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1995-04-25M Town of Wappinger Zoning Board of Appeals gg,,���� �v_ri1 25, 1995 �biic Hearings & Workshop - 7:30 P.M Approval of April 11, 1995 minutes. PUBLIC HEARINGS M Town Hall 20 Middlebush Road Wappinger Falls, N.Y. Appeal 41196 - At the request of Spain Oil Co. who is seeking a variance from Article IV, Section 422.25 where you are required to maintain 75 feet frontage from a County and State highway and you are showing a 3.5 foot front setback from a County and State highway, thus requiring a 71.5 foot variance for a proposed overhead canopy over existing gasoline dispensers located at Route 376 and Hackensack Heights Road and is identified as Tax Grid #19-6259-04-530251-00 in the Town of Wappinger. Appeal #1198 - At the request of Spain Oil Co. who is seeking a variance from Article IV, Section 444.3 where you are required to maintain on the sideline 45 feet and you are only showing 40 feet, thus requiring a 5 foot variance for property located on Route 376 and Hackensack Heights Road and is identified as Tax Grid #19-6259-04-530251-00 in the Town of Wappinger. DISCUSSION Annette & Joseph G. Patti - To discuss Appeal #1197 requesting a 3.6 ft. variance for a existing shed on property located at 37 Balfour Drive in the Town of Wappinger. Nicholas & Josephine Johnson - To discuss Appeal #1200 requesting a 18 foot variance to build a residential addition to the house located at 16 Gabriella Drive in the Town of Wappinger. REQUEST FOR INTERPRETATION Appeal 41199 - At the request of Rabco Landscaping & Contracting Inc. (Contract Vendee - Guarino property) seeking an interpretation of the Zoning Administrator's opinion on the use of the subject property under Article IV, Section 422.8, paragraph 7. This paragraph limits the size of the building to 2000 sq. ft. and the applicant is requesting a 4000 sq. ft. building, plus or minus and is identified as Tax Grid #19-6357-03-220050-00 in the Town of Wappinger. n Town of Wappinger Zoning Board of Appeals Town Hall April 25, 1995 20 Middlebush Road Minutes Wappinger Falls, N.Y. Members Present Mr. Sasser: Chairman Mr. Lehigh: Member Mr. Prager: Member Mr. Fanuele: Member Mr. diPierno: Member Others Present Mr. Levenson, Zoning Administrator Mrs. Nguyen, Secretary to the Z.B.A. ROLL CALL Mr. Levenson: Mr. Chairman, all present. AV1-"i-WVtV MAY 0 91995 PAWM Iowo � 0 Mr. Sasser: The first item on the agenda tonight is the approval of April 11th minutes. Does anyone have any corrections or additions? Mr. Prager: I make a motion that they be accepted as written. Mr. diPierno: Second. Vote: All ayes. Mr. Sasser: The first item on the agenda tonight is a public hearing. It is Appeal #1196 - At the request of Spain oil Co. who is seeking a variance of Article IV, Section.422.25 where you are required to maintain 75 feet frontage from a county and state highway and you are showing a 3.5 foot front setback from a county and state highway, thus requiring a 71.5 foot variance for a proposed overhead canopy over existing gasoline dispensers located at Route 376 and Hackensack Heights Road and is identified as Tax Grid ##19-6259-04-530251-00 in the Town of Wappinger. I would like to open the public hearing if I could have a vote please. Mr. Lehigh: So moved. Mr. Prager: Second. Vote: All ayes. Mr. Sasser: As I recall you had written a letter to D.O.T. Did you hear back from them? Ms. Brakewood: No, we never heard back from them and then some of the gentlemen at the Planning Board meeting too, they had gotten a copy of ppthat letter and they hadn't heard back from them. 1W . Sasser: It doesn't surprise me. Actually, I would just like to make my opinion known on that. Jay Paggi, had suggested that we question the applicant with regard to the impact on the sides and so forth, which we M n Wappinger Zoning Board Minutes - April 25, 1995 Page 1 have done. This question in my mind has been answered. I don't see that there is any visual problem there. I went and looked at the property myself. Does anybody have any questions for the applicant right now? Do you guys want to open ##1198 too and do this all together? Board: Yes_ Mr. Sasser: So, this is also going to include Appeal #1198 also at the request of Spain Oil Co. seeking a variance of Article IV, Section 444.3 where you are required to maintain on the sideline 45 feet and you are only showing 40 feet, thus requiring a 5 foot variance for property located on Route 376 and Hackensack Heights Road and is identified as Tax Grid ##19-6259-04-530251-00 