HomeMy WebLinkAboutZBA-06/27/1990 HEARING 1 SOUTHOLD TOWN ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS
COUNTY OF SUFFOLK : STATE OF NEW YORK
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3 SOUTHOLD TOWN .ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS
HEARING,
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_t Town Hall
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bl� ��. 53095 Main Road
P.O. Box 1179
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Qz`a q a ► G, Southold, New York 11971
4y uJUL 24
8 ; }; t4 ke:.? June 27 , 1990
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7 :-35 P.M.
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10 B E F 0 R ,E:
11 GERARD P. GOEHRINGER, Chairman
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13 B 0 A R D M E M B E R S:
14 CHARLES GRIGONIS, JR.
g 15 SERGE DOYEN, JR.
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16 JOSEPH H. SAWICKI
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Z 17 JAMES DINIZIO, JR.
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19 A L S 0 P R E S E N T:
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20 DOREEN FERWERDA, Secretary
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24 GAIL ROSCHEN
Official Court Reporter
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2 THE CHAIRMAN: Welcome everybody here. -
3 This is the regular monthly meeting of the
4 Southold Town Zoning Board of Appeals. The
5 first hearing on the agenda for the evening is
6 in behalf of Frances Frisbie, Appeal Number
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Z 3949 . The legal notice reads as follows :
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8 "Upon application of the Applicant 3949 ,
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9 Frances Frisbie, variance. to the Zoning Ordinance,
10 Article III A, Section 100-30 A. 4. (100-33) ,
11 as disapproved, for permission to construct
12 an accessory building in the front yard area.
13 Accessory buildings may, only be located in
14 the required rear yard. Property Location:
g 15 8050 Nassau Point Road, Cutchogue, County Tax
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16 Map No. 1000, Section 1_18 , Block 5 ; Lot 2 . 1. "
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Z 17 I have a copy of a survey indicating
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Z 18 a parcel approximately 2 . 25 acres, with a
19 large home that is on the water. The nature
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20 of this application is a proposed shed which
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21 is presently under construction, which lies
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g 22 landward and almost directly in the center of
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23 the lot '-- contiguous Ito the tennis court. I
24 have a copy of the Suffolk County Tax Map
25 indicating this and surrounding properties in
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2 the area. .
3 Would somebody like to be heard?
4 MR., OLSEN: Gary Olsen. I am an attorney,
5 having my office on Main Road, Cutchogue. I
6 represent the Applicant herein. I don' t really
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have too much to add, other than what I said
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8 in the. application. I think you did . -- if
9 you drive down Nassau Point Road you will see
10 that a majority of the waterfront parcels have
11 a similar situation, in that the front yard is
12 basically the area between the house -- this
13 is considered between the house and the water --
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and the rear yard for all practical purposes
s 15 becomes the area between the house and the
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16 roadway. As you drive down Nassau Point Road
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you see many houses have accessory buildings
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Z 18 between the house and the road than those that
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19 don' t.
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This particular parcel, you can drive by
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21 it. and not even know it is there. It is very
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g �. wooded.' There is a tennis court now located
23 between the house, with :the •Town' s approval,
24 between the house and the roadway and .the shed,
25 the proposed shed, would be located on the
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2 westerly end of the tennis court. It would not
3 be visible really from any adjoining parcel nor
4 from the roadway, and I respectfully submit it
5 would not adversely affect the character of the
6 neighborhood. In fact,, it probably would be
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a more in keeping with the character of the
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8 neighborhood if the variance was granted than
9 if it was not.
10 There is a practical difficulty to put
11 this shed, which would be used for storing
12 tennis court facilities and lawn equipment and
13 so on, to put it in the rear yard which would
14 be the water side property. It creates a real
s 15 practical difficulty for this particular .appli-
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16 cation.
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z 17 This property has been developed some
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Z 18 time ago, after the house was already there
19 and it would ruin the view to have the shed
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21 put it in this proposed location, no one' s
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going to even know it is there, and it is not
23 going to change the character of the neighbor- .
24 hood.
25 in addition to what I .submitted to the
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2 Board, I do have a letter from Mr. Sanford
3 Hanauer indicating he has no objection to the
4 . application. I submit that as an exhibit.
5 I also have received a letter, dated
6 June 22nd, 1990, from the Southold Town Trustees ,
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a 7 indicating that this application _is not within
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8 their jurisdiction. So I' submit that to you,
9 also.
10 I also have a survey, which is a little
11 different than the one I submitted in the
12 application, from VanTyle, which has elevations
13 put on it indicating that the
p g proposed location
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of this shed is towards the road side of a 15-
g 15 foot elevation and accordingly there would be
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16 no Department of Environmental Conservation
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jurisdiction. So I also submit that to you,
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Z 18 and I submit it.
19 I will submit a letter from -- well, it
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20 is really a flier, from the Department of
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Environmental Conservation indicating that their
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jurisdiction does not extend for any structures
23 built beyond a 10-foot contour.
24 THE CHAIRMAN: The size of the shed is
25 10 .by 12 , and it is approximately four feet
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2 from the property -Line. I_s that correct?
3 MR.' FRISBIE: That'.,s right.
4 MR. OLSEN: Will' there be any utilities
5 in the: shed, such as, electricity-.'and.:water?
6 .MR: FRISBIE': . No..
a THE• CHAIRMAN: . ' 'The . shed is going to be
8 one- story- , no higher. Not. to exceed how high?
9 _'MR: FRISBIE: - Six .feet. in. height,
10 MR. OLSEN; For the record, let the.
11 record show 'that• Mr. Richard. Frisbie is present
12 answering ,the: questions;:
'13 THE 'CHAIRMAN: When 'you' sa.y six feet,
14 Mr., Frisbie; it is the lowest point assuming
s 15 the, peak of the . roof''.would be eight feet.
16 - MR: FRISBIE: You're right. Six is
Z 17 the lowest of the '..roof. So we would seta .
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18. • limit.
19 THE CHAIRMAN: Nine feet.
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20 MR. FRISBIE: • .,Nine feet would be plenty.
21 That would give .ple'nty of room.
0 22 MR. ' OLSEN: For the record', -I' would also
23 - like 'to ' indicate -`the Frisbies' also own the
24 adjoining property`.to the south.
25 THE CHAIRMAN:: They do?
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2 MR,: FRISBIE: . Yes,.' '-.These two parcels
3_ have been' -divided with the. Planning Board' s
4 a royal.
5 THE CHAIRMAN: So where is Mr. Hanauer
6 living?-.
MR. FRISBIE: He -is on the other .side.
cc 8 MR. -OLSEN: ;:The north side. :
9 THE. CHAIRMAN. Very good. We thank you
10 . very much, Mr. Ol sen%.
11 MR.. OLSEN: ' ',Thank you.
12 THE .CHAIRMAN: . . Is there" anybody else that
13 . would like to speak in favor of .this appli-
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cation?
s 15 Is there. anybody that Mould. like to. speak
16 against .the application?
Z 17 Do you have any problem with it?-
Z 18 ;MR. .SAWICKI: No.'
. 19 ,`THE .CHAIRMAN: I make a motion, to, grant
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this as-,applied , for .with 'the following:
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To`,gran t this as applied' for with' .th22
restriction that it only be used 'for storage
23 purposes and-that. the building. not exceed nine
24 feet in height.'
25 MR .FRISBIE: Thank`-"-you. That' s. great.
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2 THE. CHAIRMAN: You' re very welcome.
3 The next appeal is in behalf of MGH
4. Enterprises, Inc. The legal notice reads as
5 follows:
6 "Upon application of Applicant 3948 , MGH
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z 7 Enterprises, Inc.-Orient By The Sea. Special
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8 Exception to the Zoning Ordinance, Article III,
9 Section 100-31 C. 9 (e) , as disapproved, for
10 permission to construct an off-premises sign.
11 Property Location: 66040 North Road, Greenport,
12 County Tax Map No. 1000 , Section 40 , Block 04,
13 Lot 01. "
14 The location of the sign is the Geier
g 15 property. I do not have the approximate location
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16 of the property except it is to the side, the
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Z 17 east side of the Geier property. There is a
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z 18 parcel approximately 10. 4 acres. The original
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s 19 sign was a four by six. The applicationf has
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o 20 requested that the sign be approximately 72
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21 square feet. I have .a copy of the Suffolk
22 County Tax Map indicating this and surrounding
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23 properties in the area.
24 MR. 'HASSE- Bob Haase. The sign was
25 supposed to be 32 square feet.
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2 THE CHAIRMAN: Instead of 72 . I don' t
3 know why I couldn' t read that.
4 Do you want to continue? Do you have
5 anything you would like to say for the record?
6 MR. HAASE: I guess it just speaks for
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8 THE CHAIRMAN: What location are we
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9 talking about -- on County Road 48 , in reference
10 to the depth of the placement? You have some
11 large trees there.
12 MR. HAASE: Quite honestly, I ,don' t know.
13 The sign man has been doing all the legwork an
14 I thought it was all on the --
15 THE CHAIRMAN: ' I don' t see that here,
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T 16 but you could get back to us on that aspect.
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Z 17 Okay? What is the reason for the increase in
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Z 18 the size of the sign?
19 MR. HAASE: Well, we have two businesses
20 going on the same sign and we felt that the
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0 21 sign wouldn' t be big enough -'to stand out and
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0 22 people wouldn' t be able to see it. It would
23 be too small.
24 THE CHAIRMAN: Are you the owner of
25 the restaurant?
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MR. HAASE: My family, my father is.
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THE CHAIRMAN: Mr. Ketcham called me
4 at home regarding this, at the time, and he
5 did mention to me that his ,property was business.
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This property was business property. It was
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Q business property at one time. It is now
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8 a hamlet density property, which is not
9 business property. I will admit to you we did
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grant a sign in a similar location, in the
11 immediate area which also lost its business
12, value or evaluation in reference to zoning, and
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we did that because there was a sign there
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prior to this. We are going to have to take a
15 long hard look at this one and see what we
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can do, but would you have Mr. Ketcham call our
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0 office and indicate to us what the exact
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location of the sign will be on the Geier
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property and I assume you have permission f.rom
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the Geiers to put the sign up?
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MR. HAASE: Yes .
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U THE CHAIRMAN: And the sign will not
23 be lighted.
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MR. HAASE: Yes.
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THE CHAIRMAN: It will just be
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2 a double-faced sign.
3 MR. HAASE: Single faced one way.
4 THE CHAIRMAN: Going east only.
5- MR. HAASE: Yes, right.
6 THE CHAIRMAN: And the elevation above
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a. the ground is another thing I want to know
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8 also. I think the Code reads four feet. That'
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9 basically it. Thank you very much.
10 Is there anybody else that would like to
11 speak in favor' of this application?
12 Anybody that would like to speak
13 against the application? Any question from
14 Board members?
g 15 MR. DINIZIO, JR. : I have a comment.
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16 I guess it really wouldn' t be fair to let you
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17 go without letting you know. I really have no
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Z 18 problem with the sign. I have a problem with
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19 the 'contents of the sign and that it may be
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20 miles away from the location that it is telling
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0 the people to go to. I just wanted you to
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g 22 know I had that particular problem. I don' t
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23 know if .it is grounds enough not to grant it.
24 So we will have to look into it. I just an
25 wanted you to know that .was my way of thinking.
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2 I don' t think it would be. fair to you not to
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comment basically. Thank you. That is all I
4 have.'
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THE CHAIRMAN: Hearing no further
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questions , I make a motion closing the hearing
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and reserving decision until later.
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$ MR. SAWICKI: Second.
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THE CHAIRMAN: All in. favor?
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MR. GRIGONIS: Aye.
11 MR., DOYEN: Aye.
12 MR. SAWICKI * Aye.
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MR. DINIZIO: Aye.
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THE CHAIRMAN: The next appeal is
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Appeal Number 3947. The appeal is in behalf
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16 of James Mark. The legal notice reads as
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follows:
Z 18 "Upon Applicant No. 3947 , James ;.dark.
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19 Variance to the Zoning Ordinance, Article III
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A, Section 100-30 A. 3 , Article XXIV, Section
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° 100-244 B, as disapproved, for, permissicc 2-2
on to
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construct an addition to a one-family dwelling.
23 Proposed construction will- have insufficient
24 front yard setback. Property Location: 450
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Parsons Boulevard, East Marion, County Tax Map
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2 No. 1000 , Section 37 , Block 1, Lot 18. "
3 I have a copy of the site plan done by
4 Warren Sambach, Consulting Engineer, recent
5 date is -- looks like 5/11/90, indicating the
6 additions which I will question Mr. Sambach
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Q 7 about in' a second, and a copy of the Suffolk
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8 County Tax Nap indicating this and surrounding
9 properties in the area.
10 Would you like to be heard,. sir?
11 MR. SAMBACH: Yes . Warren Sambach,
12 representing Mr. and Mrs. James Mark.
13 Under the original Zoning Code Residence
14 A, the front yard setback of 25 feet would be .
s 15 required. The new Code R-40 requires a 50-foot
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existing residence.
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Z 18 The proposed extension to the front of
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19 the existing residence will have a 37-foot
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setback, which would be .more than the required
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0 21 under the old Code. The unique setting of
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the original residence due to the elevation of
23 the property and the existing landscaping will
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not interfere .wi,th the proposed front yard,
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the proposed front extension will not change
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the., character of the neighborhood. There .are
other residences in the' neighborhood with less
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front .yard .setbacks than the property in .
questiori,' and they have not changed' the
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character of the. neighborhood:
On behalf of Mr:; and Mrs: James Mark
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I respectfully ask consideration be .'given to
allow the proposed extension encroachment on
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the front yard setback:
THE .CHAI.RMAN: On the . proposed con=
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struction',"'.which protrudes 16: feet four 'inches
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into the "front yard'' area, is that a two"story
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addition?
