Zoning Board of Appeals

Posted in City of Danbury Town Clerk’s Office on August 19, 2025 at 10:04 a.m. CITY OF DANBURY 155 DEER HILL AVENUE DANBURY, CONNECTICUT 06810 ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS (203) 797-4525 www.danbury-ct.gov (203) 797-4586 FAX) ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS MINUTES JUNE 26, 2025 7:00 p.m. ROLL CALL: Chairman Joseph Hanna called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Present by roll call were: William Trotta, Peter DeLucia, Brandon Botelho, and Juan Rivas. Staff present were Zoning Enforcement Officer Sean Hearty, and Secretary Melissa Llera. Chairman Hanna seated William Trotta for Anthony Rebeiro. ACCEPTANCE OF MINUTES: April 24, 2025 Motion to accept the minutes from April 24, 2025 was made by Peter DeLucia; seconded by William Trotta. All in favor with Ayes of those eligible to vote: Brandon Botelho, William Trotta, Peter DeLucia, Juan Rivas, and Joseph Hanna. The next regular meeting is scheduled for July 10, 2025 Motion to open public hearings for Applications #25-07, 7A Brighton St., #25-08, 149 Carol St., and #25-09, 36 Apple Ridge Rd. was made by Juan Rivas; seconded by Peter DeLucia. Motion passed unanimously with AYES from: Peter DeLucia, Brandon Botelho, William Trotta, Juan Rivas, and Joseph Hanna. PUBLIC HEARINGS: #25-07: 7A Brighton Street, Katz, Jeffrey; (I06077), RA-20 Zone. Sec. 4.A.3 Reduce front yard setback from 30’ to 13.8’ for construction of single-family dwelling Ralph Gallagher, professional engineer, was present to represent Mr. & Mrs. Katz for 7A Brighton St. There were multiple lots combined to make this parcel. There was soil testing performed which the Health Department found acceptable. They had applied to EIC previously because of the wetlands. The Commission was somewhat satisfied, but preferred they move the house 15 ft. farther from the wetlands. They are seeking a variance to allow them to be 13.7’ from the front property line which includes the overhang. Their front property line is actually 10 ft. from the roadway as well, so the house would have that extra distance. They have to contend with the two wells and the septic for the property when they place the house. The hardship would be the wetlands in the rear of the property. In addition, the fact that EIC supports the variance to allow more distance from the wetlands. They will be going back to EIC after the ZBA decision. Mr. Hanna asked how big the house will be. Mr. Gallagher said the house will be 24’ x 44’ and will be two stories. Mr. Hanna asked how far the septic will be from the wetlands. Mr. Gallagher said it would currently be 8-10 ft., but with new products available, he may be able to move it about 5’ farther. Mr. Hanna asked what the setback is for the septic in relation to the wetlands. Mr. Gallagher said there is no setback, but EIC would have to grant permission since there is a 100’ regulated area for the wetlands. Zoning Board of Appeals Minutes June 26, 2025 Page 2 Mr. DeLucia asks if the house will be built on a slab or have a basement. Mr. Gallagher said there will be a basement that, with the topography, will have a walk out portion. Chairman Hanna read the following letter submitted on behalf of the Environmental Impact Commission to the Zoning Board of Appeals: RE: 7 A Brighton Street, Tax Assessors lot# 106081, EiC Application # 1208 Sean, With regard to the above referenced property, the application was withdrawn from the EiC in order to apply for a variance. As proposed the septic system is shown at its closest point to be ten (10) feet from flagged wetlands. Any relief from the front yard setback would allow for a septic redesign that would increase the separating distance to the regulated resource. During it's deliberation the EiC agreed to support a variance application that will enable an increase in separating distances. Should you have any questions please feel free to contact me. Respectfully Lawrence Liebman Environmental Compliance Inspector Mr. Hearty clarified that he requested Mr. Liebman submit a letter on behalf of EIC. The Environmental Impact Commission hopes they move forward with the variance as it would be a good trade off to support the environment. They had requested the applicant withdraw their original application to EIC in order to move forward with the variance process. Mr. Rivas asked Mr. Gallagher if the property owners would have any other plans, such as a porch in front of the house, that would affect the setbacks or require them to come back. Mr. Gallagher said everything has been accounted for with the architect’s designs, so there wouldn’t be anything else. Mr. DeLucia asked if they would need to come back to ZBA based on septic distances in the end. Mr. Gallagher clarified that the septic location would be reviewed by Health and EIC, and ZBA would not need to review it. He will be moving the septic as far from the wetlands as he can. Chairman Hanna asked for anyone in support of the application; no one spoke. Chairman Hanna asked for anyone in opposition of the application; no one spoke. Mr. Rivas clarified with Mr. Gallagher that the request is 13.8’ as stated in the application because he had stated 