Varick ZBA meeting minutes, August 28, 2018

Zoning Board of Appeals
Town of Varick New York

Minutes for August 28, 2018

The Varick ZBA held a public meeting at the Varick Town Hall August 28, 2018 at 7:00 pm.
Present: Annie Bachman – Chair, John Keel, Fred Beary, Susan Ottenweller, Andrew Herkovic, Tim Dorn –Code Enforcement Officer

Meeting called to order at 7:05 pm.

June Minutes: Motion to accept the minutes with corrections.
1st A Herkovic 2nd F. Beary Accepted unanimously

Code Enforcement Officer Report
6 permits issued since the June Meeting. J. Lippert and K. Miller have both recieved their permits. K. Miller still needs to provide T. Dorn with the exact measurements for the Area Variance paperwork to be amended and filed as stated in the June Minutes when the variance was granted. There is a permit issued for the address 5425 RT 89, but the work seems to be for address, 5411 RT 89. Applicant also has a property listed only as 89, to do a retaining wall and rebuild a foundation, which only needed a county permit, not a town permit. The work changed to demolishing the structure. There is a lot of confusion as to what he is doing and what permits belong with which property. At this time, all jobs are either in compliance or not being done.

*To clarify: Addresses are assigned by the US Post Office in partnership with the County 911 system and can be different than expected. The real property identifier is the tax map number, but the county web site only lists the property if there is not a mailing address assigned by the Post Office. The county web site is not up to date when properties change hands. The changes apparently are not reflected until the next tax time.

**For future reference: the fee for a Building Permit is $25 and $50 for an Area Variance application.

Old Business:
Publishing of Public Notices Timeline: S. Ottenweller found that there is a required minimum of 5 days (and is listed as such in the Varick Codes) for public hearing notices to be published prior to the meeting with no maximum number of days mentioned. Regular meeting have to be advertised no less than 72 hour prior to the meeting. The ZBA dates are published once a year (in January). Any meeting that is rescheduled has to be advertised. When a meeting is canceled without being rescheduled, there only needs to be a notice posted on the door to the meeting space. The secretary will keep a written log and/or send an e-mail to the chairman when public hearing notice letters are put in the mail.

Docks and Moorings – The Town of Varick has received notification of being granted jurisdiction over the regulation of docks and moorings by New York State. All codes already in place are enforceable. The rules of NY Corps of Engineers need to be complied with, but Varick ZBA can deny a request even if the Corps of Engineers has approved a project. The ZBA will recommend to the Town Board that lakeshore owners be notified in some manner, maybe by newsletter or public notice. This notice should include a reminder that docks require a building permit.

Special Meetings/ Property Inspections prior to an Area Variance Appeal Hearing. These do not require a public notice. The board will refrain from discussing the application, only gather information. S. Ottenweller will double check on this subject – What can be discussed, is public notice required, is a quorum needed, are minutes required?

New Business

A variance request has been brought to the board, the packet includes a letter of explanation, an application form for an area variance, and two sets of building plans. The request is to build an addition to an existing building at 5180 E. Lake Rd. The lot is very narrow and very long, the current house is almost right on top of the property line. A variance will be required. The application fee has not been paid, therefore the application has not been filed yet. A. Bachman will request the applicant to pay the fee, provide a letter sized or electronic version of the first page of the drawing packet (showing boundaries, current buildings and proposed addition with all measurements), and a list of adjacent (including those across the street) neighbors names and addresses for public notice letters. When this application is properly filed, the public hearing will be scheduled. A. Bachman will also offer for them to attend the next meeting to discuss the proposal without having a public
hearing.

Discussion of needing a liason between the Planning, Town, and Zoning Boards. There is a possiblilty of public meetings being scheduled to announce, recommend and vote to make changes to the Zoning Codes, but no one on the ZBA has been notified. Should joint meetings be proposed between the boards?

Note: Any ZBA member can contact the Planning Board at any time with a recommendation for a code change.

Next Meeting is scheduled for September 25, 2018 at 7:00pm.

Motion to adjourn the meeting at 8:30 pm by A Herkovic 2nd F. Beary Accepted unanimously.

Respectfully submitted September 15, 2018.

Carol J. Millis