Cohoes Zoning Board tables Miller Avenue variance request after applicant cites neighborhood precedents

The Cohoes Zoning Board of Appeals on May 5 voted to table an application from applicant Gary Ethier seeking area variances to build a single‑family home on a vacant 5,000‑square‑foot lot on Miller Avenue.

Ethier told the board he was seeking relief from the R‑1 zoning minimum lot size (10,000 square feet) and lot width (70 feet), asking the board to allow a 50% reduction in lot size and about a 28.5% reduction in width. He argued the proposed 49‑by‑24 two‑story house (about 1,646 square feet) “fits with the neighborhood” and pointed to about a dozen prior variances he said were similar and had been approved, including cases on Pleasant Street, Rose Court and Dartmouth Street. “I’m just trying to develop this house for my kid to stay in the area,” Ethier said, describing the lot as historically used as a side yard to an adjacent two‑family home.

Greg Mollnow, chair of the Cohoes Zoning Board of Appeals, and Sharon Butler, commissioner of building and planning, pressed Ethier on legal and zoning context. Butler said a lot‑line adjustment could, in some cases, permit an accessory unit over a garage in R‑1 without the same variance relief; Mollnow noted the board must weigh whether the hardship is self‑created. “The alleged hardship was self‑created — you bought a lot that was 5,000 square feet in a zoning district that requires 10,000 square feet,” Mollnow said, describing that consideration as an important factor under Section 81 of the General City Law.

Several neighbors spoke in favor of allowing development. Gil Ethier, identifying himself as a lifelong resident and the applicant’s father, said the lot had “been a dog park for the last 30 years” and urged the board to decide on neighborhood benefit. A letter from the estate of Oreste Camerota opposing the proposal was entered into the record.

Board members said they wanted to review the specific prior approvals Ethier cited and the record from his earlier Article 78 challenge before reaching a decision. Member Ron LaBarr said conditional approvals tied to drainage might be appropriate if the historical cases align with Ethier’s circumstances; Member Jessica Duncan stressed the magnitude of the variance. “I prefer that we table this so we can go back and look at the proceedings that Mr. Ethier has brought to the table,” Chair Mollnow said.

Chair Mollnow moved to table the application so members could review the prior cases; Vice Chair Anthony Kusaywa seconded. The motion to table carried 5‑0 (Member Justin Alesio absent). The board asked Ethier to send any supporting documents, including the Article 78 complaint and a list of properties he cited, to Sharon Butler for distribution ahead of the next meeting.

The board did not take further action on the Miller Avenue lot at the May 5 meeting; the application will be revisited after staff and members review the prior approvals and related legal filings.