Retrofitting old decisions to new code

The January 23, 2024 Zoning Board of Appeals meeting was held in two sessions. The first, recorded and streamed, was a "typical" meeting, with requests from applicants for variances. The second, not publicized, was education for the board - and will count as one of the four hours that ZBA members are required to take each year. This was recorded, but not streamed - and if you would like to view the recording - you have to submit a FOIL request to the town to gain access. (PS the Planning Board is having another session on January 25 at 6:00 -- and it has been publicized on the Town Website).

So... for the first part of the meeting...

A property on Stonykill Road of 1 acre - the current owners purchased the property in 2015 and began adding to an existing Barn on the property to provide for storage. The Barn is very close to the property line, so the applicant is requesting variances to enable his modifications to remain as well as a variance re: the size of the structure (800 square feet is allowed - the original structure was 621 square feet - now the structure is 1242 square feet).

A large part of the discussion was attempting to understand how old the barn is -- and whether it had a building permit ... or if one was even required ... at the time the barn was built. A discussion about the purpose of the storage (in a residential area - storage for business purposes is not allowed - personal items only). A site visit on February 10 by the ZBA members will be held and a public hearing was scheduled for February 13.

A property on Peters Road was next on the agenda. The property is .31 acre and the applicant would like to add an addition to their home. The architect accompanying the applicant explained that while the setback to the front is required to have 50 feet, they can provide 12.3 feet, requesting a variance of 37.7 feet.... however -- the front of the current home is at the 12.3 point... and that in 2009 - the setback requirement was 30 feet. So in the ensuring years, the code was changed -- and certain neighborhoods/homes were built when the codes/setback requirements were different. This discussion prompted questions about the pool in the backyard and whether that had a building permit (at the home when the current owner purchased it) -- and whether the size of a free-standing garage currently on the property met the code or not. So... the architect and applicant went away with the task of measuring the garage, to come back to the February 13th meeting with that measurement -- so if the application for a variance/public hearing notice needs to include any information about the garage, it can be added. The public hearing date will be set at the February 13th meeting.

The meeting was adjourned.... and then a vote was held to open the second meeting.

The Agenda for the second meeting:

Simple Overview of the Zoning Board of Appeals (Town Board Role, vs. Planning Board vs. Zoning Board)

Zoning Board of Appeals

Area Variances: Deeper Dive

Guidelines fo Applicants to the ZBA (a discussion about making the initial paperwork more comprehensive, but visually simpler for the applicants)

Public Meeting & Public Hearings (3 or more members is a quorum and if not public, violates the open meeting laws)

Signs

SEQRA: Frequently asked questions for local officials - Area Variances are a Type II action for 1, 2 & 3 family residences.

Property Setback Placement examples

It was emphasized that when granting variances, findings of fact MUST be put in the record and to make the reason for the variance as specific to the site as possible - because each variance given is a precedent for other variances in the future. Area Variances, unless conditions are given, are for the life of the property. This is distinct from Use Variances which are given to the property owner... not the property.