TOWN OF MACEDON
ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS
February 15, 2012
The Town of Macedon Zoning Board
of Appeals meeting was held on Wednesday, February 15, 2012, 7:30 p.m., at the
Town Complex, 32 Main Street,
Macedon, NY. Present were Chairman Warren
Jeffries, members Aaron Cook, Carl Eligh and Ronald
Santovito. Also present were Town
Councilwoman Sandy Pagano, Town Engineer Scott Allen,
Code Enforcement Officer Aron Thompson,
Town Attorney Michelle Villani and Board Clerk Susan Bush. Absent was John Gravino.
Mr. Jeffries called the meeting
to order at 7:30 p.m. He then explained
the purpose for which this Board serves and read the Legal Notice as it
appeared in the Times.
PUBLIC HEARINGS:
Z-02-12 – DeMitry – 2283
Vandy Drive – Area Variance – Section 135
Schedule I – Side & front setbacks for addition – Applicant Christine
DeMitry and architect Randall Peacock, were present, and Mr. Peacock addressed
the Board regarding this project. The
applicant would like to expand her one-car garage with a 14 ft. second bay on
the east side and add a second story over the entire garage for additional
living space. She would also like to add
an open porch along the front of her house.
Both of these projects would require setback variances. The garage addition would reduce the side
setback from 26.1 ft. to 12.1 ft., and the porch addition would reduce the
front setback from 51 ft. to 45 ft. The
expanded garage will allow the applicant to park her car inside, as well as
provide more storage space for personal items.
The living space over the garage would be used as a bedroom/bath, and
Mr. Peacock has redesigned the existing septic system to accommodate the
expansion. Access to the second floor
will be through a mud room at the back of the garage. The entire exterior of the house will also be
renovated as part of the construction project. It was noted that the residences at 2283 and
2277 have adjacent driveways and garages.
- Planning Board – Positive referral
- Wayne
County Planning
Board – Referral not required
- SEQR – Not required at Appeals level
- Town Board – No comment or recommendations
There was no one else present to
speak for or against the granting of these variances.
Z-01-12 – Hansen (Marvin) – 1005 Victor Road – Interpretation
of decision – Applicant Paul Hansen and his attorney, Terry Brown-Steiner, were
present to address the Board. Mr.
Brown-Steiner stated he had been hired after the appeal was filed and was
present to assist the applicant. He
further stated the focus would be on what has been built: A stand-alone garage in a front yard. There have also been issues of noise,
fireworks, loud music, etc., and letters would be provided from neighbors
registering those complaints. Original
permit application was made in 2003, and the planned building looked like a
barn. The building constructed looks
like a luxury garage, not a barn. The
permit was issued in October, 2003. Within
a month an application was made to subdivide the property, and a month after
that the property was sold. Mr.
Brown-Steiner felt this was misleading the Planning Board at the time of subdivision,
and he further stated Mr. Hansen would show misrepresentations made in drawings
submitted to the Town; i.e., houses omitted, easements omitted, barn built
differently than laid out, built over a decade, permit expired. He stated his client was told to wait until a
new permit was issued because the building was not completed and that Mr.
Marvin would have to get a new permit. A
new permit was issued in 2011, and that is why Mr. Hansen is before the Board
at this time. Mr. Brown-Steiner asked
the Board to consider revoking Mr. Marvin’s permit and the Certificate of
Occupancy. He then distributed
additional materials to the Board including:
Timeline of events; packet of letters; photo of building as it is now;
drawings of barn as it was supposed to be; photo showing door with sign “19th
Hole”, indicating a party house; photos of grading changes.
Mr. Hansen then addressed the
Board and reviewed the materials distributed with a history of the
property. He stated when he bought his
house in 1999, Sunrise Estates was originally three (3) lots with a 40 ft.
access easement. In the Marvin 2003
building permit application, the map does not show existing houses on adjoining
lots; the easement shown was not the proper length; the garage was shown facing
Victor Road
with a 69 ft. side setback. He stated
the shared access easement created a private street/road, and this building was
“front yard” construction. He complained
to the Building Department in 2003, and was advised there was a valid permit to
build the barn. In November, 2003, an
application for subdivision was made to the Planning Board for subdivision, and
Mr. Hansen described inaccuracies he felt were made in that application. Construction of the barn was ongoing and
concerns were raised by neighbors regarding activities on the Marvin property
and flooding on their properties. In
2011, a new permit was issued for the barn/garage. Mr. Hansen felt there is a difference in use between
a barn and a garage, with the subject building being a garage. A new permit was issued in November, 2011,
and Mr. Hansen stated he was advised that the time to bring up his issues was
when the permit was re-applied for and when or if the Certificate of Occupancy
was issued. He has been on active duty
with the Army until December, 2011, and was limited as to what he could do on
this matter. The 2011 application showed
the correct orientation of the building (garage) but again showed an incorrect
setback from the private road. He also
described another concern with an embankment which he felt was a fence constructed
on the property line. Mr. Hansen then
detailed other issues, including grading, drainage, problems with his pond,
piping a stream, property lines, silt fence, wagons/trailers left on property,
etc.
