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Depew zoning board grants variance to allow two-car driveway at 66 Lee Street
Summary
On Aug. 28 the Village of Depew Zoning Board of Appeals granted a variance allowing homeowners at 66 Lee Street to widen a driveway to accommodate two cars after a contractor expanded the driveway without an updated permit; the board voted 4-0.
The Village of Depew Zoning Board of Appeals on Aug. 28 granted an area variance allowing a two-car driveway at 66 Lee Street after a contractor completed work that exceeded the existing permit.
At a public hearing, applicant Justin Palmer said the driveway expansion had already been completed. Palmer said the contractor, Buffalo's Best, expanded the driveway from a single-car width to a two-car width but did not update the permit; an inspection later revealed the unpermitted change. "It is already done," Palmer said.
The board read the six statutory area-variance criteria on the application and confirmed the applicants' written answers: the applicants marked that the change would not create an undesirable neighborhood change and that the requested relief — about 4 feet, 6 inches — was the minimum necessary. Board members asked whether the driveway was wider at the street (it is not) and whether the enlargement had been requested previously for a small 3-by-5-foot area intended for garbage and recycling storage; the applicant said that earlier application related only to that small section.
A motion to grant the variance was made and seconded by a board member; the Zoning Board recorded a roll-call outcome and approved the variance 4-0. Acting Chairman Patrick Delaney announced, "Vote passes 4 to 0. Variance passes."
Board staff described the situation as a misunderstanding between homeowner and contractor and reported no outstanding code or legal objections. The board did not attach additional conditions to the approval during the hearing.
The variance resolves the post-construction permit issue for 66 Lee Street by formally allowing the widened driveway. The board’s approval does not, on its face, change other permit or inspection requirements for the property.
