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Plattsburgh Zoning Board postpones one appeal, approves variances for 7 Draper Avenue
Summary
At its March 17 meeting the City of Plattsburgh Zoning Board of Appeals postponed one appeal (PO 2391) because the board was short two members and approved variances for 7 Draper Avenue allowing increased lot coverage, reduced open space and a side-yard encroachment; the approvals passed by a 3-0 voice vote.
The City of Plattsburgh Zoning Board of Appeals on March 17 postponed Appeal PO 2391 until next month and approved variances for 7 Draper Avenue (Appeal 2392), voting 3-0 on the Draper Avenue request.
The postponement motion to carry PO 2391 to the next monthly meeting was moved and seconded by board members and approved by a voice vote of the three members present. The board began the meeting short two regular members; the chair noted that a five-member board normally requires three affirmative votes for an appeal to succeed and that several members were absent (one due to a medical issue). The chair told the applicants that postponement would allow all members to hear the full record: “I just assume not really even get into it so that the people that are going to vote eventually will see everything,” the chair said.
Separately, the board voted to have the chair sign a short-form environmental assessment for a matter identified as "fuel number 20Fifth92," finding no or small impacts on the short-form checklist questions 1–11. A motion to have the chair complete and sign that form passed on a voice vote.
On Appeal 2392, the property owner seeking changes at 7 Draper Avenue described a modest rear addition to enclose a narrow space used for laundry and storage and said the work would extend to about where an existing deck sits. The owner told the board, “We just wanna do 6 feet where the fence is anyways,” describing the planned alignment and the small footprint of the work.
The board approved three variances for 7 Draper Avenue: (1) an increase in lot coverage from 36.2% to 36.9% (the zoning district's stated maximum coverage was discussed during the hearing), (2) a decrease in minimum open space from 46% to 45.2% (minimum open space requirement discussed as 50%), and (3) a side-yard encroachment of approximately 6 feet 4 inches from the existing side-yard condition (the existing side-yard was noted as about 0.93 feet). The motion as read on the record named those numeric variances and was seconded; the board approved the variances by a 3-0 vote. The chair closed the item by noting the outcome: “Needless to say, you got 3 yes votes.”
Board discussion of the Draper Avenue request included references to earlier work on the property: a garage replacement after a fire (noted as occurring in 2014) and an earlier kitchen expansion (noted as occurring in 2010). The board also discussed the property's surveyed lines and an existing storage shed in the rear; members noted that removing the shed would increase the property's open space but the owner said they did not plan to remove it. One board member said the board could add a recommendation in the minutes that future increases to coverage or decreases to open space not be exceeded, but acknowledged that such a recommendation is advisory and that variances run with the property.
Other routine business included acceptance of the January minutes (motion carried by voice vote) and a motion to adjourn, which passed.
The postponed appeal (PO 2391) will be heard at the board's next monthly meeting; an exact date was not specified on the record.
