HomeMy WebLinkAbout20191053 Champagne Residence NOD
Keith Kaplan, Chair
C ITY OF S ARATOGA S PRINGS
Brad Gallagher, Vice Chair
Cheryl Grey
ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS
Matthew Gutch
Christopher Mills
C ITY H ALL - 474 B ROADWAY
Suzanne Morris
S ARATOGA S PRINGS, N EW Y ORK 12866
Gage Simpson
PH) 518-587-3550 FX) 518-580-9480
Chris Hemstead, alternate
WWW.SARATOGA-SPRINGS.ORG
Kathleen O’Connor, alternate
#20191053
IN THE MATTER OF THE APPEAL OF
Michael and Marcia Champagne
5 Fifth Ave
Saratoga Springs, NY 12866
from the determination of the Building Inspector involving the premises at 5 Fifth Avenue in the City of
Saratoga Springs, New York being tax parcel number 166.61-2-41 on the Assessment Map of said City.
The appellants having applied for an area variance under the Zoning Ordinance of said City to permit the
construction of an addition to an existing three-family residence in a UR-1 District and public notice having
been duly given of a hearing on said application held on the 18th day of November through the 16th day of
December 2019.
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 variance for the following amount of relief:
T YPE OF R EQUIREMENT D ISTRICT DIMENSIONAL P ROPOSED R ELIEF REQUESTED
REQUIREMENT
M AXIMUM P RINCIPAL B UILDING 20% 25% 5% OR 25% RELIEF
C OVERAGE
As per the submitted plans or lesser dimensions, be approved for the following reasons:
1. The applicants have demonstrated this benefit cannot be achieved by other means feasible to the
applicants. The applicants note that this is a renovation and replacement project. Per the applicants, the
proposed footprint approximates the existing footprint, which was pre-existing nonconforming. The
applicant explored the idea of reducing overhangs in the area being reconstructed, to reduce the amount of
coverage relief requested, however that would result in a mismatch with other portions of the residence.
2. The applicants have demonstrated that granting this variance will not create an undesirable change in
neighborhood character or detriment to nearby properties. The Board notes the area of renovation is in the
rear of the residence, reducing its visibility from the street. Additionally, as noted above, the proposed
project will renovate and replace existing features of the residence.
3. The Board finds the requested relief to be substantial on a percentage basis; however, the substantiality is
mitigated by the fact that the addition is a replacement of an existing portion of the residence, as well as
by the location of the project on the property, as noted above.
4. This variance will not have significant adverse physical or environmental effect on the neighborhood or
district. The lot as shown in the application materials will still well exceed permeability requirements of
30%.
5. The alleged difficulty is self-created insofar as the applicants desire to construct the proposed addition, but
this is not necessarily fatal to the application.
Adopted by the following vote:
AYES: 6 (K. Kaplan, G. Simpson, C. Mills, C. Grey, B. Gallagher, M. Gutch)
NAYES: 0
Dated: December 16, 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.
S IGNATURE: _______________________________ 12/17/2019
C HAIR D ATE R ECEIVED BY A CCOUNTS D EPT.