SOUTH HERO DEVELOPMENT REVIEW BOARD MINUTES October 11, 2017
Members Present: T. Maxham; D. Patterson; S. Corbin; J. Brightwell; R. Brown; G. Hunt; N. Hayward
Public Present: Jay Buermann, PE; Joe Danis; Jonathan Shaw, Katherine Blanchard; Dan Cox
7:01 PM – T. Maxham called the meeting to order.
Agenda
The order of hearings was changed to reflect the warnings for each. The Steadman subdivision Sketch Plan will be held first, followed by the Blanchard variance request. No other changes.
18-20-FL085 – Warren Steadman Sketch Plan review for a 2-lot subdivision at 85 Featherbed Lane
Introductions were made, the warning was read, and interested persons sworn-in.
Joe Danis presented the Sketch Plan to the Board for Warren Steadman. Mr. Steadman proposes to subdivide his 24.89-acre parcel at 85 Featherbed Lane into 2 lots. The area of the parcel on the east side of Featherbed Lane will become a 5.90-acre parcel, to be sold to Joe Danis for the construction of a 3BR single-family home. The remaining 18.99 acres on the west side of Featherbed Lane will be retained by Mr. Steadman as 85 Featherbed Lane. The proposed home on the new lot will be located across the road from Mr. Steadman’s driveway. The new house location is approximate due to possible ledge location but will be within 20 feet of the location shown on the plat. The proposed septic mound site is 400 feet north of that location. There are water main and water line easements on the proposed parcel as part of the Paradise Bay Association public water system that serves 13 homes in the area. The new home on the parcel will connect to the water main that runs through the property.
Featherbed Lane is a 50-ft. ROW along the length of the proposed new parcel. Â Parcel boundaries on Featherbed Lane, as shown on the plat, vary from the center of the road to the edge of the road. Previous owners along the road maintained to the edge of the ROW rather than to the center. The proposed boundary for both parcels will be to the center of the road.
Power to the house will be through an underground line from a power vault located on the west side of the road on Steadman property. The applicant will request a waiver not to show the location of the UG power from the vault to the proposed new home. Easements for the power line crossing the southwest corner of the proposed parcel and for the water main and line are not shown on the plat. The Wastewater application notice has been received by the ZA.
- Corbin moved to accept the Applicants’ waiver request not to show natural features (wooded area) on adjacent lots, and not to show the location of the power easement from the power vault to the new home; R. Brown second. All in favor.
The Board requires the following for the Final Plat review on October 25, 2017:
- Change the scale of the plat to 1 inch = 100 feet, rather than 1 inch = 150 feet.
- A request for waiver from showing a 400-ft. scale on the detailed vicinity map.
- Identify existing easements (if they exist) for the power line at the southwest area of the proposed lot, the water main and line, and Featherbed Lane.
- Need easement from power vault on the west side of the road to the proposed home on the east side.
7:35PM — S. Corbin moved to accept the Sketch Plan and move to Final Plat; R. Brown second. All in favor.
7:36PM — D. Patterson moved to close the Sketch Plan hearing; N. Hayward second. All in favor.
18-27-WS455 — Katherine Blanchard request for Variance to replace a previously-removed gazebo within the lake and side setbacks
The hearing was preceded by a site visit on the same evening at 6PM. A sign-in sheet is included in the hearing file.
7:40PM — T. Maxham opened the hearing. Introductions were made, the warning was read, and interested persons sworn in.
Jay Buermann represented the Applicants at the hearing. He explained that during the removal of the previous home on the property a retaining wall and septic tank were removed and replaced with a new retaining wall. A gazebo located in the area was removed to allow for the new construction of the wall. Mr. Buermann stated that the Applicant had received permission from the ZBA in 2014 to keep the pre-exiting, non-conforming gazebo that was located within both the lake and side setbacks. This structure, however, had to be removed to allow for construction of the new retaining wall. As a condition of the 2014 approval, several other structures on the property were torn down and their area incorporated into a single, 2-unit residence whose construction was just completed. The gazebo was allowed to remain. Mr. Buermann stated that after the replacement gazebo construction was underway it was determined that they needed a building permit, and the construction was halted. The new gazebo is not on the same footprint as the original structure and is still non-conforming to the lake and south-side setbacks. The Applicant is asking the Board for a variance to replace the previously removed gazebo with a new structure in the same area as the previous one.
