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Newburgh ZBA approves several homeowner variances and a screened ground-mounted solar array
Summary
At its Jan. 23 meeting the Town of Newburgh Zoning Board of Appeals approved area variances for five homeowner projects (decks, porches, pool and accessory building), granted a six-month extension and approved a ground-mounted solar array with an evergreen screening condition; most votes were unanimous.
The Town of Newburgh Zoning Board of Appeals approved a slate of area-variance requests and procedural items during its Jan. 23 meeting, granting variances to homeowners to legalize existing decks, porches, pools and accessory buildings and approving a ground-mounted solar array with a planting condition.
Who and what: The board approved area variances for the following applicants: - Joann Sicolo (741 Route 32) — to build a 10.8-by-16.1 rear deck and a 14.3-by-16.1 three-season room; attorneys and the applicant clarified side-yard measurements and a side-yard variance was withdrawn; board voted to approve the rear-yard variance unanimously. - Elijio Cruz (389 Quaker Street) — to keep a nonheated enclosed rear porch; Cruz said he purchased the house with the condition and is working to bring it up to code; the board approved the variance unanimously. - Thang Huu Tran (16 Old South Plank Road) — the board approved four variances to legalize a rear deck (12-by-15.5), a sunroom (12-by-15.5), a 24-foot above-ground pool and a 12-by-12 accessory building; the applicant's agent said the features date to the 1980s and the owner is bringing the property into compliance. - Eileen Reilly (123 Lattintown Road) — the board approved rebuilding a previously unpermitted 12-by-16 rear deck with the correct permits. - Stephen and Susan D'Auria (326 Balmville Lane) — after supplying supplemental offset measurements, the board approved the requested rear-deck setback variance.
Solar array: Empire Solar Solutions (5 Jessica Court) had a held-open application for a ground-mounted solar array. Applicant Shannon Murphy said lot geometry and existing vegetation made this site different from a 2016 denial nearby. The applicant agreed to plant four six-foot evergreen trees to screen the array from the road; Member Greg Hermance made a motion to approve with that condition and the board voted to approve unanimously.
Other business: The board approved a six-month extension for a previously granted variance for James Turner (409 Gardnertown Road) and adopted its 2025 meeting schedule. Several approvals were unanimous; votes and motion records are included in the board minutes.
Why it matters: The approvals regularize long-standing nonconforming features for multiple homeowners and allow a ground-mounted solar installation to proceed with a screening condition intended to reduce visibility from public views.
What happens next: Approved applicants will pursue permits or next-stage site-plan work where required; the solar applicant will plant evergreen screening as part of conditions recorded in the board's approval.
Quotes: "We are going to grant the minimum variance necessary and may impose reasonable conditions," Chair Darrin Scalzo said during the board's reviews.
