Board grants 1.2% lot-coverage variance to Hudson Avenue homeowner after year-long fixes

The Town of Ocean View Board of Adjustment approved a 1.2 percentage-point lot-coverage variance for a home at 32 Hudson Avenue, allowing total lot coverage of 36.2 percent where the town code caps coverage at 35 percent.

Jonathan Deano, the property owner, told the board he and his surveyor had worked with town staff since an October 2023 hearing to revise plans and reduce the previous overage (recorded in the earlier hearing as 39.9 percent). "We've been working for the last year to try and come to a solution; this is where we are," Deano said after being sworn in.

Planning staff explained the smaller 1.2-point excess reflects construction by a contractor that produced a slightly larger-than-intended dwelling footprint and said the applicant’s revised plan removes impervious cover where possible and corrects driveway width to comply with the 20-foot right-of-way requirement.

During the motion to approve, a board member said they had reservations about the applicant’s claim that the excess was not the result of actions by the builder and referenced the prior denial in October 2023. The same member said, however, that the remaining 1.2 percent exceedance would substantially hinder reasonable use of the lot if relief were denied. The motion to grant the variance carried by voice vote. No public comments were recorded.

The board’s approval includes the standard condition that the applicant proceed with any remaining plan corrections and administrative reviews required by the town, including final plan and engineering review prior to construction.