Board approves garage and multipurpose room at 333 Roland Road after debate over FEMA‑related hardship
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Summary
Homeowners at 333 Roland Road were granted variances to rebuild a larger garage with habitable space above; counsel argued filling a finished basement to meet FEMA standards reduced living area and created a hardship that justified the variance, a rationale the board accepted by majority vote.
The Fairfield Zoning Board approved variances to rebuild a substandard garage and add a multipurpose room above at 333 Roland Road after hearing legal argument that FEMA compliance reduced the property’s livable area.
Attorney John Fallon told the board the owners had filled a 742‑square‑foot finished basement to meet FEMA requirements, and that their proposed new garage with a modest habitable area above would partially recoup the lost space (about 340 sq ft). “By making the house FEMA compliant… they lost 742 square feet of space,” Fallon said, and the garage design aims to restore some usable area while providing internally garaged space for two vehicles.
Board members probed whether the decision to make interior renovations (which triggered FEMA compliance rules) created a self‑imposed hardship. One member observed that owners chose to upgrade the interior; Fallon and the architect countered that state case law allows hardship findings where public policy (FEMA standards) requires changes that reduce a property’s usable area. The architect described a compact second‑floor plan with a central usable cruciform area (about 340 sq ft) and knee walls that limit peripheral headroom.
After discussion about alternatives and whether a smaller, conforming garage could meet owners’ needs, the board voted to approve the variances by majority (recorded as four in favor, one opposed). The decision noted the property’s preexisting lot nonconformity and neighborhood context; applicants were told the board would issue a written decision describing any conditions.