Cohoes Zoning Board tables Miller Avenue variance, asks Common Council to review R‑1 lot-size rule

Chair Mollnow and the Cohoes Zoning Board of Appeals on Wednesday tabled an application by Gary Ethier seeking an area variance to build a single‑family home on a 5,000‑square‑foot lot on Miller Avenue. The board also voted to ask the Common Council to review the R‑1 minimum lot‑size requirement.

Ethier told the board the neighborhood consists largely of smaller, older parcels and submitted house plans and neighborhood signatures in support. ‘‘This house fits into the setbacks,’’ Ethier said, arguing the proposal would ‘‘be a benefit to the neighborhood’’ and noting prior, similar variances in the city.

Mayor Keeler urged approval, saying the build would ‘‘fit right in’’ and that few homes in Cohoes meet the 10,000‑square‑foot R‑1 requirement. Sharon Butler, Commissioner of Building & Planning, read three emailed statements from neighbors supporting the project; several nearby residents also spoke in favor during public comment.

Board members debated the application against statutory variance criteria under Section 81 of the General City Law, weighing the benefit to the applicant against potential detriment to neighborhood character, whether the request could be achieved by another method, whether the variance is substantial, and whether the difficulty was self‑created. Several members cited past variances for context; Chair Mollnow and others described the Miller Avenue ask as roughly a 50% reduction from the R‑1 minimum and questioned whether the hardship was self‑created when the lot was purchased separately from an adjacent parcel.

Rather than grant the variance, the board unanimously approved a motion ‘‘to have the Common Council review the lot size requirements for the R‑1 zoning district’’ and then moved to table Ethier’s application pending that review. Chair Mollnow said the application was tabled, not denied, so the applicant may return if the council modifies the R‑1 standard.

The board’s action preserves Ethier’s ability to seek relief later while flagging a potential code inconsistency between R‑1 standards and prevailing lot sizes in Cohoes. No formal vote on the variance was taken; the board recorded votes on the referral and on tabling the application.