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ZBA approves area variance for detached garage at 151 Van Damme Street, 5-0
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Summary
The Saratoga Springs Zoning Board of Appeals granted an area variance on July 28 permitting a two‑car detached garage with a home gym over it at 151 Van Damme Street. The board found the requested building coverage relief acceptable and voted 5‑0 to approve the application as revised.
The Saratoga Springs Zoning Board of Appeals approved an area variance on July 28 allowing construction of a two‑car detached garage with a home gym above at 151 Van Damme Street.
The applicantappeal listed on the record is Amy Burton; Sean Corp of Reveal Architecture presented revised plans on her behalf. Corp said the revised design moves a proposed powder room from the second floor to the first floor, enlarges the garage footprint by about 4 feet on one side and modifies the stair layout. He described the second‑floor gym as accessible by a switchback stair and noted additional attic storage created by the revised layout.
Corp told the board the applicant's revised plans show building coverage of about 43.26 percent. The draft resolution presented to the board described the proposed coverage as 44 percent and sought relief from the 40 percent maximum; the draft motion nonetheless approved the application "as per the submitted plans or lesser dimensions."
Board members said the applicant had responded to prior feedback and that the revised design better fit the alley and neighborhood. After discussion about the language of the draft resolution, members moved and seconded an approval. The roll call recorded Christopher LaPointe, Jonah Cohen, Otis Maxwell, Amanda Dema and Brendan Daly as voting "in favor." The vote was 5‑0; the boardfound the requested variance was not substantial and would not produce an undesirable change in neighborhood character.
The draft resolution on the record lists the reasons for approval under the board's five‑factor test: practical difficulty not reasonably alleviated by other feasible means, limited effect on neighborhood character supported by nearby comparable garages, non‑substantial nature of the request, no significant adverse physical effect on the neighborhood, and that while the difficulty is partly self‑created, that factor alone does not preclude relief. The resolution records the application as project number 20250462 and the property tax parcel noted in the record.
Ending — The board's approval permits the applicant to proceed with the revised garage design subject to any building permits and separate approvals required by the city; the transcript shows the board concluded the hearing and adjourned at 7:29 p.m.