in the Town of Wappinger. On this particular appeal I would like a motion for Lead Agency. Mr. Lehigh: So moved. Mr. diPierno: Second. Vote: All ayes. Mr. Sasser: And we need SEQR. Mr. Lehigh: I move for a Negative Dec. Mr. diPierno: Second. Vote: All ayes. Mr. Sasser: Has there been proof of publication on both of these matters, Herb? Mr. Levenson: Certainly, there is an affidavit of publication and we received the mailings from Ms. Brakewood. Mr. Sasser: Now, we can discuss both of these at the same time and we will take two separate votes. I would appreciate it if you would just explain ##1198 a little bit more since we really didn't talk about that at the workshop_ Ms. Brakewood: This is something that your planning consultant pointed out to me and I had missed it in your code. Even though the side -yard here, where this zone I believe is 25 ft. required, there is a section under gasoline stations that says that a gasoline station building shall be at least 45 feet from any property line. That is in all directions, which I had not noticed. He pointed it out to me and sure enough I am just about 5 feet short on this direction here. Again, I don't want to move the .. the dispenser island is already a fixed location right were it is and we are putting it right above it. If I took off more of the canopy '-re, then the people parking their cars there would get wet. So, we are ing for that variance too. I know it is a minor variance and it has to do with the gas station regulations more than anything else. Probably pertains more to the service station building than a canopy, but still we wanted to get that accurate_ Wappinger Zoning Board Minutes - April 25, 1995 Page 2 Mr. Sasser: Does the Board have any specific questions? I would like to open this to the public. Is there anyone here in the public who would like to speak either for or against either Appeal ##1196 or ##1198? Let the record show that no one was here. Mr. Lehigh: I make a motion that we close the public hearing. Mr. Prager: Second. Vote: All ayes. Mr. Sasser: Does somebody want to make a motion? Mr. Lehigh: I make a motion that we grant both variances, ##1196 & #k1198. They cause no problem for the public and they are necessary for the canopy. Also, we have a letter from the Planning Board recommending that we grant the variance. Mr. Sasser: Before we take a vote on that I would just like to make sure that everyone is in agreement on voting for both of these at the same time. Does anyone have a problem with that? Board: No. or. Sasser: Can we have a roll call vote please. grant. Can we have a second? Mr. Fanuele: Second. ROLL CALL Mr. Fanuele: Aye. Mr. diPierno: Aye. Mr. Sasser: Aye. We have a motion to Mr. Prager: Aye. Mr. Lehigh: Aye. Mr. Sasser: I vote aye and I would like to add for the record that there is going to be no detriment to nearby properties and we discussed that it will not change the character of the neighborhood at all because the gas pumps are existing. There is no alternative method availible to the applicant to cover those gas pumps and protect the people who are pumping. It is a very insubstantial request and based on that I vote aye. It will be filed within 5 days. I don't see anyone here from Rabco. We are going to move into discussion now. We have that interpretation from Rabco. Mr. Fanuele: Your not following the agenda? Mr. Sasser: Well, actually what I am going to do is skip Patti. I would probably have done Rabco first, but never the less they are not here so we will follow the agenda as presented. Fanuele: You want to skip the two of them? Mr. Sasser: No, I won't skip Johnson. I want to skip just Patti and we will come back to it. Nicholas & Josephine Johnson, Appeal #1200. M 9 Wappinger Zoning Board Minutes - April 25, 1995 Page 3 Mr. Levenson: Here is two drawings for you to consider between all of you. Mr. Sasser: Are these all the same? Mr. Levenson: They are all the same. You will note that the site plan is in the lower right hand corner. Where it says site plan, 16 Gabriella Place. Mr. Fanuele: This is a garage on the side there? Mr. Levenson: Yes, it is a garage on the side. Mr. Sasser: Facing the house, left side or right side? Mr. Johnson: Facing the house on the left side. Mr. Sasser: In front of the driveway, sort of? Mr. Johnson: Yes, it will be an extention going out into the driveway. Right now the driveway turns in, right turn as you go down the driveway. You make a right turn into the garage. The purpose of looking for the extention/expansion, whatever you want