ZONING BOARD MINUTES
February 18, 2008
Approved 03/17/2008
Posted 03/26/2008
Please take notice that the Town of Pittsford Zoning Board of Appeals held the following public hearings on Monday, February 18, 2008 in the Town Hall lower level meeting room, 11 South Main Street, beginning at 7:00 P.M. local time.
PRESENT
David Rogachefsky, George Dounce, Rufus Falk, Barbara Servé, Michael Rose, Robert Shaddock, Barbara Servé and Peter Webster
ALSO PRESENT
John Bernacki, Town Board Liaison; R. Williams, Attorney; D. Rowe, Building Inspector
Chairman, David Rogachefsky, called the regularly scheduled meeting of the Zoning Board of Appeals to order at approximately 7:00 p.m.
Richard Williams read the Legal Notice as published in the February 6, 2008, Wednesday edition of the Brighton Pittsford Post.
PUBIC HEARINGS CONTINUED
4130 East Avenue
Tax 151.10-1-10
Requesting an amendment of the prior variances dated December 18, 2006 & February 19, 2007.
Sami Mina, owner of 4130 East Avenue has requested a postponement for the above application until the March 17, 2008 hearing he will be unable to attend the February 18, 2008 meeting.
89 Country Club Drive
Tax #151.05-1-43
Requesting relief from Code Section 185-15 C (3).
Requiring a 20' side setback.
Jim Fahy, James Fahy Design, stated that he was representing Mr. & Mrs. Iacona, owners of 89 Country Club Drive. Mr. Fahy outlined the applicant's requests for the need of a mudroom addition and the addition of third bay to the garage requiring a 3' 8" variance request to accommodate the garage addition. The owners had to acquire a partial sewer release easement from the Town in order to construct this garage addition. Then they had to come before this board in order to acquire the necessary variance for the side setback.
Comments and questions from the board members:
- Do the neighbors to the east have any problems with this garage addition?
- When do you plan on getting started?
Jim Fahy responded that the owners have spoken with the neighbors to the east and they are okay with the addition. The owners tried to minimize the variance in order not to be that close to the next-door neighbor. To the best of his knowledge there has been no opposition to this application from any of the neighbors. The owners would like to start construction as soon as the weather permits.
Comments from the public:
There were no public comments regarding this application.
This application is a local matter therefore there is no comments from Monroe County Planning & Development Department. This is a Type II Action therefore is not subject to a SEQRA review.
Rufus Falk moved to close the Public Hearing.
Seconded: Peter Webster
The Public Hearing is closed.
420 Allen's Creek Road
Tax #137.2-1-1
Requesting relief from Code Section 185-15 C (1)
Requiring a 70' front setback.
Daniel Cook architect for the owners of 420 Allen's Creek Road, outlined the application. He informed the board that the original house was constructed in the 1880's and has had several additions put on over the years. The additions were very poorly constructed the additions are leaking and have created many problems in the house. They have applied for a demolition permit to take the house down because it is over 50 years old and it is required by Town code that any structure over 50 years old needs to be advertised for 60 days before it can be taken down. The front corner of the house will be 26.8' from the front setback, which will be slightly setback further than the existing house, and the garage will be swung from the street for additional driveway space and a turn-around will be added so that they won't have to back out into traffic on Allen's Creek Road. The proposed house will not exceed the required 30' height in this residential district.
Comments and questions from the board members:
- Is the pool already there?
- Will you be building the house around the pool?
Daniel Cook stated that the pool is already there and in good shape, owners like the pool and intend on keeping it. The new house will be closer to the pool than the existing house and angled around the pool in order to get the square footage for the house they want.
Comments from the public:
There were no public comments regarding this application.
This is a local matter therefore there are no comments from Monroe County Planning & Development Department. This is a Type II Action therefore is not subject to a SEQRA review.
Robert Shaddock moved to close the Public Hearing.
Seconded: Peter Webster
The Public Hearing is closed.
3690 East Avenue
Tax #138.19-1-1.1
Requesting relief from Code Section 185-39
Requiring that no structure shall exceed 30' in height
Jared Lusk, Nixon Peabody, and Joe Burkhart, Vice President of St. John Fisher College, outlined the application for the proposed Welcome Center building, which will be 44' in height. They informed the board as to which offices will be consolidated in the new building. The administration offices, development office, boardroom, and an atrium entrance. The reason for the 44' height is so that the new building will have the gable roof design to match the style of the other buildings on campus. A flat roof would allow for the building to be 25' in height but would not carry out the architectural design of the campus. They could lower the roofline somewhat but they would like to stay with the gable roofline.
Comments and questions from the board members:
- Is the parking lot to be on the south side of the new building, and will the employees use this parking lot or will this be just for visitors?
- How many people will be working in this new building?
- Why does this building have to be this high so close to the road?
- Could you do some elevations showing a one-story building with a walkout to the rear with daylight windows and how much earthwork that will require for this to be done?
- The board members would like to see the detail of the area with the storm water drainage area.
- D. Rogachefsky asked if the building couldn't be set back any further or was it because of the storm water management facility location. He is concerned about the height of the building?
- Is the building footprint staked out?
