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Home My WebLink AboutZBA #7289 & #7294 OFFICE LOCATION: ° MAILING ADDRESS: Town Hall Annex P.O. Box 1179 ° . m 54375 state Route 25 Southold, NY 11971 (cor. Main Rd. &Youngs Ave.) Telephone: 631 765-1938 Southold, NY h ldtow-rm ov 't�4*'V"V"�iT.5 o Ll t O col COUNTI PLANNING TZNG BOARD OFFICE TOWN OF SOUTHOLD MEMORANDUM To: Leslie Canes Weisman, ZBA Chairperson Members of the Zoning Board of Appeals From, Donald J. Wilcenski, Planning Board Chairman lk Members of the Planning Board Date: June 20, 2019 Re Request for Comments -- Lot Area variances related to old Filed Maps ZBA Zile #s 7289 & 7294 The Planning Board has reviewed your request for comments regarding the above- referenced files, and recommends denying both of these applications based on the potential for cumulative adverse impacts to traffic, water quality and water quantity. This recommendation is, in part, dine to the precedent this would set of granting large area variances for very small lets that could affect neighborhoods in at least 18 other areas in the Town, from Laurel to East Marion. Setting this precedent is not consistent with the Town's Comprehensive Plan. The subject parcels were originally created as early as 1909 from the filed subdivision map known as the Greenport Driving Parr. These early subdivisions are known as "old- filed maps", and were done well before there were comprehensive efforts to plan development and understand its impacts, and well before zoning was put into effect. These maps were not subject to any review or critical thinking about what level of development would be sustainable. Examples can be seen in the County's tax map books as areas with very small lots, and, where some of the original small lots have merged, the original parcel lines are shown as dotted lines (Figure 1). In 1957 the `town Board found that zoning was necessary to protect the quality of life in the Town and to prevent overcrowding and excessive traffic in the future, and the first zoning was put in place. The subject area was zoned A--Residential with a minimum lot py Southotd Town Planning Board Page 12 June 20, 2019 size of 12,500 sq. ft. In the early 70's the minimum lot size was revisited due to concerns over water quality and was increased to 40,000 sq. ft. In 1989, this area was re-zoned to Residential-40 and continues to have a minimum lot size of 40,000 sq. ft. See Table 1 for the minimum lot size requirements of this area overtime. Table 1. Minimum lot size for the lots in the subject neighborhood Year 1909 1957 1 970's Current Minimum Lot Size No zoning 12,500 sq. ft. 40,000 sq. ft. 40,000 sq. ft. L in place I J The variances requested for both applications are substantial and the lot area variances range from 74% to 83% as shown in Table 2. The proposed lot sizes are very small and in the case of File 7294, even smaller than the average lot size in the neighborhood, which is about 8,000 sq. ft. The applications both lack compelling reasons to grant such large variances as both were purchased in their current state as single parcels. And while the app licant's attorney for File# 7289 makes a logical argument for an alternative view of whether the variance is substantial, it isn't relevant to the question of how substantial the relief is as compared to the zoning requirements. Table 2. Percentage of Variances Requested File 7289, 905 9th St LLCI 48-2-29 .................... ....... . ......... Area % Lot Width Width %Width Depth Depth % Depth Area Proposed Area I (sq.ft.) Required Variance (ft.) Req. Variance Req. Variance 63% 119-00 175 32% Lot 9 61898 401000 83% 56 lou .................. 40 10 61603 ,000 83% 56 150 63% 1 114.00 11,711,51 3 5% [Lot: ". I File 7294, Sinha, 48-1-23 Area % Lot Width Width %Width Depth Depth T % Depth Area Proposed Area Variance (sq.ft.) Required Variance (ft.) Req. Variance (ft.) Req, ........... ........... Lot 1 10267 40000 74% 90 150 40% 124. 