HomeMy WebLinkAbout20260606 176 Meadowbrook Rd Area Variance Public Comment
To: Members of the Saratoga Springs Zoning Board
From: Faye and James Mihuta
Date: October 28, 2026
We are wri�ng with concerns about the variance applica�on for parcel #167.-3.5,
now apparently designated as 176 Meadowbrook Road, which we just received by
mail three days ago. We were very surprised by this applica�on that is reques�ng
such a substan�al variance to build a structure that does not at all seem
compa�ble with nearby structures, on less than an acre of land in an area zoned
for 2 acre building lots. These concerns prompted us to atend Monday night’s
Zoning Board Workshop. We are owners of the adjacent property at 170
Meadowbrook Road and have a long history with Meadowbrook, having bought
this property in 1977. We would like to share a bit of this history since we think it
is per�nent to this request for what we consider a substan�al variance.
When we bought our property, Georgiana Ducas was the owner of the residence
now designated as 169 Meadowbrook Road. Her property included an area of
vacant land across the road from her house, the 167.-3.5 parcel in this applica�on,
as privacy and assurance that there would not be any kind of structure directly
across from her residence. This less than an acre of buildable land was never
conceived of as a building lot, but rather, as protec�on against any building. That’s
why the survey lines are so harsh. This protec�on was also the stated purpose of
James and Patricia Moseley to whom Mrs. Ducas sold the property in the 1980s.
With this understanding, we bought an addi�onal 2 acre sec�on of land at the
rear, southeast boundary of this 167.-3.5 parcel as further privacy for our own
property. This en�re area of Meadowbrook Road was the natural se�ng we
wanted to invest in and commit our resources to which we have done now for
almost 50 years.
We certainly know that things change but we have trusted that the Zoning Board’s
ordinances for Saratoga Springs’ rural residen�al districts would be upheld and
enforced. There has been much development in our neighborhood, the area of
Meadowbrook between Dyer Switch Road and Staffords Bridge Road, since we
first arrived. However, it has been developed in a tasteful way with well-designed
homes that retain the natural se�ng of the area, adhering to the 2 acre minimum
zoning requirement, with most homes having considerably larger setbacks than
the proposed 30 foot setback, and many with treed frontages. On this one mile
stretch of Meadowbrook Road, there are no comparable homes with only a 30
foot setback from the road. The entrance to Bog Meadow Trail is in this area of
Meadowbrook; a lot next to us is in the Land Conservancy. A house thirty feet
from Meadowbrook Road, designed to be squeezed onto a small, oddly shaped
parcel that was never intended to be a viable building lot would, in our opinion,
alter the essen�al nature of the neighborhood. In our opinion, it would look like
an a�erthought, out of character and out of place, not at all compa�ble with the
exis�ng structures in this area which has become a major entrance and exit
corridor to and from the city of Saratoga Springs.
This proposed zoning change would, of course, have a nega�ve impact on our
property and the se�ng we have tried to create, but, more importantly, we think
it would have a substan�al nega�ve effect on what is currently a lovely area of
Saratoga Springs where wetlands, woodlands, and though�ully planned and
designed residences co-exist.
Thank you greatly for your work on behalf of our city and for your though�ul
considera�on of our concerns.
Respec�ully submited,
Faye and James Mihuta