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Rye Brook ZBA grants rear-yard setback variance for 6 Bondwood Road deck
Summary
The board granted a 5.5-foot rear-yard setback variance for a new rear deck at 6 Bondwood Road, finding the request would not create an adverse impact. Approval was unanimous among the three members present; two members were excused.
The Rye Brook Zoning Board of Appeals on April 1 provisionally granted a 5.5-foot rear-yard setback variance for the construction of a new rear deck at 6 Bondwood Road, approving the application 3-0 with two members excused.
Architect Evan Secofsky, representing applicants Jamie and Cara Billington, told the board that the proposed layout swaps a deck and patio on the rear of the lot and that, because the parcel has an angled rear lot line, the relocated deck would encroach on the rear setback in a corner of the lot. “In doing this swap ... we would be encroaching on that corner, to 29 and a half feet,” Secofsky said, explaining that the change improves functionality and sight lines to the pool while reducing overall impervious coverage compared with previously approved plans.
Board members reviewed prior variances on the property (impervious coverage and gross floor area previously approved) and noted that the current application reduces previously granted lot coverage. One member raised self-creation of the need as a relevant factor but found other code criteria were satisfied. No members of the public spoke in opposition or in favor during the hearing.
The board’s resolution records that the required public hearing was held and closed on April 1, and that the requested rear-yard setback variance of 5.5 feet (proposed rear setback 29.5 feet vs required 35 feet in the R12 zoning district) would not create an adverse impact after consideration of the code’s findings. The approval is provisional and requires the applicants to pay any outstanding application and consultant fees before issuance of permits or certificates of occupancy.
The board’s discussion emphasized that, although the variance is “self-created” in the sense the applicants seek a different layout than earlier-approved plans, the practical benefits to functionality and the reduction in lot coverage supported a favorable outcome.
