TOWN OF SARATOGA
ZONING BOARD
OF APPEALS MINUTES
April 27, 2009
7:00 PM
Chairman
Stephen Bodnar called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. and led the flag
salute.
Chairman
Stephen Bodnar explained the Rules of the
Board.
Zoning Clerk Linda McCabe called the roll: Chairman Stephen Bodnar – present, Clifford Hanehan – absent, Thomas Carringi – absent (came in at 7:30 pm), Barbara Faraone – absent (came in at 7:07 pm), Bill Moreau – present, James Burke – absent, Clarence Fosdick – present, and Alternate John Deyoe – present.
Also present: Zoning Officer Gil Albert,
Attorney William Reynolds and Ross Pusatere.
(Sign-in sheet is on file in the Clerk’s office)
Chairman Stephen Bodnar
stated since there is not a full board present, Alternate John Deyoe will be
elevated to full voting status tonight.
Approval
of Minutes: A motion was made by
Clarence Fosdick and seconded by Bill Moreau, to accept the minutes of the
January 26, 2009 meeting as written.
Chairman Stephen Bodnar–aye, James Burke– absent, Barbara
Faraone–absent, Thomas Carringi-absent, Clifford Hanehan-absent, William
Moreau-aye, Clarence Fosdick-aye, John Deyoe-aye. Carried
4 – 0
Approved
Order of Business:
AREA VARIANCE
Ross Pusatere
#09-02
1294 Rt. 9P
Saratoga Springs,
NY 12866
S/B/L 193.10-1-52
Lake Residential
Applicant proposes to construct an addition onto his
existing deck, making it approximately 10’ x 32’. He is seeking an area variance of
5,500±’, a two-side set back variance of 15’, and a frontage variance of 58’ because he does not meet
zoning regulation requirements.
The Applicant appeared before
the Board explaining he would like to enlarge the deck on his home. He handed in his neighbor notifications to
the Chairman and a copy of the letter he sent, along with some responses he
received. The Applicant also handed a
photo of his property to each Board member.
Chairman Stephen Bodnar read the contents of the letter to the Board and
the neighbor responses. The Applicant’s
neighbors have no problem with this project. The Applicant stated the deck will
not be obtrusive, in fact far less than existing neighboring homes. Chairman Stephen Bodnar stated the Board
members went out to the site at the request of Zoning Officer Gil Albert. The Applicant told the Board the deck was
original to the house and is falling apart and is in dire need of repair. The Applicant was asked the age of the house
and he responded at least 35 years.
This a two family house and the Applicant lives in the 2 bedroom,
second floor apartment. The deck would
be for the second floor apartment and would give him some needed extra
room. The Applicant said he rents the
first floor apartment and he also rents the other house on his property. Zoning Officer Gil Albert asked if the
original trailer was on the property when he purchased it and the Applicant
responded yes and it had an addition on it.
The Applicant then said he removed that trailer and replaced it with a
double wide home. Zoning Officer Gil
Albert questioned if it was a multi-family property when purchased. The Applicant said yes. Chairman Stephen Bodnar questioned the
condition of the existing deck and the Applicant said it has rotted out and
needs to be replaced. He would like to
extend the size if possible. He added
that surrounding neighbors have larger decks than he is proposing. He is looking to clean up his property of the
clutter and get rid of the fence. He
replaced the roof on the house last year, and is removing the tree out front
and cleaning up the trash area. Board
member Bill Moreau stated there is a lot on that property, but looking around,
the surrounding area is worse.
After a lengthy discussion
between the Applicant and the Board, Chairman Stephen Bodnar read the Board’s
Purpose from the regulations. Chairman
Stephen Bodnar then stated, in his mind, the lot is being used reasonably
according to the regulations. He asked
the Zoning Officer’s opinion and Zoning Officer Gil Albert stated he feels this
is minimal; yes the Applicant is pushing lot coverage limits, but since
everything else is already existing, the Applicant is only looking for a 5% lot
coverage variance, so he sees nothing wrong with granting this proposal.
Chairman Stephen Bodnar asked if there were any other questions from the Board at this time; there were none.
After providing Proof of Notice in the Saratogian on
April 17, 2009, Chairman Stephen Bodnar opened the Public Hearing at 7:28 PM.
Board member
Barbara Faraone questioned if the ground patio beneath the deck is for the
renter and was told yes. The Applicant
also stated the deck will not extend out as far as the patio. The deck will be wide, but not deep; total
size will be 10’ deep by 12’ wide.
Chairman Stephen Bodnar asked if there were any more questions; finding none Chairman Stephen Bodnar closed the Public Hearing at 7:38 PM.
Clarence Fosdick made a motion, seconded by John Deyoe
to approve this application as presented and to grant the area variances as
applied for because it is keeping within character and essentially does not
affect the surrounding area. Chairman Stephen Bodnar–aye,
James Burke– absent, Barbara Faraone–aye, Thomas Carringi-aye, Clifford
Hanehan-absent, William Moreau-aye, Clarence Fosdick-aye, Alternate John
Deyoe-aye. Carried 6-0 Approved
Granted
Old Business:
New Business: Chairman Stephen Bodnar stated he will not be
at our May meeting due to his Fire Commissioner’s meeting being held the same
date and time; he also said Board member James Burke will not be at the May
meeting and if Board member Clifford Hanehan isn’t there then Board member
Barbara Faraone is to be Temporary Chair.
Next meeting will be held May
18, 2009 at 7 p.m.
Chairman Stephen Bodnar made a motion, seconded by
Barbara Faraone, to adjourn the meeting at 8:15 p.m. Chairman Stephen Bodnar–aye,
James Burke– absent, Barbara Faraone– aye, Thomas Carringi-aye, Clifford
Hanehan-absent, William Moreau-aye, Clarence Fosdick-aye, Alternate John
Deyoe-aye. Carried 6– 0
Adjourned
Respectfully submitted,
Linda McCabe
ZBA Clerk