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g MR. SAMBACHs That :will be . a garage
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underneath and, the` porch, there, now will be
extended out. You want to_call- it a. two-story
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extension, . it could be.
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THE CHAIRLv1AN- So, in other words, what
Z it is is ,just pushing that screened-in' porch-
out .above the garage' and utilizing tree present
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screened=in porch for year-round .living `pur
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poses :
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MR: SAMBACH: Right.
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THE CHAIRMAN: Very- good,.
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2 MR. SAMBACH: We want to have the
3 existing kitchen to the dining room, the
4 existing porch to the kitchen, and then in
5 front of the kitchen will .be the -screened-in
6 porch over the garage.
a THE CHAIRMAN: What is the timeliness
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8 on this? When do you want to do it?
9 MR. SAlMBACH: ASAP.
10 THE CHAIRMAN: We -thank you very much.
11 We hope to have a decision for you in two weeks .
12 Is ' there anybody else that would like
13 to speak in favor of the application?
14 Anybody that would like to speak against.
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Any questions from Board members?
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16 Hearing no further questions, I make a
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Z 17 motion closing the hearing and reserving
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19 MR. SAWICKI: Second.
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MR.. SAMBACH: Thank you.
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21 THY CHAIRMAN: All in favor?
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0 22 MR. GRIGONIS: Aye.
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23 MR. DOYEN: Aye.
24 MR. SAWICKI: Aye.
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MR. DINIIZIO.- .Aye.
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THE CHAIRMAN: The next appeal is in
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behalf of Matthew:. Kar. This is Appeal Number
4 3946 . The legal notice reads as follows:
5 "Upon Application No. 3946, on behalf
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of Matthew Kar. Variance to the Zoning
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Ordinance, Article III A, Section 100-30 A. 3,
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8 Article XXIV, Section 100-244 B, as disapproved
9 for permission to construct an addition to a
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one-family dwelling. Proposed construction
11 will have insufficient rear yard setback.
12 Property Location: 155 (Pvt. Road #6) Birch
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Drive S, Laurel, County Tax Map No. 1000 ,
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Section 128 , Block 4, Lot 4. "
g 15 I have a copy of a survey, dated June
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16 28 , 1988 , indicating a one-story frame dwelling
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o with screened porch located approximately in
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the center of the property, skewed a little.
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I have a copy of a Suffolk County Tax
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' Map indicating this and surrounding properties
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in the area. This is a unique situation becaus
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° the parcels in the area are extremely small.
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Is there somebody here that would like
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to be heard in behalf of Mr. Kar?
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MR& KAR: Gale Kar. I am Matthew' s wife.
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2. . We ,bought` the property. a couple, .of'ye,ars . ago,
3 and it-vas basically a summer bungalow. We
4 spent six. months. renovating it' .,winterizing '
5 it. It has,:got a, little more than 900 'square
6 . feet•:`for. ,the' . addi.tion.`
a ' 7' We have, had a' plan drawn;"- submitte'd :the
cc $ .plan.. The plans„ were ' approved. . The foundation
9. was put: in. : -The foundation inspection .was
10 performed without .any problem.
The :next inspection:'was a tarring
12 inspection around the''cinder b'locks., At that
13 point the inspector .stopped the work,' saying
14 we did not have a 'sufficient rear setback.,
8 15 THE CHAIRMAN: Rear yard setback?
:MRS KAR: I; guess.; there was a .discrepancy
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as to .where the. front of the house was ' because
18 it ' is a unque .neighborhood. We _do have "a
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water. .view, and most- of .the houses •= we.
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consider-that the . front -of our' house:. If that
21 was :the ease,: then apparently,we would have
22 made all. the setback-,.requirements. ' So. the. work
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23 has .been" stopped._and% I. have some -pictures-., here.
24 _ There are 10 homes .in the community, goring from
25 .Peconic Bay. Boulevard to the water: We are
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2 kind of in, the middle.
3 , . Even with the addition, we have got more
4 space i'n. ,between.-our house to the other pro-: .
5. perty fines than' -any of the other houses. It.
6 is just. the ,way ,it -works: out. . ,The houses.
Q7 ..have been '.there a- long 'time.,..' Some people are
8 within one foot of the property line rear: yard.
9. � .I guess another point: is that our rear
10 yard 'is next to an 'open lot. ' The person that
11 ' is behind 'us also owns , the property behind- us.
12 So she ,owns all. the property going from the
13 boulevard.'to the bay. So our, rear yard really
14 " is, in, the. _place where there - are no homes -there.
15 I have a letter from' both of our.
16 neighb`o.rs, saying that they really want its to
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o continue. They' want us there. We' are the
18 only .year-round residents in the community and
19 ' that, I guess, is all I can, .say:.
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THE, CHAIRMAN: ' Please don' t .let me
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c-lose' the hearing without asking -you . the '
o - .approximate size of-'the addition. .
23 . MRS: KAR.: ..Well, 'it is -- "
24 MR.. KAR: 16 .bY. 20
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MRS. KAR: 1'6 :is going .out towards :the
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2 rear yard.
3 THE CHAIRMAN: And 20 is?
4 MRS. KAR: Because the house is situated
5 on an angle, we are closer on one side.
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THE CHAIRMAN: And that is towards the
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Q boulevard, that addition?
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8 MRS. KAR: No. No, it is not. That
9 addition is east, heading east. The boulevard
10 would be the side yard.
11 THE CHAIRMAN: Come up here and look at
12 this'.
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MRS. KAR: Sure. This is the problem.-
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This is the corner.
s 15 THE CHAIRMAN: It is drawn in as a
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16 straight line.
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o MRS. KAR: That is correct.
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Z 18 THE CHAIRMAN: It is 16. 0 feet by 20
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feet.
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MRS. KAR: No. I think it is more than -
0 21 I have here -- I have the plan.
° 22 THE CHAIRMAN: I cannot read it off of
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23 here. *
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MRS. KAR: we 've got 12 plus 10 plus 15.
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THE CHAIRMAN: This is the whole addition.
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2 MRS. KAR: No. Here is the addition
3 . (indicating) . This is the existing house. I
4 am sorry.
5 THE CHAIRMAN: I can' t gather it from
6 that.
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a MRS. KAR: This is the existing house.
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c 8 MR. KAR: No. 'It is not. This is the
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9 addition right here, 16 feet by whatever it is .
10 MRS. KAR: It is 37 feet by 16.
11 THE CHAIRMAN: So it goes across the
12 entire rear of the house.
13 MR. KAR: No.
14 THE CHAIRMAN: This is the problem. I
g 15 show 34 in reference to this, and I wa:s. over
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1.6 there at 7 : 30 in the morning and I was not
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17 going to come to your- house at 7: 30. in the
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Z 18 morning. I am showing the existing house as
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c9 20 MRS. KAR: No. You know why that is --
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21 that 34 plus 12. This screened-in porch is
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0 22 no longer there. That was the first renovation
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23 THE CHAIRMAN: So the addition is 16
24 by the full length of the house.
25 MRS. KAR: No. The addition is 37 and
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the house was 46. So it is 37.
3
THE CHAIRMAN: , So 37 -- the showing
4 there of 37 feet is correct.
5 MRS. KAR: That is correct.
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THE CHAIRMAN: You see how important that
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a is to us .
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8 MRS . KAR: It is 22 without the porch.
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THE CHAIRMAN: We did run into problems
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doing a deck at the last meeting in the same
11 situation. So that is the reason we are a
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little strict about the matter, at this par-
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ticular point.
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MR. KAR: You saw how close the other
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homes --
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16 THE CHAIRMAN: We granted the smallest
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o lot that has ever been granted by this Board
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z 18 across the street, which I think was 3., 300
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square feet. That is the one next to . the house,
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that actually bisects the garage.
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o We will have a decision for you very
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shortly. We thank you for coming in and we will
23 see if anybody objects to it.
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MRS. KAR: Do you have a time frame on
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that?
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2 MR. KAR: The builder is going to have
3 some other jobs, and if we don' t get moving
4 we may be put back to way in the. fall.
5 MRS. KAR: We already financed it.
6 THE- CHAIRMAN: What is the setback with
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a the addition?
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8 MR. KAR: It is 11 feet, which is still
9 five feet further than any of them on our block.
10 Our neighbor is a foot. Gale has a picture
11 here that shows we have several houses that
12 are -right on the property line. The people
13 behind us, they were given space by the Conklins
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(phonetic) -- by our neighbor on the side. It
15 is a vacant lot. They set their fence on the
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16 property another foot, because their foundation
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17 is on the property line. So they gave them
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Z 18 six or eight inches. We have letters from
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19 our neighbors , from Mr. Conklin and Mr.
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20 that state they would love to have the addition
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21 there for us to be there year-round.
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THE CHAIRMAN: Do you know what the
23 approximate distance is between these two?
24 MR. KAR: I would venture to say from
25 there, it is probably maybe 15 or 18 feet.
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2 THE CHAIRMAN: We, are referring to the
3 side yard.
4 MR. KAR: Something like that, but we
5 are still much further than all the -homes in
6 the community. It is unique. because of the
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7
a situation there, like you said.
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8 THE CHAIRMAN: We have not established
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9 the time frame yet. We still are waiting on it.
10
Is there anybody else that wants to see the
11 pictures?
12 Thank you very much.
13
MR. KAR: Would you like to keep the
14
letter?
$ 15 THE CHAIRMAN: Yes .
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16 MR. KAR: We have a letter. from Ms.
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o .
3 17
Condon (phonetic) . She owns the other two
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19 THE CHAIRMAN: We thank you very much.
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20
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Is there anybody else that would like to speak
21
in favor of this application?
22 Is there anybody that would like to
23 speak against the application?
24
I have just one more question.
25
MR. KAR: Sure.
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1 �9
24
2
THE CHAIRMAN: Is it 16 by 37?
3
MR. KAR: It is 16 feet out. I know
4 that for . sure.
5
THE CHAIRMAN: Give us a call tomorrow.
6
We will see if we can deal with it tonight.
7
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MR. KAR: Thank you very much.
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8 THE CHAIRD/IAN: Hearing no further
9
comments, I make a motion closing the hearing
10
and reserving decision until later.
11 'SIR. GRIGONIS: Second.
12
THE CHAIRMAN: All in favor?
13
MR. GRIGON.IS: Aye.
14
MR. DOYEN: Aye.
15 MR. SAWICKI : Aye.
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16
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MR. DINIZIO: * Aye.
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3 17
o THE CHAIRMAN: , The next appeal is'
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Appeal Number 3944, ' in behalf of Anthony
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9 19
Mercorella. The legal notice reads as follows:
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"Upon application, Applicant No. 3944 ,
21
Anthony Mercorella. Variance to the Zoning
0 22
Ordinance, Article III, Section 100-33, as
23
disapproved, for permission to construct a two-
24
car accessory garage in the front yard area.
25
Proposed construction only permitted in the
25
2 required rear yard. Property Locati6n: 2260
3
Peconic. Bay Boulevard, Laurel, -County Tax
4 Map No. 1000 , Section 145, Block 04, Lot 04 .
5 We ha-d : an application for a deck,
6
which I think is presently constructed--
7
a approximately two meetings ago. Is there
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8 ' somebody that would like to be heard?
9
MRS. 'MERCORELLA: Maria Mercorella.
10
We just finished. We. .are in the process of'
11 reconstructing our home. Hopefully,y, my husband
12 is going to retire. We would like to build
13
a .garage for our home but the house is situated
14
with water on both sides, as you can see.
s 15 Peconic Bay Boulevard bounds one side and
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16 Edgemere Park Road
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g (phonetic) bounds the
0
17
0 other'. So the front is , you know, not really
Q
Z 18 on Peconic Bay Boulevard. It is on Edgemere,
0
19
but that is really not the question.
0
C9 20
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If we put it in the rear, it will be
21
near the lake and the Department 'o'f Environ-
22- mental Conservation won' t allow us to build
23 within 75 feet. If we put it in the rear,
24
Peconic Bay Boulevard is' the front. If we put
25
it on Edgemere and the rear is Edgemere Road,
26
2 then Brushs Creek is the road and that also
3 poses a problem with the Department of Environs
4 mental Conservation. We have a little building
5 there, but we can' t replace or put it on that
6 side. ' We have cesspools all around that. Thd
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Q 7 land near the lake slopes from the house, and
8 when we rebuilt the house the land was very
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9 soft over there. So we had to put all :fill
10 in, and that was the south side.
11 THE CHAIRMAN: Is there any .reason .why
12 you didn' t think of attaching it to the house,
13
on that side where the cutout is basically?
14
MRS. MERCORELLA: I have a bedroom
s 15 there and we have windows, and that is also
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16 where the cesspool goes.
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17
o THE CHAIRMAN: What is the approximate
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Z. 18 size of the " garage?
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9 19 MRS. MERCORELLA: I really don' t remember
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it.
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21cc THE CHAIRMAN: Give us a 'call. with that.
cc 22
You've got to, tell us what the distance is,
23. from Edgemere Park and the distance from Peconic
24
Bay Boulevard, and 'you will tell us where you
25
are going to have the doors open. Are- they
1 27
2 going to open towards the road of Edgemere
3 Park -- or Edgemere Avenue?
4 MRS.. MERCORELLA: No. No, towards the
5 house, probably, because we ,would like to put
6 a driveway in. So that you go into the
7 driveway, then into the garage.
c 8
THE CHAIRMAN: Take one of these copies .
