Zoning Board of Appeals

City of Mount Vernon Meeting Date Zoning Board of Appeals Meeting Minutes August 16, 2022 Zoning Board of Appeals Department of Planning & Community Development City Hall - Roosevelt Square Mount Vernon, New York 10550-2060 (914) 699-7230 Shawyn Patterson-Howard Michael Justino Mayor Chair ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS MEETING MINUTES for August 16, 2022 A regular meeting of the Zoning Board of Appeals was held at 6:30 PM on Tuesday, August 16, 2022 in the Mayor’s Conference Room on the first floor of City Hall. Applicants and members of the public were permitted to attend and make public comment via in person attendance. The Chair indicated that the roll call was the first item on the agenda. ROLL CALL The Chair called the roll: In addition to the Chair, attending were the following Commissioners: Commissioner Cutler, Commissioner Castillo, Commissioner Darden (attended via Zoom). Commissioner Henry Solly was not present. Also attending were Maria Pace, Land Use Board Secretary, Katherine Mella, Associate Commissioner, Nkechi Nwachukwu, Land Use Counsel and Bob Galvin, AICP, Planning Administrator. With a quorum of three members present, the Chair opened the regular meeting at 6:30 pm. The Chair read the notice for the Zoning Board of Appeals meeting for Tuesday, August 16, 2022. Item 2 - APPROVAL OF MINUTES The Chair asked if the Commissioners had reviewed the minutes for May 17, 2022. The Commissioners indicated that they had reviewed. Commissioner Castillo indicated that she had not been present for the meeting. The Chair asked for a motion to approve the minutes for May 17, 2022. Commissioner Cutler made the motion, seconded by Commissioner Darden. The motion was approved 3-0 with 1 abstention from Commissioner Castillo. (Commissioner Solly was not present.) 1  City of Mount Vernon Meeting Date Zoning Board of Appeals Meeting Minutes August 16, 2022 The Chair then asked if the Commissioners had reviewed the minutes for July 19, 2022. The Commissioners indicated that they had. Commissioner Castillo indicated that she had not been present for the meeting. The Chair asked for a motion to approve the minutes for July 19, 2022. Commissioner Cutler made the motion with the edits provided, seconded by Commissioner Darden. The motion was approved 3-0 with 1 abstention from Commissioner Castillo. (Commissioner Solly was not present). Continued Public Hearing The Chair read the description for Calendar #1764-Z 219 Tecumseh Avenue (Section 165.82, Block 4041, Lot 19) located in the R2-4.5 Zoning District. The Chair indicated that the Applicant has provided new drawing showing shared driveway and landscaping for the property. The Board reviewed the requested area variances. The staff of the Planning Department conducted this review. On the east side of Tecumseh Avenue, the two adjacent properties to the north of the subject property and the five properties to the south all have a 40’ lot width and frontage. This represents 88% or seven lots out of the eight interior lots on the east side of Tecumseh Avenue. The remaining lot has 65’ frontage. On the west side of Tecumseh, there are eight interior lots with four lots having 40’ frontage or 50% of the interior lots. There is one lot at 224 Tecumseh opposite the vacant portion of the subject property which has a double lot with 100’ frontage. The remaining three lots on the west side have frontages of 50’, 60’ and 64’. Applicant is requesting the following area variances: 1) Lot Width and Frontage of 40’-0” where minimum of 50’ is required 2) Lot Area of 4,000 S.F. where 4,500 S.F. is required 3) Lot Area per dwelling unit of 2,000 S.F where Lot Area per Dwelling Unit of 2,250 S.F. is required. The Chair asked Mr. Badaly to explain the changes. Mr. Badaly showed the proposed new shared driveway with sufficient room for two vehicles to park in the rear behind each residence. He indicated the dimensions in the rear for the two vehicles behind the existing residence and the proposed new residence were 20’ x 18’ for each parking area. He also indicated that no new variances are being sought other than the variances mentioned to the Board. The Chair asked about the width of the driveway. Mr. Badaly indicated that the driveway is 10' for the existing house on the north and 8’ for 2  City of Mount Vernon Meeting Date Zoning Board of Appeals Meeting Minutes August 16, 2022 the new proposed residence. Three trees are being planted on the new lot - one in the front of the new house and two trees in the rear