Government

Officials Reject Request To Enclose Patio Behind Former Maples Inn Cottage

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Saying the redeveloped Maples Inn property already is well over coverage, town officials on Monday denied a request from the owner of a longstanding cottage there to enclose a patio out back. Property owner Harriet Plavoukos needed variances to three sections of the New Canaan Zoning Regulations in order to enclose the existing patio, which would add 320 square feet of coverage and is located 20.6 feet from the side property line in lieu of the required 25 feet. Zoning Board of Appeals member John Mahoney told the applicant during the group’s regular monthly meeting that though he understood the building was sited very close to the property line shared by the Roger Sherman Inn and also that the structure itself predates existing zoning regulations, “How is the desire to enclose that patio not a self created hardship versus the property itself is already well over and probably always has been? How is this not a self-created hardship?”

Noting that the total allowable coverage for the former Maples Inn lot if it were a single-family home would be 4,500 square feet and that as of now some 9,200 square feet of buildings are on the property (mostly in seven condominium units), Mahoney added: “So the coverage has gone in a direction away from even the original building there in terms of growing and now it’s going to grow further.” “I understand in terms of the setback, but I am struggling a little bit with why this is not a self-created hardship,” Mahoney said at the meeting, held in the Sturgess Room at the New Canaan Nature Center.

Government

Orchard Drive Homeowner Flags Neighbor’s Plan to Move Above-Ground Oil Tank Alongside House

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An Orchard Drive homeowner is objecting to a neighbor’s plan to re-locate an above-ground oil tank from inside a garage to the side of the house, saying would create an unsightly view of a property already positioned unusually close to her home. The Zoning Board of Appeals on Monday is scheduled to hear a request from Michael Abrahams, an Old Greenwich resident who owns the 1948 Cape Cod-style home at 100 Orchard Drive. Citing space concerns, Abrahams is seeking to move an above-ground oil tank from inside the garage to a tub that would sit five feet from his eastern neighbor’s property line. The New Canaan Zoning Regulations require a 10-foot side yard setback for an accessory structure in the A Residential zone (see section 3.5.E.3 on page 58 here), so a variance is required. According to an application filed by Abrahams, the proposed 85-by-36-by-60-inch “tank tub” (pictured) would be “hidden from the street and adjacent property by a fence.”

Yet the residents at 92 Orchard Drive, Sean and Lisa Sawyer, said in a June 24 letter sent to the ZBA that the home next door already sits unusually close to the property line, “so should an oil tank be placed within those five feet, it would be further encroachment into an already outdated setback.”

“Though there is a fence on the line, this oil tank would be less than 20 feet from my window, and as his property is downhill from mine, I would be afforded a rather unattractive view.

News

Zoning Officials to Bayberry Road Man: Make Do with a Smaller-Than-Planned Patio

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Calling a planned pool-and-patio overly large in that it would encroach on two setbacks as originally proposed, zoning officials have instructed a Bayberry Road man to re-think the project and land on something more reasonable. Plans for 179 Bayberry Road call for a 16-by-36-foot pool and L-shaped patio off the back of the 2005-built, 6,000-square-foot house. A special permit is needed for the project because, as originally conceived, it would encroach on 35-foot-setbacks (see page 58 of the Zoning Regulations here, 2-acre zone) by about four feet on the northern side for the length of the pool-and-patio, and by about eight feet on the eastern side, according to plans filed with the Planning & Zoning Commission. Homeowner Matthew Savino told the Zoning Board of Appeals on May 4 that the patio is sized to accommodate outdoor seating and a grill, and the pool placed away from the 2.5-story house so that it can get as much natural light as possible. ZBA member John Kriz called Savino’s request “a big ask.”

“You just want a large patio,” Kriz said at the meeting, held in the Sturgess Room at the New Canaan Nature Center.

News

Officials OK New Decks at Rear of Federal-Style Townhouses on Main Street

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Town officials on Monday night approved a developer’s application for a variance to go over coverage on a pair of widely praised Federal-style townhouses on Main Street by adding a deck off of the rear of each. On conditions including that the decks be constructed entirely of wood (more on that below) and remain open without a roof or other cover, the Zoning Board of Appeals at its regular meeting approved 5-0 the variance for 474 Main St. ZBA member Laura Edmonds praised the builder, John Kaeser of Kaeser Development LLC, for doing a “great job with the property.”

“It’s definitely better than what was there prior to that,” Edmonds said at the meeting, held in the Sturgess Room at New Canaan Nature Center. “I think the topography of the land is very difficult. It’s very tough going, very tough back there and he’s really worked hard to improve it.”

Kaeser in presenting his application said the property is limited in terms of options for outdoor space, given that it backs up to wetlands (the Fivemile River), has its garages cut into the bank of the hill around back and needed its own septic. The 2-foot balconies that extend under a cover of the same length now are to be extended a further six feet under Kaeser’s plan for the cantilevered decks.

News

Adams Lane Homeowner Seeks Variance for 2-Car Garage, Mudroom Addition

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Saying the possibilities of expanding their house are limited because of where the structure is situated—between a pond and septic system—the owners of an Adams Lane property are seeking relief from New Canaan’s zoning regulations in order to add on a new 2-car garage with mudroom. The Bentons of 106 Adams Lane are scheduled on Monday night to go before the Zoning Board of Appeals with their application to “replace a substandard, difficult-to-access basement garage, and provide much needed storage for a young family.”

“The proposed addition is within keeping with the character of the neighborhood and does not have a detrimental effect on the existing neighbors,” said the filing on behalf of the Bentons, from New Canaan’s Matthew R. Dougherty Architect LLC. Specifically, under the zoning regulations, the minimum side yard setback for a principal structure in the 2-acre zone is 35 feet (see page 59 here). The proposed addition would be 20.5 feet from the property line, according to the application. The neighbors on the other side of that property line submitted a letter in support of the Bentons’ application.