Victor ZBA grants variance for house near federal wetland; requires swale and planning-board review

The Town of Victor Zoning Board of Appeals on June 1 granted an area variance for a proposed single-family house sited closer than the town’s 100-foot impervious-surface guideline to a federal wetland, but conditioned approval on a stormwater-swale mitigation measure and planning-board site-plan review.

David Cox, the civil engineer for the applicant, told the board the site was constrained by a federal wetland and by septic siting and slope limits. "The proposed house is approximately 61 feet from the wetland and the driveway is approximately 62 feet from the wetland at the closest points," Cox said, describing why the septic and driveway locations drove the building footprint.

Adam, a town code staff member, clarified jurisdictional and permitting issues: "The Army Corps took jurisdiction over the wetland, but no permits are needed if you're not disturbing the wetland," he said, explaining that federal jurisdiction does not automatically create a local buffer requirement; the town nonetheless restricts impervious surfaces within 100 feet.

Neighbors urged caution. Melissa Allen of 175 Baker said the subdivision and steep topography left few options and asked the board to weigh the tradeoffs: "It's a lesser of two evils," she said, asking the board to prefer the plan that avoids cutting down a large swath of trees.

The board discussed alternatives and heard cost estimates from the engineer: the plan would remove about 38 trees; moving the house to meet a 100-foot impervious setback would remove an estimated additional 75–100 trees and cost roughly $60,000–$70,000 in grading and tree removal. Cox proposed a swale that would route roof and driveway runoff to a culvert and southward; he estimated a swale at roughly $1,500–$2,000 and a dry well at $6,000–$8,000.

Board members agreed the variance criteria were met given topography, septic rules from the Department of Health and tree-preservation concerns and made approval conditional on (1) installation and maintenance of a swale or equivalent storm-water-mitigation feature that prevents runoff from reaching the wetland, and (2) no disturbance of the wetland during construction. The board also noted the project must obtain planning-board site-plan approval before building can commence.

The motion to approve the area variance passed; the transcript records a second by Chris but does not identify the motion maker or provide a roll-call tally in the record provided.