to call it, is my wife's parents, k,oer father is in his 90's and he announced to us a month and a half ago that he was moving in. Grandma and grandpa are still in good health, but he just needs some help. So, we first talked about using the existing house and so on, but they would like some privacy. We run a little bit different life style then the folks do and not that there is anything ... just a place for them to be a little private. So, essentially what it is Mr. Sasser: I got you. You are using part of your existing house. Mr. Johnson: Exactly, the existing house ends here and we need about 4 feet to make the room that we are going to make for them and then we are going to need some .. garage and storage space. What this is also doing is we have a terrible drainage problem down there. It is the lowest house in the development and the water is just pouring in off of the .. Mr. Sasser: There is no other place on your lot that you could ..? Mr. Johnson: No, not really. We are going to do some drainage work and put a french drain in the front and I have a sump problem in the back. The next drawing will actually show that there is a sump back here and we will be channeling water from underneath the house. Right now there is a swale that runs down to about here. The swale that was put in when we moved in, the bull dozer came by and just dug it out just to get some drainage. We figure we could put the drainage and it would just go out }'P back. There is nothing back there. Mr. Sasser: That is important for us to know. As you know we are required to grant the minimum variance in the belief that there is no other place to put it then .. Wappinger Zoning Board Minutes - April 25, 1995 Page 4 Mr. Johnson: There is no real way if we try to do this by adding to the back, you really just couldn't do it. The house is set up that it's the only real way in which to put it. I have talked to the neighbors who live facing the driveway and they are the ones who would be impacted if you will. Mr. Sasser: The ones on your side or across the street? Mr. Johnson: No, I talked to the ones across the street. There is no problem there. The ones on the side and it would be their driveway that would be abutting if you will. Mr. Prager: Right now, you go underneath the garage? Mr. Johnson: Yes, so it is going to be straight in and they have no problem with it. I talked with these people. I have talked with the people across the street. The only one I didn't talk to is the house on the opposite side of the .. and they wouldn't even see it. Mr. Sasser: I think that I have all that I need to see. You gentlemen have anything ? Mr. Lehigh: Looks all right to me. % Tir. Fanuele: 3.6 ft. variance. Mr. Johnson: It turns out that due to an error at the time that they were building these houses, I have 11 ft. more on that side of the house than the original plot plan. It really works out that way and it was Joe Costa, the captains son, he did it when he was the first owner on the other side. He had it surveyed and that is the survey that we are working off of. They put the telephone pole where they thought was the property line, but it was 11 ft. on my property. So, we end up with 11 ft. more on that side to work with anyway. Mr. Fanuele: Is there anything between the two properties? Mr. Johnson: No. Mr. Fanuele: No bushes or tress or anything? Mr. Johnson: There is one forsythia bush and a piece of grass that I rut. Mr. Lehigh: They are not going to complain. Mr. Sasser: We can set this down for public hearing on May 9th. Just so you know, one member will be absent that night. Mr. Fanuele has another commitment that night. So, it will be a 4 member Board that night. We n set it for that night or the next meeting? Mr. Johnson: I will be honest with you, I would just assume try it then. 1 Wappinger Zoning Board Minutes - April 25, 1995 Page 5 Mr. Lehigh: Three! Mr. Sasser: I don't have any other questions. Mr. Johnson: Thank you. Do you want to keep those? Mr. Sasser: You can keep them and bring them back. Mr. Levenson: Give them here. Mr. Fanuele: Did you inquire about a nice trailer? Mr. Johnson: We did. We asked them if they would allow us to put a trailer in the back and make a runway back to the house and so on. He said that he really didn't want us to do that. He didn't want to do that at all. Mr. Lehigh: You still have to go to the Planning Board for the accessory apartment. Mr. Johnson: We thought of that, but we are not really interested in making it a two family house. We are just trying to accommodate the folks. 