9 out of here and mark that up with the size
10 and where the garage doors are going to go,
11 and the distances between both, and give us
.12 a call or bring it back in. If you call us
13 tomorrow, the phones may not be operating. We
14 are going .to be across from the Supervisor' s
15 office. So you can always get them over there.
16 By Monday or Tuesday 'we should be operating.
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17 MRS. MERCORELLA: You want the distance
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18 from both roads.
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19 THE CHAIRMAN: ' I want the distances
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20 from both roads and where the garage is going
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.21 to be put. I want .to know if it is one story,
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22 or two stories, and' what the approximate
23 height is.
24 MRS. MERCORELLA:. It is one story,
25 definitely.
1 13�
28
2
THE CHAIRMAN: I want .to know how high
3
to the peak and what kind of, utilities you
4
are having.
5
MRS. NIERCORELLA: Just utilities that
6 we need for storage, because we have no base-.
ment there and we have no attic in the house
8 either.
9 THE CHAIRMAN: Thank you.
10 MRS.,.MERCORELLA: Thank you.
11 THE CHAIRMAN: Is there anybody else
12 'that would like to speak in favor of this
13 application?
14 Is there anybody that would like to
15 speak, acgainst this application? Seeing no
16 hands, - I. make ;a .motion 'cl.osing the hearing
17 pending receipt of ' the following information.
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18 MR. DOYEN: Second.
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_ 19 THE •CHAIRMANa All 'in favor?
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_
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20 MR. GRIGONIS: Aye._
21 MR. DOYEN: Aye.
6
22 MR. SAWICKI: Ave.. ;
23 MR. DINIZIO: Aye.
24 THE' CHAIRMAN: I ask the public' s
25.. indulgence. We are going, to take .an approximate
1 29
2 two-minute. recess, at this point. I offer
3 that as a motion.
4 MR., SAWICKI: So .moved.
5 THE 'CHAIRMAN: -All in favor?
6 MR. GRIGONIS: Aye.
7 MR. DOYEN: Aye.
8 MR. SAWICKI: Aye.
9 MR. DINIZIO: Aye.
10 (Recess taken: 8 : 13 p.m. )
11 (Hearing resumed: 8 : 17 p.m: )
12 THE CHAIRMAN: I need. a motion to
13 reconvene.
14 MR. SAWICKI : So moved.
15 THE CHAIRMAN: All .in favor?
16 MR. GRI.GON.IS: Aye.
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17 MR. DOYEN: Aye': ,
18 MR. SAWICKI: Aye.
19 MR. DINIZIO: Aye.
r 20 THE CHAIRMAN: The next Appeal Number
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21 3951, i`s in behalf of James, Peter and Chris
<
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22 Meskouris. The legal notice reads as follows:
23 "Upon Applicant No.. 3951, in behalf of
24 James, Peter & Chris Meskouris. Variance to
25 the Zoning Ordinance., Article III A, Section
100-30 A. 3, Article XXIII, Section 100--239d
1 30
2 A. (2) . Proposed construction will not meet
3 side yard setbacks and will• exceed the per-
4 mitted lot coverage and will be within. 100
5 feet of the ordinary high water mark. Property
6 Location: 1350 Sound Beach Drive, Mattituck,
7 County Tax Map. No. 1000 , Section 106, Block 1,
8 Lot 36 . "
9 I have a copy of the survey, produced
10 by Peconic Surveyors, dated, revised 11/18/89 ,
11 and revised to date, May 4 , 1990. For the
12 record, the lot is approximately 10, 545 square
.13 feet, and a photocopy of the Suffolk County
14 Tax Map indicating this and surrounding pro-
15 perties in the area.
16 Mr. Fitzgerald, would you 'like to be
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17 heard?
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18 MR. FITZGERALDa Just to say I.am here
19 to answer any questions you. may have. I think
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20 all the information is in the application.
21 THE CHAIRMAN: It is my understanding
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22 that the Meskouris own approximately three houses
23 in this particular area. This is, I think,
24 the center house.
25 MR. FITZGERALD: Yes.
31
2 THE CHAIRMAN: We did grant for them a
3 deck, which was just above the above-ground.
4 level last year.
5 MR. FITZGERALD: Yes.
6 THE CHAIRMAN: It is my understanding
this is a similar type of deck.
MR. FITZGERALD: That is correct.
9 THE CHAIRMAN: Not any major changes in
10 reference to contour of .elevation, or anything
11 of that nature:
12 MR. FITZGERALD: I think that is correct.
13 • MR. JAMES MESKOURIS: Yes. The deck
14 will be off the door of the house. Maybe it
15 will be a six-inch drop.
16 THE CHAIRMAN: Do you have any idea
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4
17 what the lot coverage figure is that we are
18 over?,
19 MR. FITZGERALD: I think it is about
° 20 27: percent, Jerry,.'.
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21 THE CHAIRMAN: Twenty-seven percent
22 total..
23 MR. FITZGERALD: Yes, including the
24 deck.
25 THE CHAIRMAN: If we are talking about
1 37
32
2 a deck and we are. discussing the elevation
3 factor above grade after this deck was finished
4 what would we be discussing above existing
5 grade?
6 MR. FITZGERALD: How wide would it be?
7 THE CHAIRMAN: Yes.
8 MR. FITZGERALD: I would say six to
9 twelve inches, depending upon which side of
10 the lot.
11 THE CHAIRMAN: It was extremely difficult
12 in the past hearings, because we didn' t know
13 what the finished product was going to be. There
14 were stone and cement block walls .
15 MR. FITZGERALD: It is still there betwe n
16 Lot 35 and this one, which is 36.
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17 THE CHAIRMAN: Now the only thing that
?.$ occurred that is different between this one
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19 and the other, is that at the time the Meskouri
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20 owned these two. They now _presently own these
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21 or, I guess, they were -just acquiring them at
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6
22 the last time. I don't know what basic effect
23 that has on this. All I know: is the Town
24 Attorney asked me to recess the hearing. , I
25 have no idea what the reason is, but you are
33
2 welcome to call him and ask him. We think it
3 will not be a lengthy recess. I know these
4
people. want to get going with that project,
5 and this is not something that, in my particular
6 opinion, is out of -the ordinary in -reference
7. to this, particular area. I will honestly say
8
that I . did go down there and look at the other
s deck to the house; � to the west. I thought it
10 was very nicely done. I have seen it during
11 construction, because there was a question on
12 the deck and I did meet" with Mr. Meskouris '
13 brother, Chris, last summer. I did go down
14 there and look at it. So I will be discussing
15 this with the Town Attorney within the next
16 couple of weeks. We will make every attempt
0
17 to find out what his reasoning was on it. We
is do have three merged houses, at this time, to
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_ 19 my knowledge. Is that correct?
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20 MR. FITZGERALDt There are three lots,
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21 which are still separate lots, which are owned
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6
22 by- the—same people.
23 THE CHAIRPIAN: I think that is his _
24 question, Jim, "I think the question is there
25 may be three separate CO' s, but they are now
e 1
34
2 all merged because they belong to the same
3 people. You understand what I mean?.
4
MR. FITZGERALD: I understand what you
5
are saying.
6 THE CHAIRMAN: That' s where the problem
7 is . So we have what we would assume to be a
s hardship created by purchase, where they pur.-
9 chased three parcels, not all at the same time
10 but they purchased three parcels, and all three
11 are merged- into three parcels. Are all merged
12 into. one parcel although there are three
13 separate CO' s on it?
14 MR. FITZGERALD: And three separate
15 deeds.
16 THE CHAIRMAN: Yes, which means that
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17 somewhere along the line eventually you are
18 going to have to come back here. Unless the
19 law merger situation has changed, which I
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r 20 think we are working. on at this point, it may
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21 or- may not require, it.
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22 MR. FITZGERALD: As far as you know, is
23 it too late 'to do anything about that now?
24 For instance, if the middle lot were owned by
25 one more or one less than the current owner,
1 35
2 would. that satisfy the requirement?
3 THE CHAIRMAN: That is a question I
4 think the Town Attorney wants. to talk to us
5 about and maybe we can come back with a
6 recommendation. I mean the next time around,
7 concerning that situation. My question is,
s I don' t know what effect, that really has on
9 . this deck application. Quite honestly, I
10 don' t think it has any. Each one stands on
11 its own merits, except they are merged, property
12 at this particular point.
13 MR. FITZGERALD: Does the recess mean
14 there will be another session of public hearing
15 about --
16 THE CHAIRMAN: Yes . This will probably
17 occur 'sometime in the middle of July.
18 MR. FITZGERALD: Two weeks from now.
's
19 THE CHAIRMAN: Yes. Two to three weeks
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20 from now, and hopefully we will be able to
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21 square this thing away. I am sorry about this,
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22 but there is nothing I can do. I have to
23 yield to his recommendation. We did discuss
24 this with him.,
25 Do you have an_y questions?
-
36
2 MR. JAMES• MESKOURIS: I don' t understand
3 what' s going on.
4 THE CHAIRMAN: You want to explain to
5 Jimmy. what I said?
6 MR. FITZGERALD: Yes.
7 MR. JAMES MESKOURIS: Is that automatic
� g
because three families own three lots?
9 THE CHAIRMAN: No. It is ' not automatic.
10 It .is something the Town Attorney asked us to
11 do, so he could look into the matter based on
12 the fact that you have two or three merged
13 lots at this particular time.
14 MR. JAMES MESKOURIS: It happened acci-
15 dentally, because we were actually living in
16 one and when the second one came up we just
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17 automatically bought it. together because one
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18 of us could not afford to buy it by ourself.
19 So it just happened that way. Eventually,
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20 we want to separate. Eventually, my brother
.21 will take one. I will take the middle, and
22 my parents will take the other -- if we have
23 to .put it in a separate name -- I don' t know.
24 THE CHAIRMAN: You have to come back to
25 do that. ' When you purchased it, you have three
-
37
2 separate CO' s. That' s the problem. The Town
3 Attorney ,asked me to recess it. He wants to
4 look into it and hopefully,
p y, we can rectify
5 it within the next couple of weeks.
6 Thank you very much for coming.
7 Is there anybody that would like to
g
speak in favor of . the application?
s Is there anybody that would like to
10 speak against the application? Hearing no
11 further comments, I recess to the next regularly
12 scheduled meeting.
13 MR. SAWICKI: Second.
14 THE CHAIRMAN: All in favor?
15 MR. GRIGONIS': Aye.
16 MR. DOYEN: Aye.
9
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17 MR. SAWICKI: Aye.
18 MR. DINIZIO: Aye.
s
19 THE CHAIRMAN! The next appeal, Appeal
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20. Number 3952, in behalf of Bruce and Teresa
21 Blasko. The legal notice reads as follows:
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6
22 "Upon Applicant No. 3952, Bruce & Teresa
23 Blasko. Special Exception to the Zoning
24 Ordinance, Article III, Section 100-31 B (14) ,
25 for permission to have an accessory apartment.
1 13
38
2 Proposed accessory apartment in an existing
3 one—family- dwelling will contain less than
4 1, 600 sq. ft. of livable floor area. Property
5 Location: 23 Middleton Road, Greenport, County
6 Tax Map No. 1000 , Section 40 , 'Block 5, Lot 9. "
I have a copy of a survey, dated August
8
14, 1989., by R. VanTuyl, P.C. , indicating a
9 two-story frame house, approximately 29 feet
10 from Middleton Road, which appears to have a
11 second story which .is probably the accessory
12 apartment, or the proposed or existing
13 accessory apartment, and a copy of the Suffolk
14 County Tax Map indicating this and surrounding
15 properties in the. area.
16 Is there anybody that would like to be
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E 17 heard?
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18 MR. BOYD: Edward Boyd, Southold, New
s
19 York, for the application.
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20 Good evening, gentlemen. I am here on
21 a rather unusual request. I am not looking to
_
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6
22 build anything. Everybody wants to build
23 everything. We've already been built. Mrs .
24 Campbell, the previous owner of the property,
25 did all the construction back in 1967 and ' 6'8 ,
39
2 got her building permits and Certificate of
3 Occupancy. Rightly or wrongly, Mrs. Campbell
4 was renting out the accessory apartment for
5 a period of eight or nine years. She never
6 heard of any complaints. I don' t believe the
7 Town ever heard of any complaints .
S The reason we are here before you tonight .
9 with this application is because of the size
10 of the structure itself. If it were not for
11 the fact we. were dealing with 1, 395 square
12 feet, the application for the accessory apart-
13 ment would meet ' the present Town Code and
14 every single point. But, unfortunately, the
15 Blasko home, formerly the Campbell home, is
16 205 square feet under what is required by the
0
E 17 Accessory Housing Law for the total livable
o •.
18 area. of the .premises.
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19 The upstairs apartment, which is
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20 intended to be the new accessory apartment,
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21 is 100 percent habitable. It is large enough
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' 22 in standard. The downstairs is certainly large
23 enough under any standard for livable purpose.
24 My clients, Mr.. and Mrs . Blasko who sit here
25 , in the rear of the room this evening, are very
1 40 ,
2 anxiou's that this be approved. It would not
3 change the character of. the neighborhood one
, 4 iota. I- would urge you to please give serious
5 thought. It is creating another housing space
6 in the Town of Southold.
THE CHAIRMAN: Mr. Boyd, what is the
8
approximate square footage of the second story
9 of the house?
10 'MR. BOYD: Six hundred somewhat --
11 it is on the plan from Mr. Brown, both the
12 first and .second floor on there. I think the
13 first floor is 70.0 something, and upstairs is
14 600 something.
