and the majority of the addition is down below and visually it will have no impact on the neighbors. Mrs. Karlsson said she spoke with the neighbors and they are all in favor of the renovations and the addition.

Ms. Brown asked how they come up with the maximum FAR because the property seems pretty large. Mr. Shumejda explained that there is a maximum for each zoning district no matter how large the property. In this particular case, it is an over-sized lot in a R20 district, which means it must comply with the maximum allowable FAR for that district even though the property is very large.

Ms. Lawrence asked if there is a historic designation on this house. Mrs. Karlsson said no there is not.

Ms. Lawrence asked how the insulation was. Mr. Making and Mrs. Karlsson said very poor, but they will be adding insulation with the construction and renovations.

Mr. Jolly asked if they will still be able to exit from the kitchen. Mr. Makin said yes the door will exit out onto the new extension of the old porch.

Ms. Brown asked if they would keep the same white siding with black shutters. Mrs. Karlsson said yes they want to keep the old style.

Ms. Lawrence asked if there were any more questions.

Ms. Lawrence read the following Environmental Review from Michael Blau, Environment Review Officer, dated May 14, 2012

“I have reviewed this application for renovations and additions of an existing non-conforming single-family dwelling and determined the proposals appear to pose no significant adverse environmental impact.”

Ms. Brown moved, seconded by Mr. Jolly and having arrived at the following Findings required by the ordinance:

That no undesirable change will be produced in the character of the neighborhood nor will a detriment to nearby properties be created by the granting of the area variance;
That the benefit sought by the applicant cannot be achieved by some method, feasible for the applicant to pursue, other than an area variance;
That the requested area variance is not substantial;
That the proposed variance will not have an adverse effect or impact on the physical or environmental conditions in the neighborhood or district; and
That the alleged difficulty was not self-created which consideration shall be relevant to the decision of the Board of Appeals but shall not necessarily preclude the granting of the area variance.

To grant the requested variances as stated above for 120 Cobb Lane. All in favor; motion carried.

ADJOURNMENT

Mr. Maloney moved, seconded by Mr. Jolly, and unanimously carried, that the meeting be adjourned – 8:50 p.m.

Dale Bellantoni

Secretary