Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Setback Variance topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Board approves setback relief at 220 Oak Street after applicant cleans up long‑vacant lot
Summary
The Zoning Hearing Board granted a variance to allow construction of a small single‑family addition at 220 Oak Street, finding a hardship tied to existing garage placement and approving relief limited to the submitted site plan.
The Scranton Zoning Hearing Board approved setback relief to permit a new single‑family structure attached to an existing garage at 220 Oak Street, subject to the site plan presented at the hearing.
Attorney Rinaldi, speaking for the applicant Peter Bonacuse, described a property that had been overgrown and without sidewalk; he said the owner cleaned up the lot, installed a sidewalk and cleared trees, and that the current garage is a nonconforming element already within the setback footprint. “If you look at the setbacks the way they're supposed to be, you can't fit a structure on there,” Rinaldi said, arguing the requested rear setback relief is the minimum necessary and was not caused by the applicant.
A neighbor, Maria Maletta Hasty, testified she remembered the prior house and supported the cleanup while asking that excavation not cause erosion or place the new structure too close to her property line. The board voted to approve the variance for the plan on the record and emphasized approval applies only to the specified site plan; the motion passed 4‑0. The board adjourned after the vote.
