HomeMy WebLinkAbout20190842 Verizon Wireless Facility NOD r CITY OF SARATOGA SPRINGS Keith Kaplan, Chair
vitj 0G4 Brad Gallagher, Vice Chair
11-'} * `. ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS Cheryl Grey
; Matthew Gutch
- F+ Christopher Mills
► -x, CITY HALL-474 BROADWAY
% 4 IL' SARATOGA SPRINGS,NEW YORK 12866 Suzanne Morris
���� Gage Simpson
PH)5 I8-587-3550 Fx)5 I8-580-9480 g p
,'\`' VVWW.SARATOGA-SPRINGS.ORG Chris Hemstead,alternate
Kathleen O'Connor,alternate
#20190842
IN THE MATTER OF THE APPEAL OF
Cellco Partnership
d/b/a Verizon Wireless
1275 John Street, Suite 100
West Henrietta NY 14586
from the determination of the Building Inspector involving the premises at 25 Lake Avenue in the City of
Saratoga Springs,New York being tax parcel number 165.52-4-46.1 on the Assessment Map of said City.
The appellant having applied for an area variance under the Zoning Ordinance of said City to permit the
construction of a telecommunications facility on the roof of an existing building in a Transect-6 Urban Core
District and public notice having been duly given of a hearing on said application held on the 7th day of October
through the 28th day of October, 2019.
In consideration of the balance between benefit to the applicant with detriment to the health, safety and welfare
of the community, I move that the following area variance for the following amount of relief:
TYPE OF REQUIREMENT DISTRICT DIMENSIONAL PROPOSED RELIEF REQUESTED
REQUIREMENT
MAXIMUM HEIGHT 70' 80.8' 10.8'OR 15.4%RELIEF
As per the submitted plans or lesser dimensions,be approved for the following reasons:
1. The applicant has demonstrated this benefit cannot be achieved by other means feasible to the applicant,
which is designated as a public utility for land use purposes under New York law. Per the applicant's
representative,the applicant has considered and presented several options for the proposed facility to the
City's Planning Board and Design Review Commission that would not require a variance. However,none
of those options were acceptable to the City's Planning Board and/or Design Review Commission. The
use of a full stealth enclosure was ultimately determined by the City to be the most appropriate means to
provide necessary cell coverage, while taking into consideration the design and aesthetic concerns raised
by the City's Planning Board and/or Design Review Commission.
2. The applicant has demonstrated that granting this variance will not create an undesirable change in
neighborhood character or detriment to nearby properties. The applicant notes that the additional height
will be limited to a 7' by 7' enclosure at the rear of the building that will surround the antennas using a
stealth enclosure. The stealth enclosure will match the existing color,texture and mortar colors of the
existing building such that the facility will appear as a natural extension of the building. Renderings of
the proposed facility provided as part of the application indicate that there will be minimal visual impact
to the surrounding committee.
3. The Board notes this requested height variance, at 15.4%, may be considered substantial,however the
impact of the substantiality is mitigated by the combination of neighborhood context, the limited area of
the facility as a percentage of the overall area of the building, and the manner in which the facility will be
enclosed to match the existing structure.
4. This variance will not have a significant adverse physical or environmental effect on the neighborhood or
district. To the contrary,the applicant has presented evidence from a Radio Frequency Design Engineer
that the facility is necessary to provide adequate and safe cell coverage to the community,public safety
providers and the traveling public.
5. The alleged difficulty is self-created insofar as the applicant desires to construct the proposed facility,but
this is not necessarily fatal to the application. As noted above,the applicant presented several alternatives
that would not have required a variance,but were ultimately rejected by the City based on design and
aesthetic considerations.
Adopted by the following vote:
AYES: 4 (K. Kaplan, G. Simpson, C. Grey, M. Gutch)
NAYE S: 0
Dated: October 28, 2019
This variance shall expire 18 months following the filing date of such decision unless the necessary building
permit has been issued and actual construction begun as per 240-8.5.1.
I hereby certify the above to be a full,true and correct copy of a resolution duly adopted by the Zoning Board of
Appeals of the City of Saratoga Springs on the date above mentioned, five members of the Board being present.
SIGNATURE: 10/29/2019
CHAIR DATE RECEIVED BY ACCOUNTS DEPT.