15 THE, CHAIRMAN: I just did not remember
16 from our last --
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17 MR. BOYD: Right on there, two drawings.
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18 The drawing on the left, underneath it has
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19 a 'square footage layout.
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& 20 THE CHAIRMAN: 637. Okay. I think. I
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21 met ,with you sometime in February or March,
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22 and we discussed. this on a Saturday morning.
23 It was at that point that I mentioned to you
24 that possibly this special permit could be
25 altered, not necessarily in this particular case,
41
2 but the entire permit aspect could be altered.
3 So that we don' t -- we are not requesting
4 1, 600 square feet for the total dwelling area.
5 At the time this particular accessory permit
6 was placed in our Zoning Ordinance, the pur-
7 pose was to create affordable housing. The
8
purpose of it was to create it for houses
9 1, 600 square feet or more, and presently that
10 fits. It is very difficult for -us because we
11 cannot bury that square footage, as I .mentioned
12 to Mr. Boyd, and the nature of this appli-
13 cation is what he is requesting to do. I think
14 probably the best thing, at this point, is to
15 discuss this with .the Town Attorney prior to
16 continuing the hearing. I think that is what
17 we will do, and come back and see what his
18 opinion is concerning it at this point. I
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19 think that' s what we will do, and come back and
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20 see what his opinion is concerning it, at this
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21 point.
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2
22 MR. BOYD: I believe the square footage
23 can be buried by this Board in the matter of
24 the variance, the same as any other type of
25 variance would be granted.
1 42
2 THE CHAIRMAN: Robert Tasker (phonetic) ,
3 who was the Town Attorney until approximately
4 sometime .in early. 1988 , his opinion was ,that
5 it couldn'.t. Now, of course, we are going. .
6 with this guide, or that opinion, to date and
7 we will just have to ask the legal opinion from
8 our present Town Attorney:
9 MR. BOYD: If that is .the case, then,
10 the Board of Appeals would be constrained by
11 all. such requirements in the Town Code and
12 you gentlemen would be out of business as well
13 as the applicants who come before you because
14 of hardship.
15 I submit it is a particular purpose of
16 the Zoning Board of Appeals to grant relief
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17 from strict terms .of the Town Code.
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18 THE CHAIRMAN: The only thing we have
19 that has been altered in the Accessory Apartments
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20 Law is that either you are required to have a
0
21 CO on the dwelling, prior to January 1, 1984.
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22 We did have one applicant that could not
23 meet that particular requirement. However,
24 he did ask for an affidavit from the Building
25 Inspector, who submitted -that the house was
" 1
43
2 . ready for the CO on January 1, 1984 but,
3 because of 'the, .New Year' s -Eve or the New Year' s
4 holiday, he could not inspect the premises and,
5 therefore, could not issue the CO. That is
6 the only thing we have buried so far.
I understand what you are saying.
8 MR. BOYD: I trust that your conference
9 with the Town Attorney will indicate that there
10 . is nothing. more about the affordable
11 housing law than any of the other zoning laws
12 , that -you do grant ,variances to as part of your
13, everyday operation of the Zoning Board of
14 Appeals .
15 I think it would be remiss for me to
16 sit. down without addressing the survey of
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17 Mr.' VanTuyl and. the proposed site plan here.
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18 I see he has got proposed parking located in
19 the front yard and that, certainly, would not
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20 be the intention of Mr. and Mrs . Blasko
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21 because the cars would be placed in -the rear
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22 yard. This was just a setting forth of Mr.
23 VanTityl that there was sufficient square
24 footage available for the parking, but doesn' t
25 locate where it would be.
44
2 THE , CHAIRMAN: .. Is the present dwelling
3 being rented as a two=family, at this time? ,
4 MR'. BOYD: Pending; we 'have pending
5 the approval from the Zoning Board of :-Appeals.
6 THE CHAIRMAN:- We thank- you very much,
7 Mr. Boyd, for coming in and continuing with
$ : the hearing. We will recess for , the next
9 regularly scheduled -hearing. Bear in mind
10 we .have discussions with the Town Attorney.
11 Is there. anybody .else that would like .
12 to speak in favor of this application?
13 Anybody that would like to speak against
14 the application? _ Any question .from Board
15 members?
16 Hearing no further questions; I make a
17 motion 'recessing the •hearing to the .next
o
18 regularly scheduled hearing.
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19 MR. GRIGONIS: Second.
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20. THE CHAIRMAN: All in favor?
o •
21 MR. GRIGONIS: Aye.
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22 MR. DOYEN: ' 'Aye.
23 MR, SAWICKI: Aye.
24 MR. DINIZIO:. Aye'.
25 THE CHAIRMAN: The 'next appeal is in .
1 45
2 behalf of Jacque Kasaba, Appeal Number 3950 .
3 The legal notice reads as follows:
4 "Upon Applicant No. 3950 , Jacque Kasaba.
5 Variance to ' the Zoning Ordinance, Article III A,
6 Section 100-30 A. 4 (100-33) , Article III A,
7 Section 100-30A. 3, Article XXIV, Section 100-
S 244, as' disapproved, for permission to con-
9 struct a deck addition to dwelling and
10 accessory pool. Proposed accessory structure
11 not permitted in the front yard area and pro-
12 posed construction will exceed permitted lot
13 coverage. Property Location: . 80 Lakeside
14 Drive & 675 Cedar. Point Drive, Southold, County
15 Tax Map No. 1000 , Section 90, Block 3, Lot 14. "
16 I .have a copy of a site plan prepared
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17 by Briarcliff Landscaping, 5/1/90. I have a
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18 copy of the Suffolk County Tax Map indicating
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= 19 this and surrounding properties in the area.
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20 Is there anybody that would like to be heard?
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21 MR. SCHWART: Christopher Schwart, Inc.
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22 I am a general contractor. First of all, I
23 thought that was the side yard. We were
24 assuming that was the. side yard.
25 THE CHAIRMAN: You have the front yard
46
2 there. Is this the side yard or front _yard?
3 MR. . SCHWART: I would not hazard to
4 guess.. what was side yard or what was front
5 yard. That is up to the evaluation of the
6 Buil'di.ng,.Inspector. , It ,certainly is a unique
7 piece of property. Okay.
Proposed construction: Accessory
9 structure use shall be located in the rear
10 . yard. area. He is not indicating. He is not
11 indicating if that is a side yard or a rear
12 yard. He is not telling. As you can see, we
13 have no. other place. to put it. The back yard
14 there behind us has. a wood deck. It would be
15 too close to the road. What we -consider the
16 side yard is about the best location for it.
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17 THE CHAIRMAN: We are talking on Lake-
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18 side Drive. What is the closest point that the
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19 southwest corner of the pool would be to Lake-
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20 side- Drive?
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21 MR. SCHWART: The closest point in feet,
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22 it would probably be 11. feet. Now I am going
.23 by this survey. It appears to be a lot longer,
24 a farther distance actually, ' but I am going by
25 the survey. We staked it out. It was something
47
2 like 16 feet.
3 THE CHAIRMAN: Did you find a property
4 line?
5 MR. SCHWART: We found one in one corner
6 and ran a string. It was' around 16 feet, I -
7 guess; by comments off the. survey.
8
THE CHAIRMAN: The figure you gave me
9 is with .the deck 'or without the deck? '
10 MR'. SCHWART: The deck is just to get
11 out of the house, .because there is like a three
12 foot drop. It is just to get out of the house,
13 down to the pool area.. The deck around the
14 pool area- is just going to be brick and sand.
15 THE CHAIRMAN: It is going to be ground
16 level.
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17 MR. SCHWART: Ground level.
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18 THE CHAIRMAN:- What is the approximate
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19 elevation for both grades?
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20 MR. SCHWART: . The pool will be -- since
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21 it .is going to be brick and sand, it probably
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22 will be eight inches . You can' t bring it up
23 too much more.
24 . THE CHAIRMAN: Now the 22 feet I . see
25 on the survey, is that to Cedar Point Drive?
1 �3_
48
2 MR. SCHWART: That is correct.
3 THE CHAIRMAN That is to the property
4 line, to Cedar Point Drive.
5 MR. SCHWART: That is correct. That
6 is the closest point to that corner. We will
be building the pool in an L-shape.
THE CHAIRMAN: The next- issue is the
9 fence will not exceed four feet in height aroun
10 the pool..
11 MR. SCHWART: The fence will "not. No.
12 It is four feet, . black chain link.
13 THE CHAIRMAN: What about the evergreens
14 and ground cover?
15 MR. SCHWART: Well, this is Frank' s
16 deal here. He goes crazy with this. We don' t
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17 really know. This was just for the customer.
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18 They told me they are probably not going to
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19 go with all of this, just some of it.,
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20 THE CHAIRMAN: You -want to let us know
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21 before we close this hearing. I know this does
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22 not concern the pool, but if we are talking
23 ground cover that exceeds four feet in height,
24 we have all front yard area in there. . Is that
25 what we are putting on here as a restriction?
y-
49
2 MR. SCHWART: Front yard -- okay.
3 THE CHAIRMAN: . Because it is all front
4 yard.
5 MR. SCHWART: Yes .
6 THE CHAIRMAN: In fact 90 percent of
7 the lot is front .yard.
8 MR. SCHWART: Right. When you asked
9 the question in the beginning if we are
10 dealing with one side or two sides of the front
11 yard, then definitely the other side is rear
12 yard. So the portion that extends out to the
13 northeast is probably the rear yard. That is
14 to ;the best of my knowledge, but I am not going
15 to guesstimate if the front of the house is
16 on Lakeside Drive, where you walk into =- in
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17 by the, garage.
0 18 THE CHAIRMAN: I do concur with you that
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19 this gentleman does have a hardship in the
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.20 respect of this particular property and, as
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21 long as Briarcliff is aware of the fact that
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22 that' s what is permitted in the front yard
23 area. This would be a four-foot fence. They
24 don' t want anything .else, and the ground cover.
25 MR. SCHWART: And the ground cover, yes.
1 50
2 THE CHAIRMAN: We thank you very much
3 for coming in. We hope to have a decision
4 for you.
5 Is there anybody else that would like
6 to speak in favor of this application?
I.s there anybody that would like to
10
8 speak ,against the application? Any questions
.9 from Board 'members?
10 H'earing ."no further 1`questions, I make a
11 motion closing the hearing and reserving
12 decision" until later.
13 MR. GRIGONIS: Second.
14 THE CHAIRMAN: All in .favor?
15 MR. GRIGONIS: Aye.
16 MR. DOYEN: Aye..
17 MR.• SAWICKI: Ave.
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18 MR. DINIZIO: Aye. .
19 THE CHAIRMAN: The .next appeal is Appeal
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20 Number. 3953 , in behalf of Peter and Cheryl
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21 Inzerillo. The legal notice reads as follows:
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22 "Upon Application No. 3953, in behalf of
23 Peter & Cheryl Inzerillo. Variance to the
24 Zoning Ordinance, 'Article III A, Section 100-30
25 A. 3 , Bulk, Area and Parking Regulations, as
1 51 -
2 disapproved, for permission to construct a
3 deck addition to existing one-family dwelling.
4 Proposed construction will have insufficient
5 side -.yard setbacks and excessive lot coverage.
6 Property Location: 505 7th Street, Greenport,
7 County Tax Map No: 1000, Section 48 , Block 01,
$ Lot 17 . "
9 I have a copy of a survey produced by
10 R. VanTuyl, dated June 27, 1975, indicating
11 a. two-'story frame house fairly close to or
12 within four feet of the south front property
13 line on a lot of approximately 41 by 100. 5.
14 Mrs . Ihzerillo, how are you tonight?
15 MRS. INZERILLO: Fine, thank you.
16 I am here to try to answer any questions
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17, you may have. I would like to explain that
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18 the. fan-shape patio that exists on the survey
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19 in the back yard is no longer in existence. '
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20 It was brick laid 'in dirt, 'and we had removed
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21 that a few years back. Also, as to the side
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22 line, coming up to the side line with the
23 deck, we are not going out any further off the
24 side of the house than the original back porch
25 that was there. We are just going to continue
52
2 on to that original siz.e and work backwards
3 into the back yard going back 12 feet off the
4 rear of the house.
5 THE CHAIRMAN: Excuse me. What was
6 the size of the back porch?
MRS. INZERILLO: I believe it is four
$ foot.
9 THE CHAIRMAN: I believe it was less:
10 MRS., ' INZERILLO: It was just enough that
11 it covered the entire swing of the back storm
12 door.. . 'It.- was very, small, ,to begin with.
13 THE CHAIRMAN: Did you measure from
14 where you want to go to your property line?
15 MRS. INZERILLO: Yes, we did. It is
16 three feet. That is conservative estimate.
17 THE CHAIRMAN: I f' the Board so grants
18 your application, and we said that you could
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19 go as close to three feet, plus or minus, at
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20 its closest point, can you live with that?
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21 MRS. _INZERILLO: Yes.
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22 THE CHAIRMAN: Will you give me an
. 23 approximate size?
24 MRS. INZERILLO: I have a ' copy of the
25 deck here. The deck is 12 by 22, plus the
53
2 piece going off which is 10• by whatever the
3 difference is on that side.
4
THE CHAIRMAN: The only thing 1 do have
5 from you and the only thing that I did not
6 ask you about, because I forgot last Friday
7 evening when I was ' over to see you, was the
8
actual lot coverage. The total lot coverage.
.9 The Building Inspector denied you for total
10 lot coverage. You are allowed 20
g percent of
11 the total lot coverage, of. the lot. I don' t
12 know how much you are over.