11 . Sasser: Your not putting another kitchen in? %00 - Mr. Johnson: Not putting another kitchen in. Mr. Lehigh: Your putting another bathroom in? Mr. Sasser: You can put another bathroom in. The kitchen is the determining factor. Mr. Lehigh: I thought either bath or kitchen. Mr. Levenson: No, the kitchen. Mr. Johnson: I have three bathrooms in the house, but one would be just private for them. Mr. Levenson: Kitchen is the criteria. Mr. Lehigh: Then, you are all set then. Mr. Sasser: The Patti's indicated to Herb that they are not going to be here tonight. Mr. Levenson: He got called out of Town this afternoon. Sasser: They had said that we could look at it and see if there is questions that we have of them and they will have to come back for another workshop. If not we can set it for a public hearing. Om n Wappinger Zoning Board Minutes - April 25, 1995 Page 6 Mr. Prager: I would like to see what the property looks like. Do they have a plot plan or ..? Mr. Levenson: No. Mr. Lehigh: Did they send a plot plan? Mr. Levenson: No. Mr. Prager: I would like to see that. Mr. Levenson: I have a drawing. Mr. Lehigh: They are replacing an existing porch, right? Mr. Prager: No, an existing shed. Mr. Levenson: An existing shed. Mr. Sasser: They went to refinance Mr. Levenson: They are replacing? Mr. Sasser: They are replacing? Mr. Prager: What do you mean they are replacing? Mr. Sasser: That is not what it says. It says they want a variance for the existing shed. Mr. Levenson: They want a variance for the existing shed. I am sorry. Mr. Prager: No problem. O.K. Mr. Sasser: We need the distance. It is written down. Wait a minute we have the distance. Mr. Levenson: You have the distance. It is 3 1/2 feet. He has three feet, but he is requesting .... Mr. Lehigh: So, it is a foot and a half variance, right? Mr. Sasser: No, it is a three foot variance. I don't see putting the applicant through going and getting a plot plan and all of that with a shed on it. Mr. Fanuele: I have a bigger problem with all of these buildings and sheds. They all come back. Prager: I do too. Mr. Fanuele: We all have to bending over backwards to help people. LM Mr. Prager: Mr. Levenson: Mr. Prager: n Wappinger Zoning Board Minutes - April 25, 1995 Page 7 Why can't we just have him move it or something? I asked him that question before. I didn't ask him that. Mr. Levenson: I asked him that. Mr. Fanuele: What did he say? Mr. Levenson: He can't do it. Mr. Prager: Why? Mr. Fanuele: The problem is bigger than .. If you get one now and then, but .. Mr. Lehigh: You get them all of the time. Mr. Sasser: We always have, but I guess the Board and the Town and everybody considers them rather minor to grant. Mr. Fanuele: There is a total disregard for the Zoning Laws. dLevenson: What you have basically is people do these things and they on't consult with anybody and then when they come to the refinancing or they come to an equity loan and then it pops up. It is the same thing like we are seeing violations that we are correcting everyday. We go through title searches every single day. Mr. Sasser: It happens all of the time. I think one of the important things that we have to consider on these things and, as some of the older members on this Board know, we are bound by Law to follow our own precedence. We are required to do that. Unless this particular shed has something different about it, then the other thousand that we have granted we are bound to grant a variance for that. You can't just decide in the middle that you want to become stricter about it. Mr. Fanuele: If that is the attitude, don't bring anymore sheds here. Mr. Levenson: Wait, hold it. I don't have the authority to say to somebody when they require a 10 ft. of the side or the rear to go write a permit because I am not going to write a permit. Mr. Sasser: You have to look at it individually. Mr. Prager: I agree. There might be a situation where this is a type of shed that can be moved. He says he can't move it. I don't know. I haven't even seen it. '. Lehigh: That is what you have a public hearing for and he has to come up and testify to that. n n Wappinger Zoning Board Minutes - April 25, 1.995 Page 8 Mr. Sasser: If it is just like all the rest of them are. Fine, if it can't be moved and there is no objection from the audience. Mr. Fanuele: It isn't that it can't be moved. Any shed can be moved. The shed is put there and they don't want it moved. Not that it can't be moved_ Mr. Sasser: Is it on poured slab? Mr. Fanuele: Even the other one. If it is on