Zoning board continues Twin Lakes Drive home addition after drainage and county review requested

The Airmont Zoning Board of Appeals continued, without deciding, an application for an addition to a single-family home at 35 Twin Lakes Drive on Jan. 7, 2025, after Rockland County Highway and the village engineer requested a drainage report and additional review.

Joseph Medic, civil engineer with Terra Nova Consultants, presented the application on behalf of the applicant (listed on the agenda as Asher Marillis Ziva) and described the work as an addition and interior changes to a preexisting nonconforming lot. The board discussed required variances for the existing nonconforming conditions and the proposed addition, but deferred a final action pending drainage review required by county and village staff.

The application seeks variances to legalize preexisting nonconforming conditions and to permit the addition. Key figures presented by the applicant include: - Minimum lot area required: 35,000 square feet; existing 25,187.25 square feet (applicant presented this as a preexisting nonconformity). - Front-yard setback: 50 feet required; existing 37.1 feet; proposed 33.9 feet. - Side-yard setbacks: required 25 feet, existing 32.3 feet, proposed 24.6 feet; total side-yard requirement 60 feet, existing 76.2 feet, proposed 56.9 feet.

The board and applicant discussed measurement conventions for setbacks (whether to measure from the original house face or new steps/porch) and the practical need the owner described for additional bedrooms; the owner present said the design is modest and intended to serve a large household.

Rockland County Highway Department sent a letter the day of the meeting citing the need for a drainage analysis to demonstrate no net increase in peak runoff and to show revisions to the site's drainage system. Board members noted they received the county letter that day and that professional review by the county and the village engineer was required before the record could be closed. The board also noted that adding new technical material without review could introduce new evidence into the record, so a continuation was necessary.

Acting Chair announced the application would be continued to the ZBA meeting on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025. The applicant was instructed to submit the requested drainage materials to the village so staff can forward them to Rockland County Highway and the village engineer for review before the continued hearing. The board did not vote to approve or deny the variances at this meeting.

The board emphasized that once technical comments are addressed and agency reviews are complete, it will reconsider the request and then determine whether to grant variances to legalize preexisting nonconformities and to permit the proposed addition.