At its Nov. 20 meeting the Norwalk Zoning Board of Appeals heard a variance application from Eva Zeng for a two-and-a-half-story side addition with an integral garage at 8 Belmont Place and carried the hearing to the next meeting to allow the applicant to work with staff.

Staff explained the request: the CD-1s zone requires a 30-foot front setback; the existing facade sits at 11.6 feet and the applicant proposes a 12-foot front setback for the addition. Additional requested relief includes a wider driveway (current 13 feet, proposed 25 feet) and permission to park within the front setback. Staff said the existing house is historic (built in 1830), but staff does not believe the documented conditions rise to the hardship standard and noted conforming alternatives (pushing the proposal back or using a rear addition with side-entry garage) appear achievable.

Applicant Eva Zeng described structural and site constraints: the lot grade and retaining walls, an interior laundry room and bathroom that would need demolition to place the garage farther back, water‑main complications, and an unusual front‑yard condition where part of what is perceived as the homeowner’s lawn is owned by the state Department of Transportation/Metro‑North. Zeng said that because Metro‑North/ DOT owns the strip in front of the house, she could not rely on that area and thus argued for the proposed alignment.

Board members explored alternatives in detail: staff suggested that sliding the proposal back roughly 10–15 feet might achieve conformity without a variance but could create side‑setback issues; members noted the applicant’s money constraints but encouraged her to consult an architect and to work with staff (Tammy Maldonado) on a modified plan. The chair warned that a denial would trigger a six‑month bar on reapplication; the applicant elected to delay and return with revised plans. The ZBA voted to carry the hearing to next month and instructed the applicant to keep the public‑notice sign posted while the hearing remains open.

No formal vote on the variances was taken.