13 MRS. INZERILLO: I don' t know either.
14 THE CHAIRMAN: I am going to ask you
15 a favor. Could you call the Building Inspector
16 Mr. Tom Fischer, and ask .him what his . calcu--
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17 lations are and just. 'let us know. We hope to
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18 have a decision for you in two weeks. You can
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_ 19 do it tomorrow. Can you do it Monday? It is
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20 nothing that has to be done within the next
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21 day or so. Just let us know what the percentage
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1 22 is .
23 You heard the other hearing. This
24 gentleman said he was 27 percent over, meaning
25 he was seven percent over the 20 percent required
1 -�9
54
2 coverage. All the lots in the area have
3 excessive lot coverage. All the lots in the
4 area have excessive lot coverage. These
5 houses were built around 1894 to 190.6 . .They
6 are all excess lot coverage, throughout the
7 entire area. When you point out to the
L S
neighbor to your north, it appears that that
9 person is about 90 percent which, I would say,
10 is only about 10 percent of the lot that is
11 covered .and that is probably the driveway and
12 portions ,between• the pool and the house.
13 We understand you have a hardship in
14 the. area. . We just. want tb . know the percentage.
15 We just wart to know—the measurements .
16 MRS. INZERILLO: I will do that tomorrow
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17 morning.
18 THE CHAIRMAN: This will remain unmoved.
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19 MRS. ' INZERILLO: Yes, definitely. Thank
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20 you.
21 THE CHAIRMAN: Is there anybody else
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22 that would like to speak in favor of the app.li-
23 cation?
24 Is there anybody that would like to
25 speak against the application?
55
2 Seeing .no hands I make a motion closing
3 the hearing and reserving decision until later.
4 MR. GRIGONIS: Second.
5 THE CHAIRMAN: All in favor?
6 MR.' GRIGONIS: Aye.
7 MR. DOYEN: Aye.
8 MR. SAWICKI: Aye.
9 MR. DIN7IZIO: Aye.
10 THE CHAIRMAN: The next appeal is in
11 behalf of Ralph and Patricia Pugliese. The
12 legal notice reads as follows:
13 "Upon Application No. 3831, Ralph &
14 Patricia Pugliese. Special Exception to the
15 Zoning Otdinance ' Article III, Section 100-30B
16 (14) , for a Winery for the Production, Storage
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17 and the Retail Sale of Wine. Property Location:
18 34876 Main Road, .Cutchogue, County Tax, Map No. .
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19 1000 , Section 097, Block 01, Lot 12 . 1. "
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20 I have a copy of the survey, which was
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21 the original plan by R.'.. VanTuyl, dated December
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22 15, 1987 , indicating a one-family dwelling and
23 a rather large barn area on two acres, on Main
24 Road in Cutchogue, which is basically the
25 nature of this application and. we continue with
56
2 the rest of it. . I have a copy of the Suffolk
3 County Tax Map indicating surrounding properties
4 in the area.
5 I will ask Mr. Moore: Would you like to
6 be heard?
7 MR. MOORE: Let me give you a revised
8 survey subdivision map at the request of the.
9 Planning Board. We have redone this now to
10 a 22-acre piece of property, by way of running
11 a lb-foot strip of land. The issue that comes
12 . up is the question about the winery being
13 located on -the property, and working on grapes.
14 primarily grown on the premises. The Planning
15 Board suggested, and we go along with it, to
16 run a 10-.foot •strip clear 'up.
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17 (Discussion held off the record)
18 MR. MOORE: Originally we had composed
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19 a three-foot lot subdivision, with the -lot
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° 20 winery being located on a two-acre piece of
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21 property. At the Planning _Board' s request, we
3
22 are going to make that a two-lot subdivision
23 with the winery now being located on the same
24 parcel of land on which the grapes were grown
25 to avoid any problem with respect to -the require
57
2 ments in our Zoning Code.
3 THE CHAIRMAN: This 10 feet is deeded.
4 MR. MOORED Right. It will .be the
5 entire parcel. It would begin - down on 'the
6 Main Road and clear along the. 1.0. ;
7 feet. It is not a right-of-way. It is
10
8 deeded. So that .parcel, in fact, would be 22
9 acres in size. You can have this Ione.
10 THE CHAIRMAN° Wonderful. Let the
11 record show that I also have a map from R.
12 VanTuyl. It ' appears to be June 22 , 1990 , the
13 most. recent date. The size of the barn is
14 how large?
15 MR. PUGLIESE- I believe it is 63
16 feet by 60 feet. I believe I submitted the
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17
plan.
18 MR. MOORE a I have. got a site plan
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19 prepared by Mr. VanTuyl; . amended May 31, 1990 ,
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20 showing the proposed winery and it doesn' t
21 show the dimensions of the building, but with
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22 the scale map I will get that figure to you.
23 THE CHAIRMAN: Give it to us. Also
24 give us the height of the building, approxi-
25 mate, height of the building, to the peak if you
- 1
58
2 know so -we can incorporate that in the
3 decision.
4
MR. PUGLIESE; Excuse me. I believe
5 .you have it.
6 THE CHAIRMAN; I may have it in here.
7 It has been a long time since I reviewed this.
8 MR. PUGLIESE: We just sent it, to
9 make sure..
10 THE CHAIRMAN° I think you are right,
11' Mr. Pugliese. I °ve got it. That only gives
12, us one dimension, 67 feet. It doesn't give
13 us the other. dimension.
14 MR. PUGLIESE: I will provide that for
15 you.
16 THE CHAIRMAN.: . On-site parking is going
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17 to be dealt with by the Planning Board.
18 MR. MOORE: Right. . I think we are going
= 19 to have more than enough parking there. This
20 was done, the site plan which was done just by
21 way of example, not intended to limit the
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22 number of parking spaces. I think you have a
23 copy of that, I believe. ' It just shows, it
24 is a very simple procedure, more than adequate
25 parking. I think the piece of property was
59
2 previously located for the use of the winery.
3 It is located on State Route 25, as are many .
4 of the other wineries 'in town. Mr. Pugliese
5 points out to me the speed zone in that area
6 is 35 miles an hour. So we are not going to
7 have people speeding by.
8
The proposed winery is located behind
9 the residence, well 'off the property. Again,
10 as many of the wineries, it is an agricultural
11 building that will be converted, as were the
12 others, assuming the use is granted by the
13 Board for the winery. It has been used in the
14 past as trucking, in the more recent past, with
15 Mr. Pugliese ' s grapes being grown ,to the north.
16 We think we have satisfied the criteria of the
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. 17 Code that would 'properly , locate it, with the
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18 Board' s approval, to operate a nice relatively
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19 small winery.-
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20 Mr. Pugliese is not going to operate
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21 on the size' or scale, for example, of Pindar.
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22 He has fewer grapes and would be operating a
23 smaller-facility in size. .
24 THE CHAIRMAN: Is this primarily state
25 grown wine?
1 =G�S-
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2 MR. PUGLIESE: Yes.
3 THE CHAIRMAN: One hundred percent. All
4 right. I have in front of me, Mr. Moore, a
5 square footage figure, 395 square feet on the
6 site plan. You didn' t bring a ruler with you
tonight?
8
MR. MOORE: Not . a scaled one. Not even
9 an .unscaled one.
10 THE CHAIRMAN: Well, I ask you- to scale
11 it off. for us in reference to size so we have
12 all of that tonight, depending on the lateness
13 of the meeting tonight. I know this gentleman
14 is- in' -dire need of this special exception.
15 MR. MOORS: We will be more than happy
16 to.
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17 THE CHAIRMAN: I am not guaranteeing
18 it, we ' ll take .care of it within a week or so.
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= 19 Is there anybody else that would like
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20 to "speak in., favor of. ,this _application?
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21 Anybody that would like to speak against
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22 the application? Any questions from any Board
23 members?
24 Hearing no further questions, I make.. a
25 motion closing the hearing pending receipt of
-
61
2 the size of -the building for the winery.
3 MR. GRIGONIS: Second.
4 THE CHAIRMAN: All in favor?
5 MR. GRIGONIS: Aye..
6 MR. DOYEN: Aye.
7 MR. SAWICKI: Aye.
8 MR. DINIZIO: Aye.
9 THE CHAIRMAN: The next appeal is in
10 behalf of Charles Zahra, Application Number
11 3701, particular hearing is the basis of a
12 judge '-.s order, and that is the purpose of this
13 hearing. I will read the notice as it was in
14 the paper. It says:
15 "Variance to the Zoning Ordinance,
16 Article XXV, Section 100-243, Article XXV,
17 Section 244 , for permission to continue to use
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18 the second floor apartment as a non-conforming
19 use. Property Location: 140 Pike Street,
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20 Mattituck, ' County _Tax Map No. 1000 , Section
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21 141, Block 4;, Lot. 5. "
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22 I just want to mention two things for
23 . the audience. This was the former Coffeepot
24 Building. The- issue still at hand on this,
25 which really has a minor bearing on this par-
62
2 ticular hearing, is the pipe construction which
3 the Building Inspectors of this Town are
. 4 requesting the update on from its present
5 construction. That is not the natural nature
6 of this application, at this point.
7 What we are here tonight for is to
continue a non-conforming use which the
9 Applicants concur, and did concur at the last
10 hearing which we had, that this use of the
11 apartment did continue during the period of
12 time that the North Fork Bank owned the
13: prpperty and Charles Zahra took title, at that
14 particular time, and I can remember quite
15 vividly at that hearing that we did swear all
16 the parties in. I will -not swear the parties
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17 in tonight. However, I will ask you that I
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18 would like to reserve decision on that if,
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= 19 for some reason, I think it is needed. We ask
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20 Mr. Bressler if he '.:would like to continue.
21 MR. BRESSLER: Erik Bressler speaking
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22 in favor 'of. this.- application. Wickham,
23 Wickham & Bressler, Main Road, Mattituck, New
24 York 11952 .
25 As a procedural matter, Mr. Chairman,
63
2 I believe. we should take up several issues
3 before we . get' into the' meat of this matter.
4
First, let me express my pleasure at
5 being back here in front of the Board to
6 continue this hearing after a somewhat lengthy
hiatus which, in no way, do I attribute to the
� 8
members of this Board individually.
9 Nonetheless, we are back here on this
10 application which came before the Board some
11 number of years ago, never mind exactly how
12 many, and is now back before this Board as
13 a result Iof the decision of Judge Tanenbaum
14 rendered November 17 , 19.88 , which is now back
15 before the Board by order of Judge Tanenbaum
16 according to his decision for the hearing
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% 17 concerning the status of the second floor
18 apartment as a non-conforming use.
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19 The Board will recall, or it might not
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20 recall, but if it reads the decision it is
21 . familiar, with the fact that at the time of
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22 the last decision there were two issues raised
23 by.. the, Board which gave the Board pause with
24 respect to granting or., not . granting the
25. relief sought by Mr. Zahra. I might add, at
1
64
2 this poirit, . the relief sought by Mr. Zahra,
3 except with respect to the items. which are
4 here tonight, the Board will recall was granted
5 by the Supreme Court and Mr. Zahra ' was put
6 back to work pending a resolution of this
7 issue and he did; in fact, go back to work
8
pursuant to the .Court decision for a period of
9 time.
10 Unfortunately, without getting into the
11 details , Mr. Zahra was again stopped by the
12 Building Department, again put back to work
13 by the Court, and was again stopped by the
14 Building Department and that is where the
15 matter stands now. He is now stopped and
16 stayed from going forward.
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17 THE CHAIRMAN: What is the reason for
s 18 that, 'Mr. Bressler?
19 MR. BRESSLER: Well, Mr. Chairman, if
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r 20 you will recall when Judge Tanenbaum' issued
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21 his decision in November, of 1988 , Mr. Zahra
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22 went back. .to work:, We had anticipated, at that
23 time, that the issues of the non-conformance of
24 the apartment,, ,at least with respect to the
25 matters within the jurisdiction of this Board,
1 -70-
65
2. would be heard in a timely manner. Unfor-
3 tunately, that was not the case.
4 In any event, Mr. Zahra went forward
5 and he proceeded to work from -- well, this
6 decision was from November of 1988 to
approximately the beginning of 1989 he pro-
8 ,
ceeded to perform work on the premises, and
9 the Building Department duly went out, examine
10 his work, found it to 'be satisfactory, and
11 issued a satisfactory inspection report. Mr.
12 Zahra _framed the foundation -- 'had appropriately
13 been approved. He sheathed. He rough wired.
14 He rough plumbed. He insulated. At -:;hat point
15 the Building Department took it upon them-
16 selves, unfortunately, to refuse any future
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17 inspections.
18 This instituted a trip back to Judge
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19 Tanenbaum who, we believe, quite correctly
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20 ruled that: No, the Building Department had
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21 to go back and .they had to inspect. He ordered
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22 them to go back and inspect within 20 days
23 of' his order. Ne was concerned about, :again,
24 the status of the second floor primarily with.
25 respect to 'the State Board of Review, with
1 66
2 respect to the Class 5 construction.
3 THE CHAIRMAN: Class' 5 is what, cement
4 block?
5 MR. BRESSLER: Cement — wood.
6 THE CHAIRMAN: What is cement block?
7 What class is that?
MR. BRESSLER: We will look it up for
9 you in our State Building Code here. In any
10 event, he was permitted to go ahead and go '
11 ahead he did. As the Board is no .doubt familiar
12 with the. fact that the shell is now complete,
13 the building is insulated, this is ready to
14 be sheet rocked, and we are ready to go as a
15 result of that decision.
16 However, we felt that we would be per-
17 witted to go ahead with the first floor
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18 completed, get somebody in there, and get this
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19 building making money again. However, that
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20 was not to be the case.
