Zoning board grants variance for deck and 12-inch soffit at 3 Sabrina’s Court in Norwich

The New Rochelle Zoning Board of Appeals voted to grant a variance that will allow a 12-inch soffit overhang and a 12-by-16 rear deck at 3 Sabrina’s Court in Norwich.

The board’s approval, announced after deliberations Wednesday evening, permits reductions of several setbacks: the west and south front-yard setbacks from 50 feet to 49 feet to accommodate a 12-inch soffit overhang, and a side-yard setback from 30 feet to 20 feet to allow the rear deck. The chair said the motion carried; the board noted one recorded "no" vote and announced a 15-day appeal period.

Applicant David Smith of Dependable Contracting Services told the board the house is already built and the deck remains to be constructed. He said site constraints — a corner lot, the presence of wetlands and an on-site septic system — make strict compliance difficult. "So, we end up here asking for forgiveness," Smith said, describing the request as reasonable given those limitations.

Board members and staff spent much of the hearing focused on how soffits are counted against setback lines. Staff explained that soffits are considered an aerial encroachment and showed the board a site sketch indicating how tightly the foundation sits near the corner of the lot. Staff also cautioned that the drawing is not a formal survey and that some inch-level dimensions (such as the exact distance between the proposed deck/stairs and the setback line) were unverified.

During deliberations a board member said the applicant had sufficiently described hardships and added that plan review had not flagged the soffit in earlier checks; the member argued the city should accept some responsibility for the oversight. Other members described the lot as constraining and said approving the modest deck and overhang would be reasonable rather than forcing the owner to cut corners of the house.

A letter from neighbor Bruce Bentley, owner of 2 Sabrina’s Court, was read into the record; Bentley wrote he is in favor of approving the variances for the property that faces his lot. No in-person opposition speakers appeared at the hearing.

The board’s approval is subject to the standard local appeal period. The chair told the applicant the decision will be issued and that there is a 15-day window in which an appeal may be filed with the clerk’s office.

Clarifying details recorded at the hearing include the requested setback reductions (50 ft → 49 ft for two front-yard setbacks, 30 ft → 20 ft for a side-yard), a proposed 12-by-16 rear deck, and staff’s note that the site drawing is not a survey. The applicant stated the deck would be accessed via a flight of stairs and that stair width may be narrowed if required by the building official (applicant discussed potential acceptance of a 32-inch stair where code permits).