13.7’ in his presentation; Mr. Gallagher confirmed the 13.8’. Motion to close public hearing for Application No. 25-07, 7A Brighton St., was made by Juan Rivas; seconded by Peter DeLucia. Motion passed unanimously with AYES from: Peter DeLucia, Brandon Botelho, William Trotta, Juan Rivas, and Joseph Hanna. Motion to open Application No. 25-07, 7A Brighton St., for voting session was made by Juan Rivas; seconded by Peter DeLucia. Motion passed unanimously with AYES from: Peter DeLucia, Brandon Botelho, William Trotta, Juan Rivas, and Joseph Hanna. Motion to approve Application No. 25-07, 7A Brighton Street, per plan submitted, was made by Juan Rivas; seconded by Peter DeLucia. Motion passed unanimously with AYES from: Peter DeLucia, Brandon Botelho, William Trotta, Juan Rivas, and Joseph Hanna. #25-08: 149 Carol Street, Pierson, Kathrine; (H21099), RA-20 Zone. Sec. 3.G.3.d. Allow new shed to be located between the dwelling and front lot line Kathrine Pierson was present to represent the application. She is requesting to put a shed slightly forward than the front lot line of the house. Her hardship is the presence of ledge on the right side of her home, her septic on the left side, and a steep drop to a ravine in the rear. It would be located at the top of the existing driveway which will be removed. The shed would be 16’ x 10’, and will sit on top of crushed stone. Zoning Board of Appeals Minutes June 26, 2025 Page 3 Mr. DeLucia said he visited the site and saw a pop-up tent on the property. Ms. Pierson said the tent will be removed, and the shed would go in that location. Mr. Rivas asked Mr. Hearty if anything else would be required with the retaining walls in the area of the shed. Mr. Hearty said at certain points it may be required to have an engineered design, but doesn’t see any issues as it would be a part of the permit process. Mr. Trotta asks for the hardship. Ms. Pierson said the ledge on the right side is higher than the house and may have setback issues. The left side she has the septic, and the rear is the steep drop to the ravine. Mr. Hearty clarifies to the Board that if this was a detached garage in this location, a variance would not be required. Ms. Pierson was honest about it being a shed, so she had to apply for the variance. Mr. Trotta appreciates the honest approach. Chairman Hanna asked for anyone in support of the application; no one spoke. Chairman Hanna asked for anyone in opposition of the application; no one spoke. Motion to close public hearing for Application No. 25-08, 149 Carol St., was made by Juan Rivas; seconded by Peter DeLucia. Motion passed unanimously with AYES from: Peter DeLucia, Brandon Botelho, William Trotta, Juan Rivas, and Joseph Hanna. Motion to open Application No. 25-08, 149 Carol St., for voting session was made by Juan Rivas; seconded by Peter DeLucia. Motion passed unanimously with AYES from: Peter DeLucia, Brandon Botelho, William Trotta, Juan Rivas, and Joseph Hanna. Motion to approve Application No. 25-08, 149 Carol Street, per plan submitted, was made by Juan Rivas. The variance is the minimum variance necessary to allow reasonable use of the property. The motion was seconded by Peter DeLucia. Motion passed unanimously with AYES from: Peter DeLucia, Brandon Botelho, William Trotta, Juan Rivas, and Joseph Hanna. #25-09: 36 Apple Ridge Road, Apple Ridge Icondos, LLC, Virbickas, Dainius, Agent; (E17062), IL-40 Zone. Sec. 6.C.2.c. Reduce perimeter planting strip for residential district boundary from 30’ to 9’ deep & Sec. 8.A.2.c.(4) Allow grading within 1’ of property line for construction of new parking area and driveway Dainius Virbickas, professional engineer with Artel Engineering, was present to represent the application. The variance is related to additional parking on the north, right side of the site. The site used to be Hologic. There is a 64,000 sq. ft. building with most of the parking on the south side of the property. The desire is to split the building into pieces. The property owners will be renting 30,000 sq. ft. of the building to Speedsport Tuning. The remaining 34,000 sq. ft. is up for lease. People interested in the space are concerned that the parking is over 400’ away. They are looking to add 75 spaces on the north side for the potential tenants. The parking spaces would be 12’ from the property line though. Since the zone was changed on the adjacent parcel to residential to allow the new high school to be built, this parcel is burdened with the required 30 ft. buffer due to the industrial/ residential zone line. If they did the 30’ buffer, it would eliminate 35 parking spaces. The zone change for the other parcel created their hardship. The school property also has a driveway right up to the property line, so there is no buffer on the residential side. With this plan, there would be about 12’ of a buffer in most areas, along with a visual barrier (i.e. a fence) and plantings. There is one point that the buffer would only be 9’. The other variance is to allow grading within 5’ of the property line. This would allow them to move the driveway in order to provide access to the new parking area. Previous to the City acquiring the old Cartus property, the area would have