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Zoning board approves extension of area variance for Van Bortle property
Summary
The Town of Victor Zoning Board of Appeals on July 20 approved an extension of an area variance originally granted in 2022 for a project represented by Mitchell Design Build; the board kept the original conditions and noted planning-board approval and building permits remain required.
On July 20, 2026, the Town of Victor Zoning Board of Appeals voted to grant an extension to an area variance originally approved in 2022 for a proposed project associated with Van Bortle, an applicant represented by Mitchell Design Build.
The board’s chair reviewed the five statutory criteria for an area variance, saying the application has not materially changed since the original approval and citing delays tied to COVID-era supply and inventory issues. Spencer Reed of Mitchell Design Build told the board the property owner is committed to the project, that a demolition permit has been filed with the building department and that the application will be before the planning board next Tuesday. “She would love to have this operational before snow,” Reed said, describing the project team’s timeline and intent to begin site work promptly after planning approval.
The chair walked the board through the variance criteria: undesirable change to neighborhood character, feasibility of alternatives, substantiality of the request, physical or environmental impacts, and whether the difficulty was self-created. The chair and board members said existing findings from 2022 still apply and that the same conditions attached to the earlier variance will remain in place. The chair noted that the extension expires if it is not exercised within one year.
Reed said the building department’s comments were largely administrative, with a few items tied to existing site conditions that Mitchell Design Build plans to correct. He estimated construction would take roughly two months (about 40–45 days) and said the project team planned to complete paving before local asphalt plants close for the season.
A motion to approve the extension was made and seconded; the board approved the extension by voice vote (all in favor; precise tally not specified). The board did not add new conditions beyond those attached to the prior variance. The project still requires planning-board approval and any applicable building permits before construction may proceed.
The Zoning Board of Appeals adjourned after completing its agenda.
