Government
Proposed Garage Addition on Church Street Prompts Concerns About Drainage, Runoff from Neighbors
|
Neighbors of a Church Street homeowner are seeking assurances from the town that plans to build an addition next-door will not lead to new drainage and runoff problems for them. Plans for the half-acre property at 41 Church St.—site of a 1900-built Colonial that’s seen extensive interior renovations in the past two years and sold in March for $2 million—call for the razing of an existing, freestanding garage and creation of a new one. At less than three feet from the eastern property line, the existing garage “not only doesn’t meet the setbacks but it is 45 feet from the house with a steep grade approximately 10 feet below the house entrance doorway, and a stairway of 14 steps leading up to the house is subjected to hazardous weather conditions,” according to a letter on behalf of the homeowner from architect Pat Pulitano of Greenwich. “The owners would like to remove the existing garage and rebuild a new two-car garage attached to the house. Presently the existing side entrance convenient to the kitchen/family would be the closest enclosed connection from the proposed garage and between a large existing bay window which offers a strategic view to the rear yard children’s play area and allows much needed daylight into the large kitchen/family room.”
Variances are needed to exceed allowable coverage as well as to encroach (by about eight feet) into the required 25-foot rear yard setback in the B Residential zone (see pages 57 and 58 of the New Canaan Zoning Regulations here).