The owner of an Orchard Drive home told officials Monday that he’s found a way to work with a neighbor who had voiced opposition to his plan to install an aboveground oil tank within the side yard setback.
This 85-by-36-by-60-inch “tank tub” would be “hidden from the street and adjacent property by a fence,” according to the owner of 100 Orchard Drive.
So long as the tank at 100 Orchard Drive is painted and housed within an enclosure that’s less than six feet high, the opposing neighbor is OK with it, Michael Abrahams told the Zoning Board of Appeals at their regular meeting, held in the Sturgess Room at the New Canaan Nature Center.
Abrahams said he spoke to his neighbor on the phone but had no documentation of their exchange. ZBA Secretary Jeanne Rozel said she would be more comfortable if the board had something written from the neighbor, and the item was continued to a future meeting.
During its Aug. 3 meeting, the ZBA granted variances for:
38 Harrison Ave. in New Canaan. Credit: Michael Dinan
The homeowner needed a variance because adding covered porches to the front and back of the house would put it over coverage.
Peter Coffin of Ridgefield-based Doyle Coffin Architecture, speaking on behalf of the applicant, said the project is in line with the scale and character of the original 1935 Cape and its neighbors. The dimensions of the rear covered porch are 16-by-16 feet, he said.
Zoning Board of Appeals members asked whether there would be a raised deck (no), what is the hardship (narrowness of the lot, trying not to cover the entire rear, or north, side of the house to avoid shading the interior too much), whether the applicant had spoken to neighbors (yes, and nobody had a problem with it), whether both porches would be open (yes) and whether a planned outdoor fireplace would be placed within a side yard setback (no).
The ZBA approved the variance 5-0 on condition that no second-story additions will be placed on top of the porches.
The homeowner requested two variances in order to put on a second-story addition that exceeds allowable side yard height and a second-story deck that put the house over coverage (though the construction is contained within the 1905-built Colonial’s existing footprint).
At the hearing, homeowner Bill Fessler told ZBA members that the project represents the final phase of renovating the well-preserved home on Green Avenue, purchased in 1991. The Fesslers have been mindful throughout the first four phases of renovation to preserve its historic and architectural look, and the plan now would add a master bathroom and extend the master suite (which Fessler said is in need of more closet space, among other things).
The hardship that prompted their application for the variances were that the new zoning codes brought changes to side yard setback and height requirements. The home is over coverage as-is, and neighbors came to speak in favor of the Fesslers’ application.
The ZBA approved the variances 5-0.