A Board member questioned the
common easement, and Mr. Hansen stated Mr. Marvin owned the easement and he has
access rights to it. He also stated a
driveway serves only one property and a street serves two or more. His primary access is through this easement. Town Councilwoman Pagano asked what Mr. Hansen
was seeking by this action. He responded
he would like the permit revoked, Certificate of Occupancy revoked, stop use
order issued on the garage, and the building moved/removed.
Chairman Jeffries asked if there
were any commercial uses being made of the building, and Mr. Hansen responded there
were not.
The residents at 1015 Victor Road
were present to support Mr. Hansen’s appeal.
Their complaint included the noise and traffic generated from the Marvin
property.
There was no one else to speak in
favor of the appeal. Mr. Jeffries then
asked if there was anyone to speak against the appeal.
James Bonsignore, attorney for
Michael Marvin, was present to address the Board. Mr. Bonsignore stated the focus of this
appeal was not easements and boulders, but to make a determination whether the
Code Enforcement Officer made a proper decision in issuing a building permit
and Certificate of Occupancy for the barn.
There is a nearly 10-year history of this dispute, and the vast majority
of the concerns Mr. Hansen has addressed were issues where he has not availed
himself of administrative remedies. He
did not appeal in 2003; he did not file any complaints or claims in 2005. He has not availed himself at any time of
coming before the ZBA or any other judicial board. Town Code and Town Law provide a 60-day
statutory time period in which these appeals could be brought. The appeal documents filed state he does seek
relief from the 2003 decisions and “any other” decisions made including the
2011 decisions. The initial appeal was
filed on January 11, 2012. That appeal
was timely; however, the amended appeal filed on January 18, 2012, was outside
the 60-day period. The amended appeal
would be improper and attempts to bring in additional claims that were not in
the initial appeal. Many of the issues
stated in the initial appeal do not deal with the granting of the Certificate
of Occupancy and the building permit for the barn. Mr. Hansen’s letters of complaint have been
addressed multiple times by Code Officer Scott Allen
or others in his office, including Code Officer Mike Nelson. The correspondence from Mr. Hansen and the
responses from the Town show the issues have been addressed by the Planning
Board and through Code Enforcement. Mr.
Bonsignore also reviewed the septic system mentioned in Mr. Hansen’s
complaint. He stated there is a septic
tank but no septic system. There is no
plumbing connected to the barn; there are no leach lines; there is no water
service.
Michelle Villani, attorney for
the Town of Macedon,
then addressed the Board. She commented
that most of the issues in Mr. Hansen’s appeal should have been filed years
ago. Nothing was done secretly, hearings
were held at the time, and the ZBA’s focus should be on nothing before the
issuance of the November 14, 2011, permit.
She also pointed out the 2011 permit was issued administratively. The building had been completed years ago,
but no Certificate of Occupancy had been issued and the permit had
expired. After the issuance of the new
permit, no additional work was done on the building, and that is why there was
a four-day window between issuing the permit and the C of O being granted. The time for appeal has expired on anything
before the November, 2011, permit.
Mr. Hansen then stated he had
been advised by the Building Clerk that he had another week to file an amended
appeal prior to the monthly submission deadline, and it had taken him five (5)
days to get his FOIL request filled.
Chairman Jeffries received
permission from Mr. Hansen and Mr. Marvin, who was also present, for the Board
members to visit the properties in question.
- Planning Board had no opinion on the matter
- Town Board had no comment
There was no one else present to
speak for or against this matter, and the public hearing was closed.
Chairman Jeffries then called a
brief recess.
BOARD DISCUSSION:
Z-02-12 – DeMitry – 2283 Vandy Drive – Area Variance –
Section 135 Schedule I – Side & front setbacks for addition – A motion was
made by Aaron Cook, seconded by Ron Santovito,
to grant the variances as submitted.
Board members noted similar variances have been granted in the same
neighborhood.
The five factors were
reviewed: No undesirable change in the
neighborhood; the benefit sought could not be derived from another method;
variance is substantial; no adverse environmental impact; difficulty is self
created.
Roll Vote: Cook – yes; Eligh – yes; Gravino – absent;
Santovito – yes; Jeffries – yes.
Therefore, these variances are granted.
Z-01-12 – Hansen (Marvin) – 1005 Victor Road – Interpretation
of decision – In order for the Board members to review the materials and visit
the site, this matter was deferred to the March, 2012, meeting.
MINUTES:
A motion to approve the 01-18-12
minutes was made by Carl Eligh, seconded by Aaron Cook. All in favor (Gravino absent); minutes
approved.
ADJOURNMENT:
A motion to adjourn the meeting
was made by Aaron Cook, seconded by Carl Eligh.
All in favor (Gravino absent); meeting adjourned at 8:55 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Susan Bush
Clerk to the Board