Builder seeks basement egress at 27 Street; board questions window, safety and inspections

A resident builder who identified himself as Anthony presented a planning application for a house on 27 Street, describing a plan to create a basement recreation room that requires installing a new egress window.

"My name is Anthony. I am a resident of Amster and a local builder," he told the council, explaining that the current house layout has no internal stair to the basement and the only way to provide egress is a window. He said the owners live out of state and asked the board to consider the proposed work.

Trustees and staff focused on whether the proposed window meets New York State egress standards. A trustee noted that the window as presented "is too small to meet the standard 5.7 square foot egress code" (citing the Anderson website), and Anthony agreed to change the window size. Board members also raised questions about the absence of a stairwell, the proximity of a gas-fired boiler and whether the half-inch sheetrock in the boiler room met fire-rating expectations. Staff clarified that a fire-rated enclosure is required only above certain BTU thresholds and that smoke detectors were included on initial plans, though the permit had not yet been issued.

Anthony described building-department enforcement measures for special permits, including annual unannounced inspections and the possibility of revoking the special permit for noncompliance; he said fines can be "$1,000 a day and a $20,000 fine" in extreme cases. Trustees pressed for code-compliant egress dimensions and other safety fixes before permits proceed. No final approval or vote was recorded in the transcript excerpt.