TOWN OF SARATOGA
ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS DRAFT MINUTES
April 25, 2016
Interim Chairman Clifford Hanehan called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. and led the flag salute.
Interim Chairman Clifford Hanehan reviewed the Rules of the Board.
Zoning Clerk Linda McCabe called the roll: Interim Chairman Clifford Hanehan present, William Moreau present, Thomas Carringi absent, Clarence Fosdick present, John Deyoe - present, Chris Benn present.
Also present: Zoning Officer Gil Albert, Jon & Sara Spisak, Town Attorney William Reynolds, Rita Conley and Patricia Phillips. (Sign-in sheet is on file in the Clerks office.)
Approval of Minutes: A motion was made by Clarence Fosdick, seconded by Chris Benn, to accept the meeting minutes of March 28, 2016. Interim Chairman Clifford Hanehan -aye, Thomas Carringi - absent, William Moreau aye, Clarence Fosdick - aye, John Deyoe aye, Chris Benn - aye.
Carried 5 - 0
Approved
Area Variance
Jon Spisak #16-05
1344 Rt. 9P
Saratoga Springs, NY 12866
S/B/L 193.6-1-48 Lake Residential
Applicant seeks numerous variances in order to build an addition to his existing house.
The public hearing for the above applicant was postponed until the May 23rd meeting to give the Applicant time to bring in proof of mailings of his neighbor notifications. Interim Chairman Clifford then stated this will now be an informational meeting.
Old Business: Rita Conley questioned if she needed to appear before the Board again and Interim Chairman Clifford Hanehan asked Zoning Officer Gil Albert to address her on behalf of the Board. Zoning Officer Gil Albert stated he noticed sheds on her property and was concerned about her meeting the rear setback; she responded those are on her mother's property which abuts hers. Zoning Officer Gil Albert stated she needs to come see him and prove it's her mother's property and she was agreeable to that.
Interim Clifford Hanehan asked if she needs to return to the Board and Zoning Officer Gil Albert responded there is no need at this time.
New Business: Interim Chairman Clifford Hanehan and the Board discussed the tri-board meeting that took place on April 18th and since that time, Clerk Linda McCabe brought to the Board's attention that Chairman Stephen Bodnar notified her, via telephone, that he has resigned from the Board after 35 years of being a Board member. Due to that, the Board had a workshop meeting on April 21st and Clifford Hanehan agreed to be the Interim Chairman for 6 months and William Moreau agreed to become Vice Chairman for 6 months.
A motion was made by Clarence Fosdick, seconded by Chris Benn, to have Clifford Hanehan as Chairman and William Moreau as Vice Chairman for 6 months. Interim Chairman Clifford Hanehan -aye, Thomas Carringi - absent, William Moreau aye, Clarence Fosdick - aye, John Deyoe aye, Chris Benn - aye.
Carried 5 - 0
Approved
The Board discussed the proposed changes to the Lake Residential and Lake Commercial districts with Zoning Officer/Building Inspector Gil Albert. The Board agreed that all of the proposed changes will be helpful to the property owners in those districts. Town Attorney William Reynolds stated that will be on the May, Town Board agenda and the public hearing will be held in June to pass the amendments. He then asked if the public sewer is available in both of those districts and Zoning Officer/Building Inspector Gil Albert responded yes it is.
Chairman Clifford Hanehan asked Zoning Officer/Building Inspector Gil Albert about the addition on the Spisak application. Zoning Officer/Building Inspector Gil Albert stated it's not an addition; he's removing the existing house and building a new house.
Zoning Officer/Building Inspector Gil Albert questioned Town Attorney William Reynolds if it is okay to include 'no on-street parking' in the Lake Residential and Lake Commercial districts and Town Attorney William Reynolds responded that's a state road and it would be up to the state.
Zoning Officer/Building Inspector Gil Albert then said that the Board must be sure that one of the side setbacks of the properties that come before them, be wide enough to allow the vehicles to drive down and park on their parcels.
Chairman Clifford Hanehan asked Zoning Officer/Building Inspector Gil Albert if he will talk with Applicant, Mr. Borisenok, concerning the changes the Board would like to see and he agreed to do so. Town Attorney William Reynolds said the Borisenok case is significant enough that he wants to write the resolution/notice of action for the Borisenok case and he'd like a sense of approval or disapproval of the Board.
Bill Moreau said he thinks the Board needs to wait until they receive a new submittal; he added that he will be recusing himself due to having built a home for the Applicant in the past.
Chairman Clifford Hanehan stated it's a hard stretch for him to approve it due to the building envelope; he wants to see new drawings first. He also stated he'd like to see it smaller.
Zoning Officer/Building Inspector Gil Albert stated Mr. Borisenok's not coming back before the Board until June. If he's within the new setback,s then it's not a bad fit for the area and it will be a beautiful home. Mr. Borisenok is a long term resident here in our town and his family has owned property on the lake for generations. Yes, he can shrink it a bit but you can't look at the existing house; the variances he's seeking are on the proposed addition. The variances given for the existing house are done; you can't look at those.
Clarence Fosdick stated on the application, they showed the wanting those variances.
Zoning Officer/Building Inspector Gil Albert stated that was the doing of his attorney, but the variances given for the existing house have already been given - they are not part of this. His attorney shouldn't have had those on the drawings.
Clarence Fosdick said he's against it unless enough concessions are done.
John Deyoe doesn't see how the Applicant can compress it; he's doing away with the old kitchen so there's only going to be one-he told them that at the first meeting.
Chris Benn didn't express an opinion.
William Moreau stated he believes there will be others purchasing multiple parcels, combining them, removing old camps and building large houses; that area is popular.
John Deyoe stated that it's really about the breezeway - when you combine the existing house with the addition, it's 165' - you cannot put the existing house with the proposed addition.
Chairman Clifford Hanehan asked if anyone had further old business to discuss; finding none he reminded the Board to see about people who may be interested in serving on the Board and to have those interested, contact the Supervisor Thomas Wood and the Town Board members.
He then stated he has learned a great deal from Chairman Stephen Bodnar over the years and has great respect for him and all the hard work he's done for our Town. The Board members all agreed that the Town of Saratoga has been very fortunate having had him on the Board for 35 years.
Clarence Fosdick stated he'll be updating the agriculture map this summer.
A motion was made by Clarence Fosdick, seconded by John Deyoe to adjourn the meeting at 8:04 p.m. Chairman Clifford Hanehan -aye, Thomas Carringi - absent, William Moreau aye, Clarence Fosdick - aye, John Deyoe aye, Chris Benn - aye. Carried 5 - 0
Meeting Adjourned
The next Zoning Board of Appeals meeting will be held May 23, 2016.
Respectfully submitted,
Linda McCabe
ZBA Clerk