yard. One tree in the middle of the lot will be removed. The telephone pole will need to be removed for the new driveway for the existing house. There is an existing tree near the telephone pole that appears will also need to be removed. The Chair asked if there were any other questions from the Board. There being none, he asked for any public comment. He also asked for staff to provide the ZBA’s rules to the Board members. Public Comment – Mr. Derrick Thomas asked about the 18 letters of objection that were sent to the Zoning Board. The general consensus was problems with overcrowding and parking in the area. There is not enough space to build a residence on the lot. The Chair indicated that these l8 letters were received by the Zoning Board in April when the application first appeared on the agenda. The letters remain part of the public hearing record for this application. The Board’s Land Use Secretary indicated that she would resend these letters to the Board. There was no other public comment. The Chair asked for a motion to close the public hearing. The motion was made by Commissioner Darden and seconded by Commissioner Cutler. Discussion was held on closing the public hearing. The motion to close the public hearing was carried by a vote of 4 – 0 with Commissioner Solly being absent. The Chair asked for a motion to adjourn the application and the vote to the next meeting. Commissioner Castillo made the motion, seconded by Commissioner Cutler and carried by a vote of 4-0 with Commissioner Solly being absent. Continued Public Hearing The Chair read the description for Calendar 1767-Z 454 South Ninth Avenue (Section 169.38, Block 3047, Lots 14 & 15) in the RMF-6.75 Residential District. The Chair indicated that this was a continued public hearing. The Applicant is Derri Kreshnik. He is represented by Mr. Shahin Badaly, PE. Applicant is requesting area variances to subdivide and reapportion two existing lots (lots 14 & 15) consisting of 10,500 sf and 2,525 sf, respectively. Applicant is requesting area variances to allow subdivision of total 13,025 sf property into 4 lots. Would build attached 2-family residence on each of the 4 lots (total of 8 units). The property is zoned RMF-6.75. The attached 2-family units are regulated under the R2-4.5 zoning district. 3  City of Mount Vernon Meeting Date Zoning Board of Appeals Meeting Minutes August 16, 2022 The Chair said that he had some thoughts on the application. He felt that the pad and garage improve the parking conditions. The width fits into the neighborhood but people have concerns with the full lot being developed as 4 lots. Commissioner Cutler indicated that parties were being held on the open lot. Commissioner Castillo would like to review the application since she may not be completely caught up on the application. Commissioner Darden stated that we do not value the concerns of the homeowners in the area. Commissioner Cutler indicated that he has a concern with traffic – there is only 50’ road width and with parking, road becomes crowded. Proposal is for two family housing or 8 units on total lot. Is the developer proposing for rental housing? Mr. Badaly, the engineer, indicated that he had widened the driveway to accept two vehicles side by side. In order to do that, he moved the side entrances to the units and still have door access to the units. You have two cars tandem outside and one car in the garage. The distance between the stairs and the start of the garage door is 11’. The original driveway was 12’. Units are duplex. The dimensions of the vehicle spaces are 19’. The curb cut stays at 12’. Mr. Badaly mentioned that the application was before the Board in 2017 represented by Tom Abillama. The property has been vacant for 12 years. The Chair asked if there were any additional questions from the Board. Has the homeowner done any economic analysis on the property? Is he interested in renting or selling? The question is how to build out the property to be less impactful. The Chair asked the applicant to submit an economic feasibility report to the ZBA and consider three units in each building instead of four units. You can build a 3-family on one lot and a 2 family on the other lot. He asked if the Board had additional questions. There being none, he asked for public comment. Public comment – The next-door land owner shared what was adjacent to the property including single-family residences. There was no other public comment. The Chair indicated that the Applicant would have the option to return with economic feasibility report along with other options. Commissioner Cutler made the motion to adjourn the application to the next meeting, seconded by Commissioner Castillo, and carried by a vote of 4-0 with Commissioner Solly absent. 