poured slab and if it's in the wrong spot ... Mr. Lehigh: It is not supposed to be on a poured slab because if it is Mr. Levenson: Move a slab? How do you move a slab? It is in the ground. Mr. Fanuele: Build another piece and just move the shed over. There is so many things to do if we really wanted to do this. rubber stamping. Don't bother bringing it. Mr. Levenson: I again say to you that the Law does not allow me or the Building Inspector to grant somebody something that is in violation of the Toning Law. The violation has to come before the Zoning Board of Appeals %mond that is the function of the Zoning Board of Appeals. Mr. Sasser: I agree with you Vic. We shouldn't just rubber stamp an approval. Mr. Levenson: Right. Mr. Sasser: But, I do think we need to consider everyone individually for that particular circumstances. Mr. Levenson: That is why they are individually brought to you. Mr. Sasser: It is just that most of them have been so minor that there was no reason not to do them. Mr. Levenson: I had a case on Sabra Lane. It must have been about 6 months ago that came before me and he needed to repair a deck in the back. I looked at it and I said what about moving this about 6 feet? He said I will talk to my wife and they came back and they were happy. They moved it six feet. They got a permit. They built it and it is all finished. Mr. Sasser: We have to keep in mind what we have been charged with by the state not to enforce the Zoning Laws. That is not our purpose to enforce. We are here to grant relief. . Fanuele: I am not here to grant relief to people who disregard the Zoning Laws. I am not here to give them that relief. Wappinger Zoning Board Minutes - April 2.5, 1995 Page 9 Mr. Levenson: This is not a disregard. Mr. Sasser: This was an accident. Mr. Levenson: This is an accident. Mr. Fanuele: How could this be an accident? Mr. Sasser: Somebody didn't know that they needed .. Mr. Fanuele: Infinitive Law is not admissible in the Law. You don't know the Law. If I am speeding down the road and I say, I thought it was 30 mph and it was only 20. I am going to get a ticket. Mr. Sasser: That is correct — Mr. Levenson: That is not a comparison. Speeding down the road and erroneously not knowing what the requirements are and putting up a shed Mr. Sasser: The Zoning Board is specifically charged with providing relief. It specifically says the Zoning Board is not to sit there to enforce the Zoning Law. You are there on the other side to give relief to people who are oppressed by it. . Prager: problem. Mr. Levenson: I don't know how clear that map really is. That is the only I will adjourn the workshop to May 9th. Mr. Sasser: I don't know if we need to adjourn the workshop, but if someone could go out and measure it so we would know. Mr. Prager: Yes, that is all I care about. I mean, I can draw a sketch. Anybody can do that and put numbers on it. That doesn't mean anything to me. There has got to be some kind of plot plan for that. Number one, they had to know that it was three feet, right? So, we have to have some kind of sketch. Mr. Sasser: Can you do that, Herb? Mr. Levenson: I will go out and measure it. Mr. Fanuele: I would suggest that the guy come in because if the word gets out that all we do with whoever has a bad shed or something that we just say we will give you relief. Mr. Sasser: No, he has got to come in for a public hearing. Mr. Fanuele: He has to come in and explain what he is talking about. Why eke it easier for the guy who is in violation of the Law_ Mr. Sasser: I guess what we are getting at tonight is what do we want to bring him back for? n Wappinger Zoning Board Minutes - April 25, 1995 *✓ Page 10 Mr. Prager: I would like to see a picture of the shed too. I want to know what kind of a shed that is. Mr. Sasser: We can do what you are saying at the public hearing. Mr. Lehigh: This guy here is 37 Balfour so, he has got to have a plot plan_ Mr. Sasser: He has a plot plan, but guaranteed it doesn't have the shed on it. Mr. Lehigh: Then, we can find out how close it is to the line. Mr. Sasser: Have him bring his plot plan in. Mr. Fanuele: Did he put the shed or is this another one that was bought from someone else? Mr. Levenson: Bought it from somebody else. Mr. Prager: He bought the property with the shed on it? %wor. Levenson: Yes. Mr. Sasser: Is there anything else that we are going to need before the public hearing? Mr. Prager: I want a picture and a plot plan. Mr. Levenson: I have to measure the dimensions, picture of the shed, and a plot plan. Mr. Prager: