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ZBA approves setback variance for Lakeshore Drive building with conditions
Summary
The Zoning Board of Appeals approved an area variance allowing an existing agricultural building now used as a residence to remain closer to the lake and road than current setbacks allow, attaching conditions to limit future alterations and short-term rental use.
The Zoning Board of Appeals approved an area-variance request that will allow an existing building on Lakeshore Drive to remain despite current setback requirements after a public hearing and deliberation.
Chair (S2) opened the public portion and recounted the board's review process. The board heard from the applicant (S5), who urged streamlining between planning and zoning bodies and said, "That being said, I am in full support of landowner's rights." The board noted the structure had been approved originally for agricultural storage, a code enforcement officer had issued a stop order when the structure began to be used as a residence, and the applicant returned to the planning board and then to the ZBA seeking an area variance after setback requirements changed from 100 feet to 150 feet.
Board members questioned precise measurements and clarified the building sits roughly 50 feet from the road while the lake setback now reads 150 feet in the town's standards. During deliberations the chair summarized the board's application of the five statutory factors and read a draft finding: "The ZBA, after taking into consideration the 5 factors, finds that the benefit to the applicant does not outweigh the detriment in the neighborhood of the community" (quoted here as stated during the meeting) and then explained the board's reasoning for approving the variance for the present building footprint while limiting future changes.
The board attached conditions intended to preserve neighborhood character: no added exterior lighting or paved driveway, no enclosure or changes that would convert the structure to a permanent or commercial short-term rental, and maintenance of existing vegetative screening between the structure and the road. The chair called for a roll-call vote and members voted in favor, approving the variance with those stipulations.
The board noted that any change of use (for example, a conversion to a permanent residence or to a short-term rental) remains subject to code enforcement and possible further approvals. Staff (S4) will prepare the written decision and the conditions to be recorded with the variance.
