The Zoning Board of Appeals at its most recent meeting granted two variances allowing for the construction of an addition at 37 Lincoln Drive.
37 Lincoln Drive, New Canaan. Assessor photo
Homeowners Robert and Catherine Pangrossi are planning to construct a 2.5-story addition, as well as a second floor addition over an existing garage and a rear wood deck, at their 1966-built Colonial. But they needed a variance for the height of the dormers, which will be about 33 feet in the rear of the house, due to a slope on the property, as opposed to the maximum allowable height of 30 feet.
They also requested a setback variance of the ZBA because the addition, as planned, will encroach very slightly into a side yard setback.
Robert Pangrossi, who came before the board Oct. 2, assured its members that the upper floor of the addition would be unfinished attic. He said the hardship in requesting the variance is the topography of the property.
“The front of the house will be in regulation [for height], but as an average it will be above the allowable height because of the topography of the backyard—it slopes off very steeply,” Pangrossi told the board.
He said the additional height only applies to the shed dormer on the back side of the addition and that the rear of the house backs up to woods and the Fivemile River, thus the rear dormer won’t be highly visible to the neighbors.
The board unanimously approved the application with little discussion.