Very good. Mr. Sasser: If we have that we can question him at the public hearing, which is the appropriate time anyway. So, lets set it down for May 9th. Mr. Prager: Very good. Mr. Sasser: The next item on the agenda. We have a request for an interpretation. Appeal #1199 - At the request of Rabco Landscaping & Contracting Inc. (Contract Vendee - Guarino property) seeking an interpretation of the Zoning Administrator's opinion on the use of the subject property under Article IV, Section 422.8, paragraph 7. This paragraph limits the size of the building to 2000 sq. ft. and the applicant is requesting a 4000 sq. ft. building, plus or minus, and is identified as Tax Grid ¢#19-6357-03-2.20050-00 in the Town of Wappinger. -'st before we move on tonight I just want to make sure that what we `scuss tonight we limit not to the merits of whether his business should go there or shouldn't go there or anything with regard to that at all. Mr. Lehigh: Interpretation only. M M Wappinger Zoning Board Minutes - April 25, 1995 Page 11 Mr. Sasser: Interpretation of the Zoning Administrator's ruling based on what has been applied for. At our workshop session we had talked about various sized buildings, which you had proposed going on the property. 2000, 3000, maybe 4000, different sizes. I think that in my mind anyway the real question is are the things that you are going to use to be stored outside to be included as part of the business? In fact, part of that measurement size. Is that what you guys got out of this as well? Mr. Lehigh: He wants also outside storage. Lets make a motion to open the public hearing. Mr. Sasser: There is no public hearing. Mr. Levenson: For interpretation there is no public hearing. Mr. Lehigh: You wanted outside storage, right? You needed outside. Mr. Ron Rabasco: With the nature of the business that was one of the questions that we brought to the Board as far as the interpretation was that 2000 sq. ft. limitation if that is in place on the full 8 acres? Does that measurement including the outside storage? r. Sasser: My opinion of your question is that there is certain usinesses which require outside storage. You have indicated yourself that this business requires that you use outside as a storage area. The Zoning Law says, "Stores and shops for the conduct of retail business of a neighborhood or a community nature not exceeding 2000 sq. ft. in total. area." Irrespective of my opinion of whether you would be granted a variance or not because that is not what we are talking about tonight, I am of the opinion that the Zoning Administrator was correct in interpreting the Zoning Ordinance as he had interpreted it. That is my feeling. Mr. Prager: I agree with you. Mr. Sasser: Because of the nature of your business in that you have to use the outside yard for storage and there is other businesses that specifically have to do that as well. This says, "The conduct of retail business, stores and shops." Shops are not always a building. Shops are not always inside. It is a business and the business would be conducted outside. It is my opinion you would have to conclude that the Administrator is right. Does anyone else have any other discussion with regard to this? Mr. Lehigh: Any items that are stored outside are not covered so it is not in the Zoning Ordinance. Sasser: I would move that we put this to a vote. My motion is to idicate that the Zoning Administrator was correct in his interpretation of the Law. Can we have a roll call vote? Mr. Prager: Second. Wappinger Zoning Board Minutes - April 25, 1995 Page 12 Mr. Sasser: I am sorry. We have a second by Mr. Prager. Roll call vote_ ROLL CALL Mr. Fanuele: Aye. Mr. Prager: Aye. Mr. diPierno: Aye. Mr. Lehigh: Aye. Mr. Sasser: Aye. Mr. Sasser: What this means is not that you still can't do what you want to do. Now, if you want to do that you will have to go through the appeals process. We are saying that Herb was right in what he interpreted the Law to be. I agree with that and we all agreed to that. So, now if you wanted to go forward you would see him and file an appeal and go forward that way. Mr. Ron Rabasco: So, that is regardless whether there is more than one building? It doesn't matter. Just total 2000 sq. ft. Mr. Sasser: It is per parcel, not per acre. Mr. Ron Rabasco: O.K_ Mr. Sasser: Is there any other business before the Board tonight? tr. Prager: I make a motion to adjourn_ Mr. Lehigh: Second. Vote: All ayes. MEETING ADJOURNED AT 7:55 P.M.. Respectfully submitted, S. Linda g en, Secretary Zoning Board of Appeals