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HomeMy WebLinkAbout20230279 43 Granite Porch Narrative, Photos, CalculationsZoning Board of Appeals Project # 20230279 43 Granite Street NARRATIVE: We purchased our home at 43 Granite Street in 2014. At the time, it was in need of repair. Since that time, we have worked closely with the Saratoga Springs City Building Department to renovate the property and to make it consistent with current building codes. Most recently we undertook a two -phased project to (1) upgrade from one to two bathrooms and (2) to replace the deteriorating front porch. This Phase Two request to the Zoning Board for a setback variance for a new porch at 43 Granite Street, Saratoga Springs, comes to the board to address two concerns of the property -owner. The first concern is human safety, necessitated by broken cement steps, inconsistent rise and run of steps, and an increasingly un- level structure. The second concern addresses aesthetics. All but one other home on our block of Granite Street have a porch (one home has an enclosed porch). The home at 43 Granite has a small stoop. And 43 Granite street is significantly set back from its neighbors on both sides. This request for a setback variance for our home at 43 Granite Street addresses both safety and aesthetic concerns without changing the nature of the neighborhood. SAFETY: • The existing stoop has been sinking to the left (as one faces the home) and is not level. • The rise and run of the existing steps vary. The run varies from as much as 11.5 inches near the top step to 8 inches near the bottom step. Descending from the front door, the rise varies in this manner: 10.5 inches, 6 inches, 7 inches, 7.5 inches, 7 inches, and 8 inches. This inconsistency is clearly a safety issue. • Prior to our ownership of the home, someone placed a skim -coat of concrete on the stoop and its steps. As evidenced in the photos accompanying this request, the skim coat is deteriorating. We have made temporary repairs. However, given the overall condition of the stoop and its steps, we are concerned for the safety of delivery persons and mail carriers. In addition, we have not participated in Halloween celebrations for two years due to our concern for the safety of children in costumes attempting to negotiate our inconsistent steps. • We have worked with Architect Michael Perri to design a replacement porch with consistent "senior" steps of low rise and long run. Those plans accompany this narrative. AESTHETICS: • We have included four pages of photos (3 photos per page) of all the homes on our block of Granite Street. All but our home and one other have porches as opposed to stoops. Our stoop is 6 feet deep and 8 feet wide. However, 1.5 feet of its 6 foot depth includes the top step, thus compromising utilization of the area for any form of socialization. • Our home at 43 Granite Street is set back 29.5 feet from the sidewalk. The addition of a 10 ft. porch would reduce our setback from the sidewalk to 19.5 feet. As can be seen in the "setback photos," our neighbor to the right (when facing our home) is set back 4 feet from the sidewalk. Our neighbor to the left is set back 7.5 feet from the sidewalk. Edward S. Baker 43 Granite Street Saratoga Springs, NY 12866 esbaker47@gmail.com (518) 491-0079 FROM: Edward Baker TO: Aneisha Samuels Sanford Senior Planner DATE: 13 July 2023 RE: Project # 20230279 Thank you for meeting with my wife Edna and me on July 11, 2023. As you requested, I have calculated the square footage of the structures on our property and have determined that the ratio of the buildings to the total area of our property is 28.08%. My calculations are below: Main House: 41 x 25.5 = 1045.50 sq ft Additional strip north wall: 1 x 41 = 41 sq ft Side porch 6.5 x 14.5 = 94.25 sq ft Addition of stairs to basement 10 x 12 = 120 sq ft New porch (this project) 10 x 17 = 170 sq ft Garage 23 x 16 = 368 sq ft TOTAL 1838.75 sq ft 1838.75 divided by 6546 = 28.08% If I include the paved area behind and beside my garage, I must add an additional 393 sq feet to the total above: 1838.75 + 393 = 2231.75 sq feet 2231.75 divided by 6546 = 34.18% I hope this information is helpful in determining whether we should continue to petition the Zoning Board of Appeals for an area variance. Thank you very much. L. J z W In W 2 O O O V CD M O C7 LO N (O N (O r LO r N O N N to N O N Z O W o a 1- W LU O J LO in (O (n (() (p in H O w W F W O 0 LO LO O O to LO LO Or (OCOLOW C LO WU- O J r0 U Z ? 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