ZBA lets Heights resident time to resolve issues
Before the Zoning Board of Appeals acts on a requested variance sought by Greg and Virginia Anderson to maintain a pool and patio on their property in Shelter Island Heights, they’ll have an opportunity to work out details with their neighbors.
Despite a letter from a neighbor complaining that Mr. Anderson of 1 Bayview Avenue does as he pleases without concern for others, coupled with an objection from the Heights Property Owners Corporation, other neighbors at the January 20 ZBA meeting said they’ve been working on solutions to contain noise and water runoff.
HPOC General Manager Stella Lagudis said the organization’s objection is based a matter of principle. At the time the plan for the pool and patio was first introduced, Ms. Lagudis said, there was no indication a variance would be necessary.
The variance request came “posthumously, after the pool went in,” Ms. Lagudis said.
Had HPOC known earlier there were setback problems, they might have been resolved, she added.
“The variance is still not being supported” by the HPOC, Ms. Lagudis said.
The Andersons’ attorney, John Bennett, said he didn’t want to denigrate the HPOC argument, but that it had no bearing on the test that has to be met for the ZBA to grant a variance.
He asked and was granted a delay until March 23 to give the Andersons and their neighbors an opportunity to work out issues of noise and landscaping.
In other business: John and Blair Borthwick of 71 Nostrand Parkway want to reconstruct their nonconforming house and were told they would need a special permit to do so.
But Mr. Bennett, who is also their attorney, suggested that since the nonconformity isn’t increasing, there should be no requirement for a special permit.
The Borthwicks’ plans call for permission to reconstruct when their current side yard variance is 7.5 feet when code requires it to be 20 feet from the lot line.
The ZBA will discuss the application further in February.
Mark and Mary Kanarvogel, of 39 Stearns Point Road, are seeking a special permit to reconstruct their nonconforming house that’s 42.1 feet from the front yard line instead of the required 50 feet. They also need a side variance that goes from 6.6 feet to 23.8 feet instead of the required 30-foot setback.
Ms. Kanarvogel told the ZBA that without the variance there would be no way to reconstruct the house and it would have to be torn down and replaced. The couple’s proposed plans wouldn’t increase the footprint of the house or affect its height, she said.
The application will be discussed at a February 24 hearing.