175 29% 28 124. 29% E77% 75 150 50% 175 1 Lot 2 91260 401000 28 L� 1111111111111h The highest density zoning in the Town Code is found in the Hamlet Density (HD) and Affordable Housing (AHD) Zoning Districts where the minimum lot size is 10,000 sq. ft. Both districts allow higher density in exchange for a benefit to the Town, which can be seen as mitigation to the impacts. The HD has a size limit for full build-out of 1,200 iy Southold Town Planning Board Page 13 June 20, 2019 square feet, which allows for more diversity in the housing stock, and the AHD requires the homes to be affordable in perpetuity, which serves a dire need in the town. In this case, the applicants are requesting more than the highest density allowed in any zoning district in the Town, with nothing to off-set the impacts. The new homes will be sold at market value, and are almost guaranteed to be much higher in sale price than what is considered affordable. There is no limit to the size of the new houses beyond the lot coverage limit of 20%. The smallest lot could have a house of almost 4,000 sq. ft. if it includes a finished basement, while the new house on the larger lot could be over 5,000 sq. ft. One of the new parcels requires a lot coverage variance for the existing house. The Town's Comprehensive Plan, which currently consists of several plans including the Local Waterfront Revitalization Plan as well as the Town Code, identifies the Residential-40 Zoning District as having a minimum lot size of 40,000 square feet. Nearly all the parcels in the subject neighborhood are pre-existing, non-conforming with regard to the lot dimensions and setbacks in the Town Code. Applying a zoning district with a larger minimum lot size was intentional on the part of the legislative body of the Town, and has been common practice to reduce the impacts that come from overly dense development over time. This is the main goal of the merger law that requires that undersize parcels merge when held in the same ownership. Granting substantial area variances using the rationale that the other lots in the neig hborhood are small would undermine the zoning in all the areas where there are smaller lots. The Planning Board reviewed the old-filed maps of the Town and found at least 18 neighborhoods that could be subject to the same type of area variances requests (Figure 2). If the precedent is set by granting these variances, the concern is that more applications will come in to divide properties using substantial variances. An estimated 600 additional single family homes could result, which significantly increases the Town's future buildout (Table 3). And an increase in the Town's future buildout will have adverse effects on the Town over time. The adverse effects would include an increase in traffic, and a strain on the water supply, as well as increasing the pollution of our drinking water and bays and creeks by adding more septic systems. Even with a sewer connection some nitrogen pollution enters the Long Island Sound through the outfall pipe. And sewer connections, while good for preventing excessive nitrogen in the groundwater, prevent that water from re-entering the system, reducing the amount of fresh water re-entering the aquifer. Thank you for this opportunity to provide comments, and please feel free to contact the Planning office with any questions. ........... Table 3. Analysis of Old-file Map Areas in Southold Town #of additional #tax lots lots by variance Tax Map containing based on old old-filed map filed map lines lot lines (conservative estimate) Old Filed Map dates&names General Location 1873 Champlin Place, 1914 Buckley Farm, Sterling Place, Knapp Place, Bailey Ave, in Greenport West 34 33 39 1873 Sterling Manor .......... Old Orchard Lane,Cedar Lane and vicinity, 37 A 47 52 1927 Gardeners Bay Estates Section 2 East Marion .................... 