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Troy board approves larger illuminated sign and shorter deck clearance for River Street restaurant
Summary
Architects and the property owner won approval to install a 60-square-foot illuminated wall sign and to retain two street-front decks with less than the city’s 16-foot clearance at 421–425 River Street, after the board found the variances would not unduly change neighborhood character and requested additional utility and easement documentation.
Troy’s Board of Zoning Appeals on Wednesday approved two variances for a River Street building that will allow a larger illuminated wall sign and decks that extend into the right-of-way at 421–425 River Street.
Architect Jeffrey Goldstone, representing owner Garrett Brown, told the board the project would replace a painted sign on the brick facade with a new applied sign above an awning and asked that the board approve the sign at 60 square feet, larger than the 48 square feet allowed in the municipal ordinance. “We’re requesting that the sign be approved at 60 square feet,” Goldstone said during his presentation.
Goldstone also sought relief from the city’s 16-foot clearance requirement for two decks that project over the public way. He said the proposed decks would match the floor elevation of the existing deck and provide space beneath for short delivery vehicles; the plans show clearances of roughly 11 feet 10 inches on one side and about 7 feet 7 inches on the other.
Board members asked technical questions about lighting, hours of illumination and underground utilities. The applicant said lighting would be from building-mounted fixtures or parapet-mounted caps and proposed limiting illumination to operating hours (roughly 4:30 p.m. to midnight). On utilities, the applicant reported a recent survey and said the closest sewer line is outside the deck footprint; he agreed to provide a coordinated utility survey and easement documentation to staff.
The board split the two requests for separate motions. First, members voted that the sign and deck proposals are unlisted environmental actions with sufficient information for a negative declaration. Then the board approved the area variance for the 60-square-foot sign and, in a separate motion, approved the deck-height variance. In both votes, members said the changes would not create an unreasonable change in neighborhood character and that the benefits sought by the applicant could not be achieved by a feasible alternative.
The board’s approvals are conditioned on the applicant’s submission of the requested survey and easement documentation. If those materials reveal conflicts with underground utilities or the easement, staff said the board may revisit the decision or require additional mitigation.
The project will next proceed to any building or electrical permitting required for the sign and decking work. The board emphasized that building-permit and code enforcement questions (for example, permits to perform construction work) are handled by other city departments and are not decided by this variance approval.