The previous gazebo was rectangular with an area of 111 sf. The new structure is square, and includes the same area (111 sf), plus an additional 17 sf to fill a gap between the non-lakeside of the floor and the side of the retaining wall. An area on the site plan identified as a proposed timber landing was identified by the Applicant as stairs that continue to descend from the bottom of stone stairs that replaced narrow wooden steps that had access the original gazebo. A 3×3 landing on the north side of the new gazebo would be at the top of proposed removable stairs descending to the lake.
The elevation of the floor of the new gazebo is 108.23-ft. The previous elevation was 107.3-feet. The new gazebo is farther from the south-side boundary (7.1-ft) than the original structure (2.4-ft). The northwest corner of the new structure is the same distance to the mean water line (9-ft) as the original structure, but angles slightly away from the lake to a point that is 11 feet from the mwl, decreasing the degree of non-conformity to the lake setback (although it is still non-conforming to the south side boundary). Mr. Buermann stated that the Applicant is requesting a variance to be allowed an increase of 17 sf for the replacement gazebo. D. Patterson stated that the 38sf landing is an addition to the floor area of the gazebo. Mr. Buermann disagreed and identified it as 3 wooden steps that connect the stone stairs to the floor of the gazebo, and should be considered a landing. Ms. Blanchard offered to reduce the area of the wooden steps so they don’t span the full width of the south side of the gazebo. Mr. Buermann said the west point of the wooden steps could be cut off.
Jonathan Shaw represented the neighbors to the south, the Solymoss’, who had submitted a letter to the ZA stating that they were not in favor of the variance (Tim read the letter to the Board). He said the proposed structure was more imposing and being constructed with larger material than the original gazebo. He said the 2014 decision did not allow the original gazebo to be removed and contends that the new structure is non-conforming (does not meet setbacks), and cited the 5 variance criteria (in particular, #4 — impairment) in Section 306 of the Development Regulations. He said the original gazebo was torn down a year ago and replacement started a month ago, and does not agree that the conditions of the 2014 approval allowed for the original structure to be replaced. J. Brightwell asked if the removal of the original structure met the definition of “abandonment.” Jonathan said the original structure was torn down voluntarily and that the 2014 decision did not allow for that. Ms. Blanchard said the previous gazebo was used by tenants of the original year-round dwelling on the property. She said the decision did not say it couldn’t be removed; only that it could be “maintained.” The stone steps replacing the narrow wooden steps were put in last fall when the new retaining wall was built. Don Cox stated that the north-side neighbors, the Antonetti’s, had no problem with the gazebo, but also stated that they were farther away and the location was screened from them by trees. He said the previous gazebo was a safety hazard and the replacement will be much safer.
It was agreed that the new structure, if approved, would need a building permit.
R. Brown moved to accept additional photos of the original and proposed gazebos supplied by Jay Buermann and the Applicant into the record; G. Hunt second. All in favor.
8:40PM — D. Patterson moved to close the hearing; G. Hunt second. All in favor.
Minutes
- Patterson moved to accept the minutes from September 27, 2017; R. Brown second. All in favor.
Public Input
There was none.
Administrator’s Report
Martha asked the Board if they would be willing to deliberate the proposed Steadman 2-lot subdivision at their next meeting on October 25 if she had a draft decision prepared for them. She will not be at that meeting. The Board agreed.
9:30 PM – R. Brown moved to adjourn; D. Patterson second. All in favor.
Respectfully submitted,
Martha Taylor-Varney, ZA
Signed: ___________________________________ Date: __________________
For the DRB
These minutes are unofficial until approved at the next regularly-scheduled meeting. All motions were unanimous unless otherwise indicated.