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21 We basically agreed, which the Judge
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2.2. and his decision reflected the fact, that
23 pending the determination of the State Board
24 of 'Review, the upstairs was to be 'sealed .and
25 not worked on. The Board is no doubt familiar
1 67
2 with this fact since, when it tried to obtain
3 permission from us ' to go in the building and
4 look, on my advice I said no, pending a . con-
5 ference with the Court, not because I didn' t
6 want you to but because the Court ordered it
7 sealed.
8 THE CHAIRMAN: I found that unbelievable.
9 MR. BRESSLER: As a result, a telephone
10 conference was held with the Court and the
11 Judge indicated that, no, he did not intend
12 any regulatory agency to be kept out. But I
13 want to' 'make it clear. to the Board, based on
14 wha.t .I -believe to be a very unhappy experience
15 with certain agencies in the Town, I felt. it
16 was the wiser thing to do to get the Judge to
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17 okay that at least verbally, which he did, and
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18 we have no problem with you going in there.
19 I just want the Judge to say that' s okay.
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20 THE CHAIRMAN: I just want you to know
21 that I have to further extend this hearing
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22 because now I have to recess it, go look at it,
23 and come back.
24 MR. BRESSLER: Which brings up an
25 ' interesting point. What exactly would you like
68
2 to see? I mean, we don' t have stairs or any-
3 thing. , .
4 THE CHAIRMAN: That' s fine. I just
5 want to see it.
6 MR., BRESSLER: There is some insulation.
7 There is rough electrical, but it is not
finished. It is obviously not habitable space.
9 . You are certainly welcome to come look at that,
10 now that the Judge said okay.
11 THE CHAIRMAN: We ' ll make an appointment .
12 MR. BRESSLER: No problem. Just please
13 be careful. So there we were. The. building
14 with the tops sealed off, and my requesting to
15 come before this Board for the hearing. . I
16 certainly don' t intend to go down to the State
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17 Board of Review if you tell me that I can' t
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18 have an apartment. That' s an absolute exercise
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19 in futility, notwithstanding whatever other
20 people think.
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21 Unfortunately, the Town felt it was
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22 appropriate to file a Notice of Appeal, from
23 Judge Tanenbaum' s decision, which they did.
24 The Board is probably aware this works an
25 automatic stay again. My clients and I can
69
2 no longer exercise any remedies except to
3 vacate the stay,' to get them in there and
4 inspect.
5 .. THE CHAIRMAN: Is that what is pending
6 right now?
7 MR. BRESSLER: There ' s .an appeal pending
8
in Brooklyn, and it is not going to be heard
9 for quite a period of time which is causing
10 a bevere hardship on Mr.. Zahra. A fact well
11 known to everyone, I am sure, during the
12 summer months appeals are not going .to be
13 heard again until the fall. That is a matter
14 of .common knowledge. So the answer to your
15 question; is it would certainly be at least Type
16 4. It may be something else, but Type .5 is
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17 defined as that type of construction which the
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18 walls, partitions, floors and roof are all or
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19 partially of wood or other combustible material.
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20 The block with some type of conforming roof,
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21 it would be Type 4 or better.
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22 So here we are waiting for our court
23 date in Brooklyn on the appeal. The Building
24 Department has refused to inspect. The
25 building sits there. We can' t go' to the State
70
2 Board of Review, until we'. get a decision from
3 this Board as to whether or not we are going to
4 even be using it as an 'apartment. I think that
5 fairly, well sums .up the procedural posture of
6 this case.
7 Here we are, and the two issues getting
8
back to the original point, the two issues
9 which ' originally "gave the Board pause were the
10 application of Section 100-116D and E. I note
11 in the Board' s notice of this particular hearin ,
12 that the section cited appears to relate to
13 Code provisions under the new Code. I think
14 we are dealing with 100-118D and E. As the
15 Board correctly perceived. at the time of the
16 application, and if Mr. Zahra satisfied those
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17 requirements, that he has satisfied all of the
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18 applicab-le provisions of the Code since the
19 building permit was issued at that time and if
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20 complies with the 100-118D and E, I think he
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21 is in there, and I think that that is the
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22 subject'- of the hearing tonight. If that is
23 not the Board' s feeling, please indicate to me
24 since that' s what we are prepared to address.
25 THE CHAIRMAN: Is that. the area that
1 �j�--
71
2 .conce_rns the non-conforming?
3 MR—BRESSLER—100-118D is applied to
4, the two-year rule, which the Board noted in
5 its decision. . ' In Paragraph 9 of the decision,
6 dated April 14, 1988 , . 100-118E, which is. in
7 Paragraph 8 of the decision of the same date',
8 deals with -the reconstruction and structural
9 alterations of the non-conforming building.
10 So I. gather the answer to your question,
11 Mr. Chairman, is yes . Those are the non-
12 conforming sections. Those are the- ones cited
13 by the Board, and if Mr. Zahra satisfied them,
14 then, he has satisfied the requirements of the
15 Code.
16 THE CHAIRMAN: Would you call our
0
17 present Town Attorney, during the period of
4
18 this recess', so that we can readvertise this
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19 hearing? I reflect the Town Attorney, not the
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20 assistant. You may speak to the assistant,
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21 but I would call Harvey and ask him if we are
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22 addressing it under Section 100-118D. Under
23 Section 244 we are addressing it, at this point.
24 MR. BRESSLER: I think, pursuant to- the
25 Court' s decision, that' s what we are addressing.
_`77-
72
2 I think that is only prudent. I will get his
3 phone number.-
4 THE CHAIRMAN: Not to confuse the
5 public, we had a change in the master planning
6 between the period of time that this particular
application had come before us and subsequently
� 8
to that it was held up and we are presently
9 back here by Court Order reconvening this
10 hearing. So. basically we.-are not dealing with
11 the new master plan, and Mr. Bressler is
12 reflecting the section of the old master plan
13 which is dated back to 1971.
14 MR. BRESSLER: Yes . I believe that is
15 definitely so since, for example, with respect
16 to Section 100-118D if the Board finds, and
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17 we are sure the 'Board will base on the evidence
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18 that there was no discontinuance for the two-
19 year period, then there is no discontinuing,
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2
20 and that is the end. of that, and 100-118D is
21 satisfied and there is no need to look any
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22 further simply with E if that is satisfied.
23 we are in under the- old Code, and there is
24 nothing to look at under the new Code because
25 we satisfied it.
1 _;7 ,
73
2 With respect to Section 100-118D the
3 Board states, in the decision rendered April 14,
4 .1.988 , that based on personal knowledge of the
5 Board and conversations with family members
6 of -the prior owner, and I. take it that the
7 Board meant- by that statement the Langers
8
(phonetic) , and not the' North Fork Bank, it
9 appears that the use of the premises may have
10 been discontinued for a period in excess of
11 two years and then the Board is going to
12 discuss the implication of that fact under
13 Section 100-118D. I think we can set this
1.4 to rest very certainly, at the present time,
15 which I am handing out an affidavit from Joseph
16 Langer and '.June Langer. As the Board is no
0
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17 doub-t -aware, these were the owners of the
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18 property prior to the North Fork Bank and I
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19 presume that these were the family members to
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20 whom the Board was referring.
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21 THE CHAIRMAN: I spoke to the daughter,
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22 Edith, who I attended school with and graduated
23 with.
24 MR. BRESSLER: Joseph and June state in
25 substance that they purchased the property
74
2 in March; of 1988', from Caprice and Company,
3 Inc. (phonetic) , and they operated -the Coffee p t
4 Luncheonette from that date to the day that
5 the property was sold to the bank on July
6 6, 1984. _ They also resided in the apartment
above the restaurant, during that period of
8 time.
9 THE CHAIRMAN: ' Excuse me, Mr. Bressler.
10 You gave me the wrong .date. You gave me. 1988
11 as the first date.. When did they actually
12 purchase it?
13 MR. BRESSLER: March of 1977 until
14 July 6, 1984 and they also resided in the
15 apartment during that time frame. Then they
16 entered into the agreement to sell the premises
17 and they requested from the bank and were given
18 an approval from thereon to continue to reside
= 19 in the upstairs apartment to mid-November.
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20 THE CHAIRMAN: Of 1984 .
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21 MR. BRESSLER: Right. This approval
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22 was then extended and their son resided in
23 the apartment until January, until January
24 of 1985.
25 (Discussion held off the. record)
1 .�y
75
2 MR. BRESSLER: Based upon that affi-
3 davit and the timing of Mr. Zahra' s acquisition
4 of the property, and I believe those facts are
5 in the record before the Board -- you can
6 correct me., Mr. - Chairman.
7 THE CHAIRMAN: Well,, the only person
that will not speak tonight is Stephen
9 Tsontaukis,' ' who" was the engineer, ..because
10 he has since passed on.
11 ' MR. BRESSLER: So what we- have, Mr.
12 Chairman, is a situation where we had occupancy
13, from the earlier 1985., and if you run that on
14 the two-year period you run ,into 1987. I
15 believe the Board has in its possession a copy
16 of the building permit. I will hand up another
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17 one. It is significant, of course, to note
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18 the date is October 27, 1986, a period of
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19 substantially less than two years.
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20 THE CHAIRMAN-: Subsequent to that it
21 was uninhabited.
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22 . MR. BRESSLER: Subsequent to the
23 issuance of the building permit it .then, 'of
24 course, was not as renovations were underway.
25 You cannot leave someone in possession while you
1 - �r-
76
2 are performing renovations on the building.
3 THE CHAIRMAN: I did not mean necessarily
4 inhabited on a daily basis . I mean somebody
5 was in the building doing --
6 MR. BRESSLER: Yes, from the issuance
of the ' building permit someone was actively
8
in the building thus, of , course, indicating the
9 intent to renovate the building and not to
10 diacontinue the use. . I believe that the time
11 period was established by the affidavit
12 resolving the issue under 100-118D. Although
13 I can, appreciate the Board' s comments in the
. 14 decision that clearly there was an issue since
15 particularly you, Mr. Chairman, live in the
16 area. We are aware there was a time period
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17 during. which someone did not re'side' in the
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18, building.
19' THE CHAIRMAN: So we can assume that
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20 is the reason that the building was boarded up,
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21 or during the period of time that the building
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22 was boarded up, was that .period of time that
23 you have mentioned where the Langers had moved
24 out and the bank had taken the property over
25 by title.
-
77
2 MR. BRESSLER: That ' is correct.
3 THE CHAIRMAN: Then Mr. Zahra started
4 to work on the building
, at the date you just
5 mentioned.
6 MR. BRESSLER: Yes, when Mr. Zahra
obtained the building permit and, of course,
� 8 -
closed shortly after. He obtained a building
9 permit and then, of course, actively commenced
10 the work that had to be done, whatever else
11 had. to be. ,done, ' in' order to get the work done.
12 So with respect to 100-118D, I believe that
13 that issue has been resolved.
14 Are there any questions about that
15 particular issue, anything else I can address
16 or any other documents that the Board needs?
= 17 THE CHAIRMAN: In reference with
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18 resolving the 100-118D two-year issue, I would
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= 19 have to research the records again and I will
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20 reserve decision on. that until the next
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21 hearing.
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22 MR. BRESSLER: I believe that the Board
23 already has in its possession a copy of the
24 CO, contract of sale, the deed, the building
25 permit, and now the affidavit of the Langers.
-
78
2 I think from the documentation point of view
3
that establishes the issue..
4
Now the second issue before the Board
5 tonight is 100-118E, which is the non-
6 conforming issue with respect to the structural
7
alterations.
8
.• Now let me preface my remarks by
9 again reminding--the Board that notwithstanding
10 -�he. fact we are talking about non-conformity
11 here, at no time do we concede . that actual
12 non-conformity 'existed based on the fact that
13 the CO was issued with respect to the building
14 at the time it was acquired by Mr. Zahra.
15 Not a certificate of pre-existing use, but a
16 Certificate of Occupancy. It may very well be
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17
argued that' s wrong, but it is not the issue.
18 THE CHAIRMAN: A Certificate of Occupanc
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19 for an apartment above a restaurant.
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20 MR. BRESSLER: That is absolutely correct,
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21 and for the Board' s review we will hand up the
6
22 Certificate of Occupancy for this particular
23 structure.
24 THE CHAIRMAN: This is the Certificate
25 of. Occupancy that this. gentleman received prior
-
79
2 to taking title to the property.
3 MR. BRESSLER: That is absolutely
4 correct, Mr. Chairman. This is a Certificate
5 of Occupancy, dated February 16 , 1978 , and I
6 would like to contrast that Certificate of
7 Occupancy, with certain other certificates that
� 8
the Town issues in connection with occupancy.
9 Specifically, I am handing up a Certificate of
10 . Occupancy, dated. October 28 , 1980, relating
11 to 1.80 Pike Street. This Certificate of
12 Occupancy conforms substantially to the
13 requirements of the business establishment
14 building prior to April 23 , 1957 , which the
15 Board 'is well aware of is the date of the
16 inception of zoning . in this Town.
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17 THE CHAIRMAN: Where is 180 Pike Street?
18. MR. BRESSLER: Oh, my goodness. You_
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19 don:' t. kno.w?
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20 This. is called a Certificate of Occupanc
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21 for a non-conforming premises, which I think
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22 relates to 180 Pike Street.
23 THE CHAIRMAN: Where is that,' Mr.
24 Bressler?
25 MR. .BRESSLER: This one says to William
80
2 and Grace Fiore. This one says it does not
3 conform to the present Building Code of the
4 Town of Southold for the following reason:
5 An apartment is not allowed over a business
6 in a B-1 zoned district. I hand up these
7 three documents to contrast what was done here,
what might have been done.
