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Board questions drainage, lot shape and neighborhood context for 47 Forest variance request
Summary
Architect Michael Perry told the zoning board the small, triangular 47 Forest lot constrains design and prompted multiple setback requests; board members pressed on drainage, runoff and asked for neighborhood photos and comparables before taking final action.
At the Oct. 7 meeting of the Saratoga Springs Zoning Board of Appeals, discussion over 47 Forest focused on how the lot’s shape and size make meeting standard setback requirements difficult.
Michael Perry, the project architect, told the board the lot in the UR‑1 district is undersized at roughly 8,694 square feet and that conforming to all statutory setbacks would produce a very narrow house. "Because of the setbacks, if we conform with the setbacks, the actual footprint of the house would be less than 21 square feet, which would be a very narrow house," Perry said, explaining design constraints caused by the lot geometry.
Board members probed potential drainage and runoff impacts because proposed roof pitches bring the building closer to the rear property line. One member asked for photos to demonstrate how neighboring houses sit on their lots and whether similar principal coverage or setbacks exist; Perry agreed to provide photos and neighborhood comparables for the next hearing. Owner Pamela Dake, who lives nearby, described the site’s grades and said precipitation "runs straight down, and it does not flow over," arguing the proposed plan would not worsen runoff onto adjacent properties.
The board requested that the applicant upload front‑facing photographs of comparable properties on Pinewood and to include those images and any missing plan sheets in the evidence folder before the next meeting. The public hearing remained open pending that documentation.