Jared Lusk responded that the parking would be behind building and used only for visitors, the employees will be required to use Lots A & B for their parking. There will be about 34 people working in the building the people will be employees that are already employed at the college that are spread all over campus. The intent is to consolidate the employees in one building that have to do with the administration and development offices. The building itself could be about 25' high but because they would like to have the gable roof it goes higher than the allowed 30'. They did not really look at a 1-story with a walkout, but they will look at the possibility and see what could fit on the location or if it is feasible to do it with the storm water facility nearby and the drainage system that would have to be installed. They would like to have the employees above ground level. There would be a lot of earthwork to have a ground level 1-story building with a walkout. They will bring in a better site plan showing the storm water facility and the location of the parking lot and building footprint. The building was staked out at one time but at the present time it is no longer staked. However they will re-stake the footprint so that the board members can see the location of the building.
Comments from the public:
Ann Mulligan, 3685 East Avenue; Carol Giglia, 3655 East Avenue; Fred Snyder 3624 East Avenue; Alex D'angelo, 3715 East Avenue voiced their concerns regarding the location and height of the new Welcome Center. They do not want such a tall structure to look at and they also believe that there is a better location for this building on campus. It is too close to the road. The building started out as a 17,000-sq. ft. structure now they are up to 20,000-sq. ft. They feel that the college does not need a structure of this size so close to the road. Mr. Snyder stated that he often patrols the parking lot near his home because they have had problems with the students in his area. He does not want another parking lot near his home and the proposed trees they plan on landscaping the parking lot with will not hide the lot from his street. They are also concerned that there will be additional traffic to and from the campus because there is already a lot of traffic now. Would the college have a new entrance into campus and where will it be? Ms. Mulligan, 3685 East Avenue stated that ever since they built the Science Center she has had water in her basement; she is concerned about grading and water run off.
Additional concerns and comments from the board members
- R. Shaddock stated that the residents should like the look of a peaked roofline than to have a flat roof to look at. On a flat roof the HVAC units would be more visible to the public. Could a flat roof work for the design of the building?
- P. Webster wanted to know if they have information on any other location that they have tried to place this building on campus?
- D. Rogachefsky wanted to know why it is necessary to have such a large boardroom and atrium, if you scaled back these areas the building could be 15,000-sq. ft.
Jared Lusk responded that they would look into a 1-story with a walkout and present any other possible locations for the building at the next meeting. They will also look at scaling down the square footage of the building. The reason they placed the building in the proposed location is so that when they have visitors and or groups of potential students and their parents they can gather in one location and it would be the first building coming into campus and it would be the place that visitors would visit first. So when they come to review the school the students and parents won't have to go to several locations to be briefed on the information they will need before they make the decision to attend St. John Fisher College. They wanted to have this building the first one coming into campus and to put it further into campus means that visitors would have to drive further into campus and the school wants to avoid that situation. The flat roof would work and they would be about 25' tall therefore a variance would not be required but they wanted the building to blend in with the design of the campus. They would also have to put a parapet wall on the top of the building in order to high the HVAC units and they don't want to have that look on a building that is at the front of the campus.
Joe Burkhart stated that there would not be another entrance to the Welcome Center the visitors will use the same entrance that is already established off of East Avenue at the signal light.
This is a local matter, however Monroe County Planning & Development Department has submitted comments regarding this application and these comments are on file in the Dept. of Public Works Zoning Board file for this application. The Planning Board has not granted approval for the requested Site Plan and Special Permit, and the Planning Board has not completed their SEQRA process.
This Public Hearing remains open.
RESOLUTIONS
89 Country Club Drive
Tax #151.05-1-43
Requesting relief from Code Section 185-15 C (3).
Requiring a 20' side setback.
Discussion:
The addition is not out of character for the neighborhood, there have been other requests for variances in the neighborhood.Rufus Falk moved to grant to the owners of 89 Country Club Drive the requested area variance to allow the construction of a new garage addition within the side setback at the above-mentioned property.
Seconded: George Dounce
Roll Call: All AyesA resolution was passed granting the requested area variance of 3'4" to allow a 16' 8' side setback when the code requires a 20' side setback at the above-mentioned property. The resolution is on file in the Town Clerk's Office, property file and in the Zoning Board of Appeals file.
420 Allen's Creek Road
Tax #137.2-1-1
Requesting relief from Code Section 185-15 C (1)
Requiring a 70' front setback.
Discussion:
The new house will be in a better location being further from the road allowing for a longer driveway with a turn-around for access onto a very busy road. This is a very unique shaped lot.Rufus Falk moved to grant to the owners of 420 Allen's Creek Road the requested area variance to allow the construction of a new house within the front setback at the above-mentioned property.
Seconded: Barbara Servé
Roll Call: All AyesA resolution was passed granting the requested area variance to allow the 26.8' front setback when the code requires a 70' front setback at the above-mentioned property. The resolution is on file in the Town Clerk's Office, property file and in the Zoning Board of Appeals file.
OTHER
- Review/Approval of the January 21, 2008 minutes.
David Rogachefsky moved to approve the minutes.
Voice Vote: All Ayes - Lead Agency Requests
Planning Board has submitted Lead Agency Requests for the following applications:- Lusk Farm Subdivision - 784 Stone Road
- Oak Hill Commons, 3000-3006 Monroe Avenue
- Point Persons for the new applications for March 17, 2008 meeting.
- 212 Golf Avenue, Peter Webster
- 4130 East Avenue, David Rogachefsky
- 3690 East Avenue, St. John Fisher College, Robert Shaddock
Public Hearings
Meeting adjourned at 8:15 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Sandie Freitag
ZBA Secretary
OFFICIAL BOARD MINUTES ARE ON FILE IN THE OFFICE OF THE TOWN CLERK