9 THE CHAIRMAN: Mr. Bressler, could you
10 just tell us what the approximate size is in
11 square footage of the apartment, at the time of
12 either the issuanco of this Certificate of
13 Occupancy or the time Mr. Zahra had taken title
14 to- this piece of. propert'y?
15 MR. BRESSLER: Yes, I can. We' ll get
16 the plan and we .will give you a very good
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17 estimate. It just .so' happens we had occasion
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18 to ask ourselves this question, before c,oming
= 19 down here, and based ,upon the plan produced
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20 by Mr. Tsontaukis, who' s unfortunately no longei .
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21 with us, it is approximately.,: Mr. Chairman,
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22 750 square feet give or take.
23 THE CHAIRMAN: Does that include the
24 knee wall or is -that the finished product?
25 MR. BRESSLER: That basically represents
81
2 the space of the finished product. With
3 respect to 100-118E, certainly the issue of
4 the Certificate of Occupancy would be the first
5 point that I want to make, that we don' t believe
6 Section 100-118E applies since we are not
7 ` dealing with a non?conforming use. Assuming
� 8
that we are, 1007118E is a, rather peculiar
9 section. I am sure this Board has not been
„ 10 called upon very often in the past to interpret
11 100-118E. In fact, I have never heard of an
12 appl.ic:ation, involving a 50, percent value
13 actually coming before the Board.
14 Indeed I have seen many examples where
15 this pa,rticular ' section was avoided in one
16 way or another by variance. and agencies of
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17 government. So I am somewhat at a loss as to
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18 why we are here in particular. I am not going
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19 to, at this time, burden the record with
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20 numerous examples. I am sure the Board is awar
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21 of them around town, where it can be said this
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22 rule is honored in breach. probably 100 percent.
23 I don' t believe 100-118E applies to this
24 situation for the simple reason a calculation
25 of the fair value of the building and a cal-
82
2 culation of what Mr. Zahra has done to the
3 building, and a review of what the Board' s
4
statement was in Paragraph 8 reveals that we
5 don' t fall under that particular paragraph.
6 The Board needed that. The evidence would
7 tend to show that the Applicant is endeavoring
8
to renovate and structurally alter his non-
9 conforming building to an extent exceeding the
10 aggregate cost of 50 percent of the fair market
11 value of the building.
12 With all ,due respect, for the life of
13 me., I reviewed the records three times and
14 I cannot find anything in the records that
15 would lead to that conclusion, and there is
16 just nothing there;. The issue was not
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17 addressed in the prior proceeding. There is
s i$ no testimony taken. The building inspectors
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19 gave no evidence on it. So my question to the
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20 Board is, at this point there is no deter-
21 mination. it happened. The Building Department
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22 has not asserted it happened. There is no
23 evidence' in the record that it happened. How
24 would you like to proceed, Mr. Chairman?
25 THE CHAIRMAN: Well, let' s start out with
83
2 asking you, how large is the apartment now?
3 MR. BRESSLER: The apartment on the
4 plan is approximately 875 square feet as
5 approved by the Building Department.
6 THE CHAIRMAN: Does that include the
7 stairwell going up towards the hallway you
8
have up above, or. will. it go right into the
9 apartment?
10 MR. ZAHRA: The stairwell would be
11 considered part of the downstairs. The landing
12 would be considered part of the downstairs
13 square footage. That 870 does include the
14 upper portion- of it.
15 MR. ,B.RESSLER: . These' are. Mr. Tsontaukis '
16 calculations as shown on the plans.
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17 MR. ZAHRA. You want me to bring them up
18 THE CHAIRMAN: No. I have a :copy. So
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i9 you are showing approximately 870, ,did you say?
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20 ' MR. . BRESSLER: To be exact, 876 square
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21 feet.
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2
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6
22 THE CHAIRMAN: So roughly about 125
23 square feet more.
24 MR. BRESSLER: More or less. Probably
25 a little bit less. The plans necessitate, in
84
2 doing this calculation, that we get out our
3 ruler and measure it physically. It may be
4 115.
5 THE CHAIRMAN: It is basically a room
6 10 by 12 larger.
7 - MR. BRESSLER: You mean the increased
8 area. Well, you' re right, as did the area.
9 However, the dimensions are slightly different
10 because it is 16 long and we estimate it to
11 be seven or eight wide, but then when you take
12 out the area of the stairwell which I included
13 it probably comes down to a difference of
14 80 square feet .maybe.
15 THE .-CHAIRMAN: That' is usable square
16 footage that has seven and a half foot head .
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17 room.
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18 MR.' ' ZAHRA: Yes', as. per plan.
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19 THE 'CHAIRMAN:' That' s what I would see
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20 when I come, up' there.
21 MR. BRESSLER: You would. You would not
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22 see habitable space, at this point, but it
23 could be made habitable., What 'else would the
24 Board like to know about 'that issue, except for.
25 me to state and Mr. Zahra to reiterate he had
85
2 no intention of reconstructing or structurally
3 altering it .to exceed an aggregate cost of 50
4 percent of the Fair market value of the
5 building. He did not, and he has not. I
6 don' t know what else you would like to know,
7 Mr. Chairman.
� s
THE CHAIRMAN: I will review the file
9 again, Mr. Bressler, and if I have any questions
10 concerning it at the final hearing I will go
11 over it. I appreciate the square footage it
12 gives , and in the interim I will look at it
13 and we will go from there.
14 MR. BRESSLER: The hearing will be
15 recessed, I take it. If you. have any other
16 questio'ns ,. we will be happy to answer those
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17 issues .
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18 THE CHAIRMAN: We would have addressed
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19 it. 'tonight but.'we' haven" looked at the buildin ,
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20 where 'the problem is*. ' We want to look at the
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21 building.
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22 MR. BRESSLER: I think it is important
23 to note that what was done here has been a
24 large cosmetic improvement but the Board, I am
25 sure, is aware there was a substantial building
1
86
2 there in the first instance that had aignifi-
3 cant value particularly as a non-conforming
4 use. What basically has been done has been
5 a cosmetic job and repair to the upstairs
6 apartment as mandated by the Building Depart-
7 ment -- bring it up to Code, he was told, and
� 8 '
he did' which brings up another point which I
9 want to -address.
10 I don' t believe that this by nature of
11 a variance hearing tonight -- it is my under-
12 standing that this hearing and the - recessed
13 hearing are more by way of a reviewing of the
14 outstanding issues with respect to the original
15 application which was a reversal of the
16 determination of the building inspector and if
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17 it 'should go that route I think we would be
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18 prepared .to address the other issues; the
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19 issues of the variance of the hardship and
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20 everything'. else, but I 'don' t think, and on the
21 record, it warrants that.
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22 Let me state one other thing for the
23 Board which might put your minds at ease on thi
24 issue. I state for the record, Mr. Zahra
25 reiterates he has not done that. There:. is no
1 87
2 evidence. he has done that. No one accused him
.3 of violating that rule. I am not quite sure
4 why we are here .but, Mr. Chairman, you may
5 be aware of the fact that in the State Building
6 Code Rules and Regulations there are regu-
7 lations which relate to renovating and recon-
� 8
structing buildings and that rule states that
9 during this six-month period you may renovate
10 or reconstruct up to 50 percent of the value
11 measure., Should we, unfortunately, have to
12 go down to the Board of Review, we are going
13 to have to demonstrate to them that that rule
14 has not been violated, and we are prepared to
15 do that. That section is Subchapter E of
16 the Code of Rules and Regulations, Book ,9-B
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17 of the Executive Law Subtitle Z , Subchapter E,
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18 Part'.231 '-deals: 'with additions, alterations,
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19 and repairs. .and I think that this issue is
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20 probably a subject. to be brought up before that
21 - Board if at all. , ',It has been my understanding,
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22 quite frankly, that. the way this matter has
23 been -handled in this Town up to date, if there
24 is an issue they ship it down to the Board of
25 Review.. I don' t think that issue is before you.
88
2 I think the issue of the classified building
3 is going there anyway. So we will reserve
4 any comments with respect to those issues until
5 you determine, Mr. Chairman, what you want to
6 do at the nett hearing.
7 Now Mr. Zahra wants to say a few things.
8 I don' t want. to .prolong this unduly. There has.
9 been an issue circulating around, swelling
10 around this case from the very inception. It
11 has remained largely unanswered, and I think
12 remained unanswered in the mind of the Board.
13 I am just going to give Mr. Zahra a moment to
14 try to resolve' that, .before we recess this
15 tonight. I think he can shed some light on the
16 continuing difficulties this Board had with the
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17 application.
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18 MR. ZAHRA: My name is Charles Zahra.
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19 I reside at 1830 Pike Street, Montauk.
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20 Mr. Chairman, •.,members of the Board, on
21 September 22nd, 1987 I was issued an Order to
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22 Remedy Violation,. . ' This' stated: Stop all work,
23 non-conformity with the provisions of the
24 plans or specifications of the building permit
25 at once. I don' t understand what the apartment
89
2 issue has to do with this Stop Order, this
3 original Stop Order. I don' t know why we are
4. here. . I feel as a _.matter of law it should have
5 been tossed out a long time ago.
6 This was the issue and we continually
strayed from it. There are some things I
i S •
am going to mention here today, that might
9 strike a vein in some people that are not here
10 tonight. I was hoping it was not going to have
11 to resort to this, and I was also hoping I
12 would get my day in court but three. and a half
13 years later I still have not gotten my day in
14 court.
15 I. would just like to commend the Court,
16 as long as they are not counterproductive. I
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17 think it is important that the Board as well as
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18 the public be aware of what took place here.
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19 There are.. some things in the law that are left
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20 be•tter to the observer and this may be one.
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21 I went to the Building Department to
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22 review records after receiving the Stop Order.
23 It was "also .'assumed I was trying to harass.
24 I am not. I was trying to defend myself. I
25 was told I did something wrong. I wanted to know
1 90
2 what it was, and I wanted to be prepared to' do
3 what, was necessary- to defend myself.
4 Prior to the beginning, around November
5 4, I started trying to access files from the
6 Building Department. I was continually turned
7 down. Finally we submitted this letter, under
� 8 .
45-6 of the Southold Town Code, requesting we
9 be allowed to inspect the records of the
10 Building Department. I took it down November
11 4. I gave it to the Building Department. This
12 is about after three, four, five tries. I
13 finally got access to the records.
14 We began copying several, using the Town
15 machine. At the end of the day, I told the
16 girl that was handling it that I .would be in
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17 tomorrow, the following day, November 5th,
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18 with my own machine to copy records. I was
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19 told I would not be allowed to. I felt I was
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20 entitled to, from what I read in the laws.
21 on the morning. of November 5th, I went
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22 into Riverhead to the .,North Shore Business
.23 Products, and I purchased a copying machine,
24 approximately 8 : 30 :--quarter to 9000 in the
25 morning. I have a copy of the bill here. I am
' 1 �/-
91
2 handing. it to the Board. It came to approxi--
3
mately $913. That' s on November 5th.
4
When I went to the Building Department
5 with the machine, I was told to "Get the
6 hell out of here. " That the machine was --
I am going to scan through this . It is a
S
conversation between Victor Lessard and myself.
9 I am handing it up to the Board. I was told
10 I was impeding the traffic, and if I did not
11 remove it. I would be -removed. So I respected
12 his wishes and I removed .the machine. I asked
13 him what law that this was under', that I had
14 to remove the machine.' He said, these are his
15 words , "That is the Sunshine Law; my 'friend. "
is Mr. Lessard speaking: Under the
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17 Sunshine Law, you will come in and inspect
is what you want, write down what you want on a
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= 19 piece of paper
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20 Myself speaking: It does not say this
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21 under .this law, to write it down.
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22 Mr. Lessard Don' t assume anything.
23 Myself: My interpretation, Mr. Lessard,
24 says inspect. Your, interpretation -is that.
25 I would like to know .whose. interpretation of
1 92`
2 the Code is that?
3 Mr. Lessard: That is mine.
4 , Myself speaking: That is Mr. Lessard' s .
5 Mr. Lessard speaking: Absolutely. - You
6 .got it right from the horse. Okay.
7 . Myself speaking: I said, "Okay. "
� 8
Mr. Lessard concluding the conversation
9 said, "Having said that and having said your
10 machine is interfering with the flow of
11 traffic in here, kindly remove it. "
12 November 5th, again. With .all the
13 motions going on; I did not realize at the
14 time that my 'permit was revoked on that same
15 day. November 5th. Second Order to Remedy,,
16 November. 5th, ,1987 : Your building permit
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17 under Number 15.428Z issued October 27, 19,87,,.
18 is hereby revoked. Reason: Not following
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19 plans'. Did not comply with the Stop Work
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20 Order -- of which was already thrown out of
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21 court. I think in viewing this . and comparing
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22 the days' one will see, and . again I leave it to
23 the observer, why .my permit was revoked.
24 In 'my mind -it was 'becaufse -I was exercising my
25 rights,' under the- Freedom of Information, which
93
2 is a Constitutional right. That is basically
3 all I. have to say on that. I hand this material
4 up.
5 THE CHAIRMAN: Thank you very much.
6 Is there anybody in the. audience that
7 would like -to speak in favor of this appli-
cation, that may not be here at the next hearing?