been accessible through there. Mr. Hanna asks if the parking already exists. Mr. Virbickas said there is currently parking on the left side and front of the building. There is not currently any on the right side. When Mr. Powers initially developed the site, he installed storm drainage in the proposed parking area. This may indicate there had been plans back then to possibly pave this area in the future. Zoning Board of Appeals Minutes June 26, 2025 Page 4 Mr. Trotta asks how many of the parking spaces are along the property line. Mr. Virbickas said 31 which is almost half the proposed spots. Mr. Trotta asked if half the building is currently occupied. Mr. Virbickas said it will be occupied in the near future. Mr. Trotta feels adding 75 spaces is a lot of parking. Mr. Virbickas said the spaces would be in relation to the 34,000 sq. ft. of building that would be on that side. Taking away the last row of parking would lose a number of spaces for the potential tenant. If the tenant would be considered office space, they would require 1 space per 300 sq. ft which would be over 100 spaces. Mr. Trotta asks for clarification on the roadway along the property line. Mr. Virbickas said the roadway/ driveway leading to the school runs right up to the property line. They would be adding a 12 ft. landscape buffer in this area. Mr. Trotta stated the parking would then be 12’ from the roadway; Mr. Virbickas confirmed. Mr. Hanna asked about the building use. Mr. Virbickas said previously with Hologic it was manufacturing, storage, shipping and office. The tenant going in half would be auto repair. Mr. Botelho asked where the drainage in the area is discharging to. Mr. Virbickas said there are 3-4 catch basins in the area. They discharge down to Kenosia Ave. Mr. Botelho asked if the system was engineered back then to asphalt the area. Mr. Virbickas clarifies that he suspects they planned to, but there is no paperwork that specifies these plans. The spacing of the area seems to work with the idea too. They would be required in the site plan process to provide a storm water management system to handle the increase. Mr. Rivas asked how many spaces they would have with the current and proposed. Mr. Virbickas said there would be about 329 parking spaces which is about 1 per 200 sq. ft. Mr. Rivas asked if an entrance would be added to that side of the building. Mr. Virbickas said the site plan is currently being updated including a sidewalk on the south side and handicap access. They don’t have architectural plans for the other part of the building yet because it depends on the tenant. Depending on the tenant, they may even end up losing a few spaces to allow construction of an entrance area to the space. Mr. Rivas wonders if they should come back once they have a tenant and final design. Mr. Virbickas said it has been a big concern with prospective tenants that the parking was located so far away. By getting the variance and parking, it would open them up to more tenant options. Mr. Hanna asked is they would compensate with additional plantings throughout the property given the reduced buffer and additional paving. Mr. Virbickas said that they are required to have a landscape architect for the site plan review, and can certainly add more plantings. Mr. Hearty informs the Board that there have been multiple meetings with Planning, Zoning, and the property owners regarding this project. The school imposed a hardship with the rezoning, so they were encouraged to submit a variance application for this area. The parking would have been his right if not for the change of zone for the school. Chairman Hanna asked for anyone in support of the application; no one spoke. Chairman Hanna asked for anyone in opposition of the application; no one spoke. Motion to close public hearing for Application No. 25-09, 36 Apple Ridge Rd., was made by Juan Rivas; seconded by Peter DeLucia. Motion passed unanimously with AYES from: Peter DeLucia, Brandon Botelho, William Trotta, Juan Rivas, and Joseph Hanna. Motion to open Application No. 25-09, 36 Apple Ridge Rd., for voting session was made by Juan Rivas; seconded by Peter DeLucia. Motion passed unanimously with AYES from: Peter DeLucia, Brandon Botelho, William Trotta, Juan Rivas, and Joseph Hanna. Motion to approve Application No. 25-09, 36 Apple Ridge Road, with condition, per plan submitted, was made by Juan Rivas. Condition requires a visual barrier (i.e. a fence) along the residential district boundary. The hardship is a result of the circumstances of the site, and was not created by the applicant. The zoning district of the adjacent property was changed to residential in order to build the high school. The motion was seconded by Peter DeLucia. Motion passed unanimously with AYES from: Peter DeLucia, Brandon Botelho, William Trotta, Juan Rivas, and Joseph Hanna. Zoning Board of Appeals Minutes June 26, 2025 Page 5 ADJOURNMENT: Motion to adjourn was made by Juan Rivas; seconded by Peter DeLucia. Motion passed unanimously with AYES from: Peter DeLucia, Brandon Botelho, William Trotta, Juan Rivas, and Joseph Hanna. Meeting adjourned at 7:46 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Melissa Llera Recording Secretary