2 25 26 https://sleepyhollow.localarchives.org/files/original/1165c319bcf98ef5becaf5b87314dad5.pdf 7a6043488bb38e858b87557ebeb16771 PDF Text Text Village of Sleepy Hollow Zoning Board of Appeals Meeting January 16, 2019 Chairman Timothy Judge called the meeting to order at 8:15 pm. Present: Timothy Judge, Chairman Craig Lis Gorete Crowe Richard Hughes Margaret Rubick Absent: Timothy Church Alex McFarlane Sean E. McCarthy, Village Architect Also Present: Pamela Pengelski, Secretary to the Zoning Board of Appeals Agenda: 1) Busel, LLC, 166 Cortlandt Street, Proposed construction of a basement apartmentResolution 2) Vincent Feliciano, 26 Kendall Avenue, Legalization of 8 foot high fencing- Public hearing 3) Approval of minutes - November 14, 2018 1) Busel, LLC, 166 Cortlandt Street, Proposed construction of a basement apartmentResolution Chairman Judge read the draft resolution for the variance denied for 166 Cortlandt Street at the November 14, 2018 public hearing. There were no comments or changes requested from the Board. 2) Vincent Feliciano, 26 Kendall Avenue, Legalization of 8 foot high fencing- Public hearing Chairman Judge stated that Gorete Crowe will be recused from voting on the application because she is within the neighboring property notification area. Chairman Judge stated that with four members present, the decision must be unanimous if a vote is taken and that it is up to the applicant as to whether or not he would like to proceed. Mr. Feliciano stated that he would like to proceed this evening. Craig Lis read the public notice. �Pamela Pengelski confirmed that all of the mailing receipts have been received. Chairman Judge invited the applicant to speak before the Board. Mr. Feliciano is the applicant who resides at 26 Kendall Avenue. Mr. Feliciano stated that he is seeking a variance to keep the 8 foot high fencing in the rear yard for more privacy and aesthetics. Mr. Feliciano stated that he considers the 5 foot height to be too short considering the elevation of the property directly behind his. Mr. Feliciano stated that there originally was a wood stockade fence. After damage from a fallen branch, he decided to replace the fence with vinyl fencing for easier maintenance. Mr. Feliciano stated that after he installed the 5 foot fencing all the way around the back yard he noticed the view from his back door was of the driveway of the property directly behind him due to the elevations differences. He extended the fencing in those areas for privacy reasons. Mr. Feliciano submitted additional photographs of the existing conditions. Chairman Judge asked Mr. Feliciano to confirm that his main goal is privacy. Mr. Feliciano confirmed that he was looking for privacy but also believes that it aesthetically looks better. Chairman Judge solicited questions from the Board. Discussion ensued on the grade differences of the neighboring properties on all three sides. Chairman Judge stated that a Building Permit application was submitted by the Applicant on May 2, 2017 to replace fencing in the backyard with 5 foot high vinyl fencing. Chairman Judge stated that the Mr. Feliciano then installed the additional 3 feet of lattice fencing material without a permit. Mr. Feliciano stated that he thought he could replace what he took down and stated that he didn't know that it changed. Mr. Feliciano stated that he went along by the height of the property to the right of his. Chairman Judge stated that the condition of the Building Permit issued stated that the rear yard fence may not exceed 5 feet in height and the fence that was installed is 8 feet high. Chairman Judge confirmed that lattice is considered fencing. Upon inspection by the Building Department, a Notice of Violation was issued for non-compliance with the Building permit issued. Chairman Judge asked what the height of the existing fence was previously. Mr. Feliciano stated that the fencing he took down was stockade fencing some of which was 8 feet in height and that it was there when he purchased the property. �Chairman Judge stated that the previous conditions of the property are non-conforming. The issue that the Board faces is setting precedence by issuing a variance that carries forward with neighboring property owners. Chairman Judge asked Mr. Feliciano if he has considered other options that could provide some screening, perhaps plantings. Mr. Feliciano stated that there is not enough room in his backyard for additional plantings that would grow high because there is an existing concrete retaining wall directly behind the fence on neighboring property line. Discussion ensued on options for privacy screening in lieu of fence height. Chairman Judge read the Village Zoning Code as it relates to the fence and walls permitted on the rear and side yards of a residential property in order to confirm the definition of what is considered fencing material. Motion was made to open the public hearing. Moved: Judge Seconded: Rubick Vote 4-0 Chairman Judge solicited comments from the public. George Crowe, who resides at 28 Kendall Avenue, stated that originally the 5 foot fencing was installed on their property and had to be moved. Mr. Crowe expressed his concerns to solve all fence related problems not to avoid additional problems in the future. Motion was made to close the public hearing. Moved: Judge Seconded: Lis Vote 4-0 Chairman Judge solicited questions from the Board. There were no other questions from the Board. Chairman Judge made a motion to deny the application due to the following reasons: 1. Granting the variance will result in an undesirable change or a detriment to the neighborhood as it will it create a precedent for future applications submitted in the Village of Sleepy Hollow seeking to install fences that are not compliant with the Village Zoning Code. 2. An alternative method to achieve the benefit sought by the Applicant was not submitted or considered. 3. Granting of the variance is a significant variance as the maximum permitted height is 5 feet where the Applicant is seeking to increase the height by 3 feet. 4. Granting the variance will have an adverse impact on the physical conditions in the neighborhood due to the fence being visible to the adjacent properties. �5. Granting of the variance is a self-created hardship as the fencing was not installed as per the approved Building Permit date May 2, 2017 and it is non-compliant with the Village of Sleepy Hollow Zoning Code. Moved: Judge Seconded: Rubick Timothy Judge, Chairman - yes Richard Hughes - yes Maria Gorete-Crowe- abstained Craig Lis - yes Margaret Rubick - yes Vote: 4-0-1 DENIED 3) Approval of minutes, November 14, 2018 Motion was made to approve the November 14, 2018 minutes. Moved: Judge Seconded: Crowe Timothy Judge, Chairman - yes Richard Hughes - yes Maria Gorete-Crowe - yes Craig Lis - yes Margaret Rubick- yes Vote: 5-0 APPROVED Motion was made to adjourn the meeting at 9:05 PM. Moved: Judge Seconded: Crowe Respectfully Submitted, Pamela Pengelski Secretary to the Zoning Board of Appeals Vote 5-0 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Zoning Board Minutes & Resolutions-2019 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource MINS_ZONING_2019-01-16 Subject The topic of the resource Zoning Board Minutes & Resolutions-2019 Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2019 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Village of Sleepy Hollow All Rights Reserved. Type The nature or genre of the resource Text