Minutes of the regular meeting of the
Johnson City Zoning Board of Appeals held
on
July 9, 2007 at 7:30pm at
243 Main St., Johnson City, NY
Present: Vernon Rowlands, Chairman
Edward Mazanek, Vice
Chairman
Robert Deemie
Michael McSain
Beth Westfall, Village
Attorney
Daria Golazeski, Planning
Director
Absent: Dr. Steve Holowinski
The
work session was held at 7:00pm.
Chairman Rowlands called the meeting to
order at 7:30pm.
Chairman Rowlands noted the emergency
exits.
Minutes – A motion to approve the minutes of the June 11, 2007 regular
meeting was made by Mr. Mazanek and
seconded by Mr. Deemie.
Privilege of the Floor – None
Communications – None
Contingencies
- None
OLD BUSINESS
Public Hearing
Area Variance - Valentina Poroutchnik, 516 Nelson
Road
The applicant, Valentina Poroutchnik, is
requesting an area variance to allow parking in the front yard of the property
other than in the driveway.
Valentina Poroutchnik, her husband and
her daughter Mariana were present. Mariana spoke on behalf of her parents.
Chairman Rowlands opened the Public
Hearing.
Ms. Poroutchnik brought a diagram showing
their property and diagrams of their cars. She explained that the distance
between the fence and the house is too narrow to allow for a car door to be
opened so they cannot park in that part of the driveway. She used to park her
car on the street but it was hit twice. They cannot put the extra parking space
in vertically because there is a large tree in the way. She stated that a code
inspector came to the house when they were parking on the grass and told them
that they could remove the grass and put in 3-4 inches of gravel and make
temporary parking. She sent a letter to her neighbors asking if they support
the application and they did not receive any negative responses. They did not
disturb any of the curb. She also brought photos of several properties in the
neighborhood who have similar parking.
Chairman Rowlands asked how many cars the
family has. Ms. Poroutchnik stated that they have 4 cars and they all have
different work schedules so it is too difficult to move the cars around every
day.
Chairman Rowlands asked if
there was space behind the house to park. Ms. Poroutchnik stated that there is
a garden and a deck behind the house.
Mr. Mazanek asked about
paving an area behind the house. Ms. Poroutchnik stated that they don’t want to
do this because they would not have much of a yard left.
Mr.
Mazanek asked if they knew there was a 5ft. right of way where they want to
park. Ms. Poroutchnik stated that they could move the space farther into the
yard to stay out of the right of way.
Chairman Rowlands asked about the tree in
the front yard. Ms. Poroutchnik stated that they do not want to destroy the
tree.
Chairman Rowlands closed the public
hearing.
Chairman Rowlands stated that the board
had received a letter from a Mr. O’Donnell at 527 Nelson Road stating that he
does not have any objections to the proposal.
Chairman Rowlands read the department
head comments.
Code Enforcement: None
submitted
Fire
Dept: N/A
Planning
Dept: Proposed parking may be partly in ROW.
Not in harmony with the neighborhood.
Police
Dept: Not a good idea to give permission to
violate a village code.
DPW
& Water: This probably means that the parking area
will be over the sewer and water services.
If
there are future problems with these utilities, the parking area (asphalt or
concrete?)
will need to
be excavated at the property owner’s expense. Is there any proposed change
to the driveway
curb cut? If so, coordination is required with the DPW.
Chairman Rowlands stated that Nelson Road
is a very narrow street and expressed concern over congestion on the street.
There appears to be enough space to park behind the house.
A motion to deny the area variance
request was made by Mr. McSain and seconded by Mr. Mazanek.
Motion
Carried Vote: Yes – 4 No – 0 Absent
– 1
Public Hearing
Area Variance - Ivadeben Corporation, 97
& 101 Myrtle Avenue
The
applicant is requesting two area variances for lot frontage and for lot area to
construct two single-family, 3 bedroom dwellings, one on 97 Myrtle Avenue and
the second one on 101 Myrtle Avenue.
A
gentleman named Benny from Ivadeben Corporation was present. They have an offer to buy the property.
Chairman
Rowlands opened the public hearing.
Susan
Greer, the seller of the lots, has no problems with the construction of the
houses. She explained that she has had the property for sale for a year with no
offers until the offer from Ivadeben Corp.
Chairman
Rowlands asked if the houses would have garages. Benny stated that there would
not be any garages.
Mr.
McSain expressed concern with having enough parking.
Amy
Moore, 102 Myrtle Avenue, stated that she has no problem with one house being
built but is against 2 houses being built. She feels that the street is too
narrow for any more cars and that the property is too small. She feels it will
deter from her property value and will be bad for the neighborhood. She also feels that off street parking is a
problem on the street.
Mr.
Greer stated that she does not believe there will be a parking issue. The
driveways will be long enough.
Chairman
Klish stated that the lots are 40’ wide, which is typical for the northside of
Johnson City.
Chairman
Rowlands closed the public hearing.
Chairman
Rowlands read the department head comments.
Code Enforcement: I did go and look at the
neighborhood. I feel that it is consistent with the other neighboring
properties as far as building setbacks. I do not feel the area setback request
is an issue. If approved, the buildings require a building permit and must
comply with all NYS Building Codes. Detailed drawings are required.
Fire: Recommend denial.
Planning
Dept.: Common lot size for original subdivision.
Police: NCI
Public
Works: NCI
for the variance. The developer must coordinate with DPW and Water Departments
for the location of sewer, water and driveways and will be responsible for all
costs associated with the associated installations of the aforementioned items.
Water: New water
line needs to be installed.
JC Planning Board: Recommend
approval of the area variance application for 97 and 101 Myrtle Avenue to
construct two one-family dwellings, with a completion date of May 2008,
including the department head comments
A
motion to approve the area variances for 97 & 101 Myrtle Avenue with a
completion date of May 2008 and including the department head comments was made
by Mr. Deemie and seconded by Mr. McSain.
Motion
Carried Vote: Yes – 4 No – 0 Absent
– 1
The
meeting was adjourned at 8:00pm.
Respectfully
submitted,
Diane
Salva
Zoning
Board Clerk