HomeMy WebLinkAbout20250901 3 Cobb Alley 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
Amanda Demma
Jonah Cohen
Otis Maxwell
Chris LaPointe
Steve Harrigan
Chris Maslak (Alternate)
#20250901
IN THE MATTER OF THE APPEAL OF
Mark Oravec
9 Trimblestone Lane
Hilton Head Island, South Carolina 29938
from the determination of the Building Inspector involving the premises 3 Cobb Alley in the City of Saratoga
Springs, New York being tax parcel number 165.66-2-64 on the Assessment Map of said City.
The applicant having applied for an area variance under the UDO of said City to permit the construction of a
single-family home in the UR-3 district and public notice having been duly given of hearings on said application
on December 8, 2025 through February 9, 2026.
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 variances for the following amounts of relief:
TYPE OF REQUIREMENT DISTRICT
DIMENSIONAL
REQUIREMENT
PROPOSED RELIEF REQUESTED
MINIMUM LOT SIZE 6600 SQ FT 3776 SQ FT 2825 SQ FT (42.8%)
MAXIMUM COMBINED COVERAGE 40% 49% 9% (22.5%)
FRONT YARD SETBACK 10 FT 6 FT 4 FT (40%)
REAR YARD SETBACK 25 FT 10 FT 15 FT (60%)
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 build a new single -family home with
an attached 2 car garage. The Board notes the applicant purchased additional land to help reduce many of
the variances. Several alternatives were considered with the current plans having been altered to reflect
advisory opinions from the Design Review Board.
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. The Board finds that the
applicant has demonstrated that the requested variances align with other properties in the neighborhood.
3. Substantiality: The Board finds that several of these variances are significant. The large variances are
mitigated by the nature of the pre-existing, non-conforming undersized lot and the neighborhood context
mentioned above. Many of the variances are also reduced from a previous ZBA approval in 2018.
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4. Adverse Effect or Impact: The Board finds that these variances will not have significant adverse
physical or environmental effects on the neighborhood or district. The property will meet the district
requirement for permeability.
5. Self-Created Difficulty: The alleged difficulty is self-created insofar as the applicant desires to build a
single-family home, but this is not necessarily fatal to the application.
Dated: February 9, 2026
Passes by the following vote:
AYES: 7 (G. Simpson, B. Dailey, J. Cohen, 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