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West Babylon homeowner seeks multiple variances; board accepts some conditions, reserves decision
Summary
Richard Brontchick spoke for John Christie seeking variances for a 2-car garage, fence, shed relocation and patio. The board agreed to require the shed be moved to a conforming location, discussed modifications to a 6-foot fence for sightlines and reserved decision while keeping the record open for a potential new fence plan.
Richard Brontchick presented four requested variances on behalf of property owner John Christie at a West Babylon corner lot: replacing a one-car garage with a two-car garage, retaining a six-foot fence, a concrete patio encroaching on the property line, and relocating a shed.
Brontchick said the owner proposed a two-car garage to store and work on classic cars and asked to match the nonconforming front of the existing house. He said the garage area requested was 529 square feet (code allows 500) and that the corner lot shape created two front-yard conditions; he requested relief to place the garage and to reduce one front-yard from 30 feet to about 15.1 feet along Arlington Road. Brontchick said the shed will be moved to a conforming location and withdrew the request for a shed variance.
Board member Shepherd and other members raised safety and sightline concerns about the six-foot fence near a neighbor’s driveway. Shepherd suggested either cutting the fence back in the corner or lowering it to four feet; Brontchick and the owner said they would trim the fence back at the corner so drivers can see and agreed to provide either an informal sketch now and a formal plan if required by planning. The board confirmed agreement to three of the four planning conditions and said condition four (related to the fence/driveway sightlines) requires further handling.
At the meeting a board member moved to approve a measure described on the record as "delete various 3 diminished distance from front yard line from 40 feet to 9.43 at Arlington Road for shed, case number 25-042"; the motion was seconded and the board voice-voted "Aye." The chairman said the board would contact the applicant about fence revisions and that the record would remain open for a possible new fence plan; the hearing was closed and decision reserved.
Why it matters: corner lots with preexisting nonconformities often require multiple, linked variances; the board negotiated sightline conditions for the fence to balance privacy and driver safety and left final relief subject to a final plan and planning review.
