HomeMy WebLinkAbout20250896 116 East Ave. Area Variance NODPage 1 of 2
CITY OF SARATOGA
SPRINGS
ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS
CITY HALL - 474 BROADWAY
SARATOGA SPRINGS, NEW YORK 12866
518-587-3550
WWW.SARATOGA-SPRINGS.ORG
Gage Simpson, Chair
Brendan Dailey, Vice Chair
Shafer Gaston
Amanda Demma
Jonah Cohen
Otis Maxwell
Chris LaPointe
Chris Maslak (Alternate)
#20250896
IN THE MATTER OF THE APPEAL OF
Rob Massie
116 East Avenue
Saratoga Springs, NY 12866
from the determination of the Building Inspector involving the premises at 116 East Avenue in the City of
Saratoga Springs, New York being tax parcel number 166.38-2-86, in the Urban Residential 2 (UR-2) District on
the Assessment Map of said City.
This being an application for an area variance under the UDO of said City to permit an addition to an existing
single-family residence, and public notice having been duly given of a hearing on said application held from
October 27, 2025 to November 17, 2025.
In consideration of the balance between benefit to the applicants with detriment to the health, safety, and
welfare of the community, I move that the following area variances for the following amounts of relief:
TYPE OF REQUIREMENT DISTRICT DIMENSIONAL
REQUIREMENT
PROPOSED RELIEF REQUESTED
INTERIOR SIDE SETBACK 8’ 4’10” 3’2” OR 40% RELIEF
CORNER SIDE SETBACK 10’ 6’2” 3’10” OR 38% RELIEF
As per the submitted plans or lesser dimensions, be approved for the following reasons:
1. Achievability by Other Means: The applicant has demonstrated this benefit cannot be achieved by
other means feasible to the applicant. The applicant would like to add a two-story addition to the
rear of the residence to expand the kitchen and upstairs bedroom, a single-story addition to the
side of the residence to expand the den, and a new front porch. The applicant considered other
design options, including a narrower side addition that would have decreased the requested
variances, but that option was deemed infeasible to actually increase living space for the applicant’s
family. No adjacent land is available for purchase.
2. Undesirable Change: The applicant has demonstrated that granting this variance will not create an
undesirable change in neighborhood character or detriment to nearby properties. Relative to the
existing structure, the applicant’s proposed additions would encroach only about 4 feet farther into
the side yard setback — constituting only a small increase in the footprint of the residence — and
would not encroach any farther into the front or rear yard setbacks. The applicant also provided
numerous examples of comparable nearby properties that match or exceed the footprint of the
proposed design as well as examples of nearby properties that match or exceed the requested
setback variances, none of which pose a detriment to other nearby properties.
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3. Substantiality: The Board notes that the requested variances may be considered substantial, but
this is mitigated by the factors described above.
4. Adverse Effects: This variance will not have a significant adverse physical or environmental effect on
the neighborhood or district. Permeability will meet the district requirement.
5. Self-Created Difficulty: The alleged difficulty is self-created insofar as it is motivated by the
applicants’ desire to construct additions to their existing residence, but this is not necessarily fatal
to the application.
Dated: November 17, 2025
Passes by the following vote:
AYES: 6 (G. Simpson, S. Gaston, O. Maxwell, A. Demma, C. LaPointe, S. Harrigan)
NAYS: 0
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 the Unified Development
Ordinance.
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, seven members of the
Board being present.
SIGNATURE:
CHAIR