'Wilmarth Ave, Washington Ave, Greenport 18 1927 Washington Heights West 41 16 ........... ............ ............. ..........- ........... ............................ .....................7 1930 Estate of S. Buel Corwin, 1909 Greenport Driving Park, 1913 Greenport Driving Track(Greenport Drivin Park and Driving Track map the same area with a 9th, Brown, Linnet, Flint,Corwin,Wiggins 48 35 49 �slightly different lot design) 'streets, Greenport West ........... —--------------—.1.1 I.I.I�,,�1,1,1,""""""""'ll""I'll""I'll",'ll,'ll""I'll""I'�"-�,�""''-,-,.�� .,'I- 1__1_11_1____1111__11--- ....I."I'll I Bayview Avenue, Greenport West(East side of 52 6 16 11933 Summer Haven 'Arshomomaque Pond) 1 ..........................___............................. ................... 1927 Wickham Park 1933 & 1938 Peconic 53 17 19 Bay Estates bay Shore Road,Greenport West ......................................—-------- ............................... 1924 Peconic Shores 1930 Peconic Shores 2 Huntington Blvd area off Mill Lane, Peconic ......... ...................67 25 26 IF .. . .... ..............-----------------......... ' ............................__......------- ............ Smith Dr, Bayberry Rd,,off Main Bayview Rd,, 76 31 31 1937 West Creek Dev, 1948 Goose Neck '.Southold 77 23 30 11934 Goose Bay Estates !Cedar Dr. Pine Ave,Oak Ave,Southold ........... ............ .................. 'Reydon Dr, Oak Dr,W Shore Dr,Grove Dr, 80 40 47 '1931 Reydon Shores :Lake Ave.,Southold ... ........ ........................ .................. ............ .....................11"",-,..... 4 4 Nassau Farms subdivision Pine Tree Rd, Pine Tree Rd Ext.,Cutchogue 98 ........... 1913 Indian Neck Park, 1963 Arrowhead Arrowhead LnY Smith Rd, Robinson Ln, 98 20 20 Cove, 1961 Peconic Bay Oaks Cutchogue Sterling Road, Horton Road, Pine Tree Road 104 19 21 1935 Nassau Farms subdivision Ext., Cutchogue ........... I- 1�1111-- 111-1-111111 1- .,I I 1.�Ill""I'll",,�Ill"",,-,.",�� 11 11 1-1 1 1 110 9 9 1938 Fleetwood Cove Fleetwood Rd,Stillwater Ave, Cutchogue 1926 Nassau Point Club Properties, Nassau Nassau Point Rd. Haywaters Rd.,Wunneweta 111 37 40 Point Amended Map A(no date) Rd areas,Cutchogue 1921 Codling and others unspecified in Town 113 33 40 records Blocks 8, 91 10, 11 Westphalia Rd, Meday Ave area, Mattituck 126 34 S9 1928 Tuthill George 1,, 1929 Downs A L, Bray Ave area, Laurel 136 16 23 1928 Eugene Heights, Oak St. Pierce DrY Stillwater Ave, Cutchogue 1938 Fleetwood Cove., 1930 Hand MS, 1939 137 29 33 Hand MS Sec. 2 Stillwater Ave,Track Ave, Cutchogue 1929 Garden Heights, 1935 Mattituck Heights Marys Rd, Conklin Rd, Freeman St, Bayer Rd., 139 25 29 Amended Mattituck .............. Tota 1 605 10C, 97 Ito 01 No lion 04- Figore � w.. 3 -05-03 04 SEF SEC�Z) Tax Map with 0�2 0 i a,I old-filed map lines 107-17-17 1 t VO4 7 A 7294 33 30 31 32 d <(P - - -tenI - --I I 1-4 75 2' 1A oA Old-filed map lines Fn k.1 M2-J! A ep -2, 4715N. I i t 4 VW10 " I�i I In L'%I co N=-i as 7,4 4 443 M t Existing Sewer I-5A f I 1 0 0 -n twA 1,2 15-7 10 FLINT ST- I Z� jz�24 V-1 1 --19 26 25 19 29---- eel 00 fn ------ rn 1, --4 Ir'A z 41 _U 7289 tm t M V61 4 V�I FRI -0 fi 39 322 37 38 - I t331 34 � I ST ted, Lot LINNET A 12 ; 3 16- tcn 0-1 to t *on-P V --- tr �18-1 90 2D.11 21 24 23 2227 W 40 26 - (5w) r3N ST. 16 0 U3 ,,I , 44 45 46 BROWN 4 4 tin 142-5 t W1 42-6yy W 00 Tav^a5 SECTION NO -,CCILVA COUNTY OF SUFFOLX K SOUTHOLD NOTICE 0-0-0,%10: E L -;CF TION -1 Real Property Tax Service Agency y 006 048 MXINTENA. -ALTERA SALE OR N, T10 E 0fETRiSUTK)NOFANYPOR NOFTf County Center Rivert—if.N y 11901 E* —.ST— U� —TER SUFFOLK covN�TAX NjkP IS PROHMTED SCALI-=V fEEr Z�L.t� —————-7 —406 L��L— WTH OUT V�TTEN PER—SSION O�THE VW A QSTwCT NO 1004D E P 04S 007 PROPERTY MAP N ure 2. Areas wan Old-Filed Maps, Southold Tows g - Cr% f e s s Areas with Old-filed M £. CID NU a IiI,". - x �� ,Y a g z � r a #�4 a 4 Q 1.5 3 6 Miles