Dobbs Ferry ZBA pauses 200 Ashford Ave variance request after noticing error; applicant told to renotice

The Dobbs Ferry Zoning Board of Appeals on an April 2025 agenda item deferred action on a variance application for 200 Ashford Avenue, saying the public notice did not reflect the applicant’s revised proposal and directing the applicant to refile and renotice.

The application, presented by engineer Shaheen Badali on behalf of the applicant, seeks three variances: (1) relief from the zoning code’s minimum lot area per dwelling unit (the code requires 2,500 square feet per unit; the applicant’s calculation is 1,742 square feet per unit, a variance of 758 square feet per unit); (2) relief from the village’s maximum lot coverage by impervious surface (the code allows 54 percent; the applicant requests 67.4 percent, a 13.4 percentage-point increase); and (3) relief from parking setback requirements (code requires parking spaces to be at least 10 feet from the property line; proposed parking would be 3 feet from the side property line and 2 feet 6 inches from the rear property line).

The applicant said the project had been substantially revised since a 2024 hearing and that the current proposal represented “the alternative that proposes the least amount of variances,” including a reduced lot-coverage request from an earlier plan. Badali also told the board the revision followed a review by the Planning Board.

Board members flagged a discrepancy between the figures in the legal notice and the numbers presented at the hearing. One board member said, “I think it is problematic, actually, because I think just in terms of the public’s right to understand what the application is.” The board expressed particular concern about the size of the lot-area variance for each dwelling unit, calling a 758-square-foot variance on a 2,500-square-foot requirement unusually large and likely to raise precedent concerns.

The board asked the applicant to consider whether changes could reduce the lot-area variance or to prepare a more detailed written explanation of why the additional dwelling unit is needed and why lesser relief is not feasible. Badali said the lot-area calculation is driven directly by the number of dwelling units proposed and that the only way to reduce that specific variance would be to remove the additional unit from the proposal; he said he would submit a supplemental written statement to clarify the project’s constraints and justification.

Outcome: The board voted to adjourn the item and directed the applicant to renotice so the public notice matches the application materials. No formal vote on the variances was taken.

The board signaled it will review the supplemental materials when the application returns to the agenda.