20210136 Leiponis Exterior Garage Demolition and New Garage Narrative EROS' _ HUR F F
ARCHITECTS
May 11, 2021
The Design Review Commission
City Hall
474 Broadway
Saratoga Springs,NY 12866
Re: Leiponis Garage Demolition, 225 Caroline Street
Design Review Commission,
In reviewing this application, we would ask the board to consider the following:
1.) Demolition of the structure is being sought as a last resort. Other measures were explored,but
ultimately proved unable to meet the needs of the Owners.
The objective of the Owners is to have a garage that allows for the housing of their
vehicles and provides storage and home occupation space. The current garage is 21' in
length inside to inside. With the inswing doors that access the garage, available clear
inside length is reduced to 18'-6". As such, the garage is of insufficient size to park many
modern vehicles, which can be as much as 22' long. The structure cannot be extended to
the north to relieve this deficiency, as it sits directly on the rear setback line. The
structure could, however,be theoretically extended to the south. This would have a
significant impact on the character of the garage, but would not require outright
demolition.
The Owners are also seeking storage and home occupation space. Initial design studies
looked at expanding the garage bays and adding an addition on the side of the building.
The size of the addition, however, was severely limited by the allowable area permitted
by the zoning ordinance. With the garage being a useable length, there is only sufficient
space remaining to fit in a staircase. Accordingly, the only remaining solution was to
build up.
Building up presents complications for the existing structure. The existing roof would
have to be removed to allow for a new floor. In addition, the existing foundation is
inadequate to carry the additional load. At this point, a heavy renovation of the structure
would entail removing the roof, front wall, and at least a portion of one side wall. The
remaining superstructure would then have to be raised, so that the existing foundation
could be removed and a new foundation installed. While all this is achievable, little of the
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existing building or its original character would remain. As the practical benefits would
be nil, and the preservation benefits would be marginal at best, alteration of the existing
structure was abandoned as a strategy at this juncture.
The next possibility explored was relocating the structure off the property. The existing
garage is 22'-4" wide at the eaves. There is less than 16' clear between the main
residence and the large tree on the other side of the driveway. As such, the building
would have to be disassembled to be moved off the property. The Owners would not
necessarily be opposed to allowing a third party to take possession of the garage through
disassembly and removal, but are unaware of anyone willing to take on this task.
With no apparent path forward for achieving their goals by either alteration or removal,
the Owner then turned to demolition as the only remaining option.
2.) The property is the Owners' home, which they wish to continue to reside in. As removing the
garage from the property intact is not achievable, selling the structure is impractical.
3.) As an accessory structure in a UR district,the structure may only be used for accessory
residential purposes or as a horse barn. The property is of insufficient size to support horses,
which require a minimum of one acre of open land per animal. Accordingly, there are no
alternate uses available other than the garage/storage/home occupation uses proposed. As
demonstrated above, in its current state the existing structure is insufficient to properly function
in that role.
4.) The property is a primary residence, and, as such, is not an income property. Reasonable
return is not an applicable concept to this particular submission.
5.)Proposals for a replacement structure have been submitted to the Design Review Commission
for review.
Thank you for your consideration of this matter.
Truly,
Matthew Hurff, R.A.
Frost Hurff Architects
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