4 City of Mount Vernon Meeting Date Zoning Board of Appeals Meeting Minutes August 16, 2022 Continued Public Hearing The Chair read the description for Calendar 1768-Z 405 South Fifth Avenue (Section 169.31, Block 3090, Lot 01) in the RMF-6.75 Residential District. The Chair indicated that this is a continued public hearing. The Applicant is Derri Kreshnik. The Applicant’s representative is Mr. Shahin Badaly, PE. Applicant is requesting an area variance to subdivide the 10,500-sf property into two 5,250 sf lots. It has an existing residence on the site. Would like to build attached single-family residence on each of the 2 lots (total of 4 units). The property is zoned RMF-6.75. This is not a use variance. Mr. Badaly indicated that they had eliminated the bathroom in the basement and removed bedrooms in the back of the second floor. They have also cut back the house by 5’ to provide a deck on the third floor with a pergola. Sprinklers and fire alarm have been added to each unit. Applicant is proposing attached two-family with side yards at 12.5’ Applicant has the ability to provide a better roof line. The Chair asked if you could change the back detail to the front to minimize the mass, such as adding a gable. If the playrooms were to become bedrooms, windows and closets would need to be added. He still has questions about it being more house than needed. A 3-bedroom house with two stories would be preferable. Mr. Badaly indicated that the units do not have a large amount of floor area. The living room is 300 sf with the bedrooms being 150 sf. Mr. Badaly indicated that they can include decks with pergolas. Commissioner Cutler asked what can you do architecturally to the roof line? Can you segment the roof in the front to appear more like a townhouse? The Chair asked if there was any public comment. There being none, he asked for a motion to adjourn the application to the next meeting. Commissioner Castillo made the motion, seconded by Commissioner Cutler, and carried by a vote of 4-0 with Commissioner Solly being absent. Continued Public Hearing The Chair read the description for Calendar 1769-Z 357 Bedford (Section 169.25, Block 4052, Lots 12 and 13) in the R2-4.5 Residential District The Chair indicated that this is a continued public hearing The Applicant is Sanatkumar Muhajir (Testamentary Trust). The Applicant’s representative and architect is Mr. Tom Abillama. Application consists of two properties on the east side of Bedford Avenue at East Fifth Street. 5  City of Mount Vernon Meeting Date Zoning Board of Appeals Meeting Minutes August 16, 2022 Mr. Addesso, Applicant’s Attorney, provided a brief overview of the original application and changes. The existing two-family residence is owned by the Applicant who lives there. Regarding lot 12.2.B which is the corner lot at Bedford and East Fifth Street, Applicant’s architect has now constructed a 2-car garage at the rear of the building with direct access from East Fifth Street. Architect has placed a pergola on the roof of the garage for open space. Mr. Tom Abilama, the architect, showed the revisions on the plans. He removed the bathrooms in the basements as suggested and added the pergola on the garage. He showed that the grade goes down at the back near the garage. Mr. Addesso indicated that the first lot has open space at the rear of the building. The second lot has a new garage with recreation space on the roof divided for each of the two units. There is now no variance for the side yard. Instead, there is a rear yard variance which has 7’ provided and 20’ required. The width of the garage is 26’ for two vehicles. The Chair asked if there was any public comment. There was no public comment. There being no public comment, the Chair asked for a motion to adjourn the application to the next meeting and keep the public hearing opened. Commissioner Castillo made the motion to adjourn the application to the next meeting and keep the meeting open, seconded by Commissioner Darden, and carried by a vote of 3-0. Commissioner Cutler had left the meeting early and Commissioner Solly was absent. There being no new business, the Chair asked for a motion to adjourn. Commissioner Castillo made the motion to adjourn, seconded by the Chair; the meeting was adjourned by a vote of 3-0. The meeting was closed at 8:55 pm. Maria Pace Land Use Board Secretary 6