Orange Zoning Board grants 1.5-foot front-setback variance for Hawthorne Lane porch

The Orange Zoning Board of Appeals on July 20 approved a variance allowing a covered front porch to extend roughly 1.5 feet into the front setback at 254 Hawthorne Lane.

Homeowner Mike Hudick told the board he has lived at the Hawthorne Lane property for about 20 years and wants an 8-by-23-foot covered porch; he said smaller depths would be decorative and not provide usable porch space. "I want to put a front porch on our house ... we're going to exceed the setback by a little over a foot," Hudick said.

Board members examined whether the request met the legal hardship standard. Commissioner Pat Panza pressed the applicant to shrink the porch and argued that hardship must be tied to characteristics of the land, citing Connecticut statute and Title 8. "How is it unique to the house, the front porch?" Panza asked, urging strict application of the variance criteria.

Commissioner Wayne Garrett acknowledged the legal argument against relief but described the request as minimal and supported it on neighborhood-sensitivity grounds. "My mind says that I shouldn't vote in favor of this application. But from being a responsible neighbor in this town, I would support it," Garrett said.

Staff and commissioners also checked technical details. The plans show the porch on a full foundation and staff noted it appeared to place the foundation within about 5–6 feet of an existing septic tank; members said they had reviewed this with planning staff, who indicated they had looked at the drawings and given preliminary clearance for septic siting. The applicant and board agreed the structure would remain one story and that stairs and small projections were consistent with typical projection allowances.

After discussion, a motion to "approve as submitted, according to the print dated 6/23" was moved and seconded. The board conducted a roll call; a majority voted to approve the petition. Chair David Crowe told the applicant the variance is effective only after it is recorded on the land records and that zoning staff would send the recording instructions.

The board briefly discussed related paperwork for a vertical expansion and whether that item required reopening the public hearing; because the meeting was a special meeting with a narrow agenda, they concluded any additional paperwork could be handled administratively and no separate August hearing was required.

The board adjourned after the vote.