Board approves variance for Ardsley Road carriage-house garage at historic home

The Greenburgh Zoning Board of Appeals granted two variances for a proposed three-bay carriage-house garage at 95 Ardsley Road, agreeing with the applicant that the structure’s design, its position on the lot and landscape mitigation minimize visual impact.

Architect Rosamund Young told the board the garage would sit well behind the house, with eaves about 11 feet above the immediate grade and an overall midpoint roof measurement of roughly 20 feet — above the 12-foot limit in the code. Young said the building would match the historic house in materials and scale and that planning-board permits for trees and stormwater control are already in place. "Measured from the grade to the eave is only 11 feet," Young said, noting the garage’s setting high in the tree canopy and far from the road.

Board members asked detailed questions about driveway width, guest parking and required on-site paved parking. The architect and staff described existing gravel surfaces, a required two-space paved pad near the road and a plan to plant new ornamental trees and mitigate stormwater runoff. Several board members said they believed the requested width and height variances were minimal relative to the property’s size and would not be visible from the street; one member described the home as "historically significant" and said the proposed work preserves the property.

The motion to grant the variances specified that approval applies only to the plans submitted and that construction must proceed in conformity with permits stamped and received by municipal staff. The board said written findings will be entered into the record at a later date.