9 MR. AMMIRATI: Frank Ammirati. I am
10 here representing my wife, Dianne, and myself,
11 who are the owners of Ammirati' s ,Cupboard
12 across from Mr. Zahra' s building. - We ,are in
13 favor of granting Mr. Zahra permission. It
1`4 has taken far too' long. This Tov n .has pro-
15 longed this action much too long for Mr. Zahra '
16 building to open. It is our opinion that an
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17 unoccupied building leads to a demoralization
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18 of the 'Towri' s pride and does nothing to promote
19 the tourism in the area.
20 _Being in close proximity to the Town
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21 dock area, an indoor restaurant is in desperate
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22 need, and asked for time -and time again,-. some-
23 thing I cannot give. We hope -that the past
24 problems are behind Mr., Zahra, and that the
25 Building Department and the Appeals Board here
94
2 that a compromise is reached here and no
3 further delays please.
4 Thank *you. I also signed a . petition.
5 I went to the neighbors across the street
6 from Mr. Zahra' s building. It is a disgrace,
7 and it is a disgrace this has taken that long-
8
I am a business owner. I know what people
9 need. People come into Town. They look for
10 something, and Mr. Zahra' s building I think
11 would be appropriate for these people who want
12 to sit down off the boat and have something
13 to eat.
14 That' s all. I ,cannot come back.
15 THE CHAIRMAN: Thank you.
16 MR. BRESSLER: 'Mr. Chairman, there ' s
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17 only one last item that Mr. Ammirati alluded
4
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18 to. There are a significant number of people
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= 19 that Mr. Zahra and his friend have contacted
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20 in connection with this application. Mr.
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21 Zahra will be' handing up to the .Board petitions
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22 signed by individual citizens in the approximat
23 amount of 1, 400. . As well, a letter, from the
24 Mattituck Chamber of Commerce urging this Board
25 to grant his approval and get this project unde -
1
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2 way. This Board well knows the hamlet is in
3 need of a restaurant, and this Board knows that
4 the Town is in need of the housing that would
5 be provided by .this apartment. So Mr. Zahra
6 will hand up these petitions, at this point,
7 and that is all we have at this juncture.
8 THE CHAIRMAN: Thank you.
9 MR. ZAHRA: I would like to say ne
10 other thing, Mr. Chairman, with handing up
11 this petition. It has been a very uplifting
12 experience speaking to individuals in the
13 Town and finding out I 'am. not alone. I must
14 have heard at least 1, 000 horror stories from
15 people who have been put through similar
16 situations , that you are well aware of, and
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17 the rest of the Town. I think it is high
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18 time we asked our political leaders to take
19 action and do something about this. This
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20 costs thousands of dollars, not to just me
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21 but to all the taxpayers of Southold Town.
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22 THE CHAIRMAN: Who are you reflecting
23 this suggestion on?
24 MR. ZAHRA: To your political leader,
25 the Town Board.
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2 THE CHAIRMAN: And, slanted to whom, to
3 do . something about what?
4 MR. ZAHRA: To take action, to
5 stop the illicit goings on in the Building
6 Department from -- if you want me to be
7 specific --
8 THE CHAIRMAN: That' s what I want you to
9 do.
10 MR: BRESSLER: Specifically, Mr. Chairma
,
11 to grant .the application with respect to the
12 apartment and to permit the project to proceed.
13 The delays are unconscionable and that is
14 reflected in the language of the petition.
15 MR. ZAHRA: I would like to thank the
16 people' of the Town of Southold for supporting
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17 me so well. I had no idea I would receive
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18 very well responses. Of the 1, 400 names, we
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19 had less than 10 turn-downs. That was only,
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20 the people that just moved in the area several
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21 months ago; one or two people that thought
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22 by signing it -there would be retribution. It
23 is said to think there are people who think that
24 way, but they do. Thank you.
25 THE CHAIRMAN: Thank you. Hearing no
97
2 further comments at this point, and only
3 because we 'are" doing- to. get on with the next
4 hearing, I will recess this hearing to the next
5 regular'ly. scheduled meeting. In the interim,
6 we will make an appointment with Mr, ' Zahra to
7 see. the apartment, or the open construction
� 8
of the apartment if we know there is no
9 apartment there: . At this point, we will see
10 floor beams and insulation. That' s what we
11 assume we- will see; and we will reconvene the
12 hearing -and and. -tell the Town Attorney.
13 I want you, Mr. Bressler, to contact
14 him now. Not tonight. I want you to contact
15 ' him, -you known within. the next week or so and
16 make sure that that is exactly what we are
17 dealing with. If you have anything else -o -
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18 MR. ZAHRA: I have a question, Mr.
= 19 Chairman. I am just curious. Is this a. .normal
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20 procedure, or standard procedure, to enter
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21 the building?
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22 THE CHAIRMAN; Every time.
23 MR. ZAHRA: I have been, before `the Board
24 myself on occasions, when. we were before you
25 on the bed and breakfast. I don' t recall you
98
2 going into that., building.
3 THE CHAIRMAN: Which one was that?
4 MR. . ZAHRA: B'ed and breakfast on New
5 Suffolk Avenue. .The Applicant was myself.
6 THE CHAIRMAN: I 'did not enter that
7 premises. That is the only one we did not
� 8
enter. We did enter the one on Pike Street,
9 however.
10 Offering that as a resolution --
11 MR. GRIGbNIS: Second.
12 THE CHAIRMAN: All in favor?
13 MR. GRIGONIS: Aye.
14 MR. DOYEN: Aye.
15 MR. SAWICKI: Aye.
16 MR. DINIZIO: Aye.
17 (After a .brief recess, said proceedings
a 18 resumed)
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19 THE CHAIRMAN: I need a motion to
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20 reconvene.
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21 MR. SAWICKI: So moved.
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22 THE CHAIRMAN: All in favor?
23 MR. GRIGONIS: Aye,
24 MR. . DOYEN: ' Aye.
25 MR. SAWICKI : Aye.
1
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2 MR. . DINIZIO:' Aye.
3 THE CHAIRMAN: The last appeal is
4 Appeal Number 3915, in behalf of Jordan' s
5 Partner's. It is .a reconvening hearing from
6 the prior meeting. We . will ask Mr. Tsunis,
7 is there anything he would like to add?
8
MR. TSUNIS: John Tsunis, 801 Motor .
9 Parkway, Hauppauge, New York. ..
10 I will be very brief. I just would
11 like' to mention .tothe Board that subsequent
12 to the last hearing, I submitted some .affi-
13 davits. There was a question as to a para-
14 graph on my margin that indicated that property
15 was to be developed as residential lots. At
16 that time, I indicated I. never saw that par-
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17 ticular phrase. Apparently someone, either
18 in the title company or the County Clerk' s
19 Office, put that language in there. There
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20 was a technicality required by a regulation in
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21 the County Clerk' s Office to record the deed
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22 on the vacant piece of land. It was at no
23 time submitted to me. I never saw .it.
24 Their affidavit by the vice president
25 of the bank, which issued the mortgage, indi-
1 �O�
100
2 cated at no time was it ever indicated or
3
suggested or planned to be developed as a
4
residential use.
5
I would like to report to the Board,
6 also, that I received a letter from one of
7
my tenants -terminating the lease that he
8 executed, because of the long delay and asking
9 for his deposit 'back. I have lost at this
10 point in time McCrory' s and I have pleaded
11 with my last remaining tenants to please bear
12 with me until I have a determination from
13 this Board, until they terminate theirs and
14 they are willing to do that.
15 Mr. Chairman, I think the facts are
16 absolutely crystal clear in this case; that
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17 the hardship in this particular application
18 is apparent in that basically $826 , 000 has
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19 been expended on a piece of property that was
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20 properly zoned at the time of acquisition.
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21 That was approved by the Planning Board. A
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22 site plan was approved, Board of Health permits
23 were issued, and due to some reason, at the
24 Building Department within the Town of Southold
25 a building permit was not issued because
1 101
2 municipal .water would not be granted to me.
3 I patiently. waited. I patiently waited,
4 even for three years when I" begged and pleaded 5-that I would,' drill m own= well. That I took
6 a test hole and that it was clean water,, and
that I -was denied a permit even though I
� 8
could drill my own. well and get clean water.
9 Subsequently after much persuasion,
10 a permit was issued and indeed it was issued
11' because. I could drill my own well and' get my
12 own water and when municipal water was avail-
13 . able I agreed I ,would tap into the municipal
14 water system.
15 Subsequent, to that, the Village of
16 Greenport sent me a letter. Their letter said,
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17 in effect, . congratulating me. The project is
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is on its way, and if I could see my way clear
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_ 19 to give them water they would expedite water
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20 to me. I submitted that letter to the Board.
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21 Approximately three years later I have
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22 a building permit that- was subsequently
23 revoked, because the building inspector
24 advised me three or four months after I was
25 issued the permit that the property was rezoned.
1
102
2 I was unaware of- it. Obviously the building
3 inspector was unaware of , it, although the
4 ;Town delayed issuing the building permit for
5 that three-year period until that zoning was,
6 in fact,-changed. .$826, 000 ; my family' s money,
7 Mr. Chairman. I .now have an appraisal for
$150 , 000. I suggest ,to you that .is not a
9 reasonable rate of return. I suggest to you
10 that would devastate any family on Long Island,
11 to sustain that kind of loss.
12 The law as applied in this particular
13 instance, I think, is very unclear. I agree
14 with the Board that the use variance should
15 be very sparingly used, but this application
16 cries out for relief, Mr. Chairman, and I
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17 respectfully leave it in the Board' s hands.
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18 Thank you,.
s .
19 THE CHAIRMAN: Is there anybody else
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° 20 that would like to speak in favor of this
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21 application?
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22 Is there anybody that would like to
23 speak against the application?
24 MR. TOWNSEND: Joseph Townsend, Jr.
25 I was on the Town Board at the time the
103
2 zoning was changed. The zoning was changed
3 because of the potential disastrous results
4 that could happen by having a shopping d .stict
5 outside the Jimits ' of ' the Village of Greenport
6 downtown shopping district. It was one of
7 the major goals on: the master plan, to preserve
6 the world of nature of this area and one of the
9 ways to do that is to prevent a commercial
10 sprawl and the resulting deterioration of the
11 downtown. That is . the reason that action was
12 taken.
13 That is not your particular concern.
14 I understand. You are looking for hardship.
15 You-have to determine there is a hardship, but
-16 this matter has come before the Board, the
17 Town Board, and they were- not granted relief
18 from the Town Board. It sounds to me that
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19 relief might more probably be granted through
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20 the legal process, if there was unnecessary
21 delays by' the Building Department or site
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22 plans were approved and subsequently withdrawn
23 or whatever happened. I am not really familiar
24 but it seems to me that a case for real hard-
25 ship has not been made.
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2 If, however, this Board determines there
3 is a hardship I wotia hope there is some other
4 relief that would be given. I don' t know what
5 it is. ' It. has been so long since I have been
6 involved, i,n -this . I don' t° know what your
powers are, but if relief is to be granted in
� 8
some other.. area, ',forr instance, in a multi-
9 family housing or something where there is . a
10 more demonstrated need, I think it would be
11 both to the Town' s benefit and to the Appli-
12 cant' s benefit. Thank you.,
13 THE CHAIRMAN: Thank you, Mr. Townsend.
14 Mr. Tsunis.
15 MR. TSUNIS.:- My response to that, so the
16 Board .is aware, Mr. Townsend, I don' t know
17 where you heard that information. I never
18 applied to the Town for a change of zone. I
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19 inquired, in:' dis.belief, whether or not the
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20 land was rezoned while I was awaiting for
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21 three years for my building permit, when I
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22 ' was told, .in fact, it was. Also, I thought I
23 did receive a building permit and I relied on
24 that building permit. I put 29 , 000 . square feet
25 of cement in .the ground. No one said a thing.
105
2 I was told that .the building permit was revoked,
3 because the zone was. changed. The Building
4 Department -- I don' t know if the Building
5 Department knew if, in fact, that wa's changed
6 or not. I certainly did not. I can tell you
that forthrightly. . When' -I' inquired of the
Town Attorney and members of the Town Board,
t
9 they: directed me,. to this, Board to seek
10 administrative relief. .
11 THE CHAIRMAN: This was after the
.12 building permit .was' revoked.
13 MR.. TSUNIS: Yes, 'sir.. It was
14 incredulous to me after three years of waiting
15 with the proper zoning in hand, with site
16 plan. approval, with.- Planning Board consent,
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17 with Board of Health approval in hand I am
"s is waiting for the building permit and I cannot
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20 It is incredulous to me that I am delayed,
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21 and 'it .absolutely appears to me and 'my counsel
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22 that the delay was deliberate for three years .
23 It is incredulous to me that that
24 happened, and while I brought it to the
25 exclusive attention, they -directed me to this
1
106
2 Board for administrative relief because it is
3 a unique circumstance concerning this property.
4 It- is an abomination what, happened to my
5 family. here. I absolutely did not -go to the
6 Town ^Board. I came to the Zoning Board of
Appeals for relief and I applied for the use
variance, as: I was directed by the Board and
9 the Town Attorney at that time. So that' s
10 what: happened.
11 THE CHAIRMAN,:- Mr. Townsend wants to
12 just .reflect on that. Would you step up,
13 at this point., because there are two other
14 issues I have to bring up concerning the closing
15 of this hearing.
16 MR. TOWNSEND: Thank you. I would like
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17 to ,respond to that and the changes on the
18 master plan, which were talked about at great
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19 length at several meetings.
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20 They were advertised, according to the
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21 requirements, .,in the local papers several times.
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22 It is .not that I don' t have compassion for Mr.
23 Tsunis but there wa.s .an error on his part,
24 whether he had his building permit or not,
25 whether the zoning was changed all the time he
1
107
2 was waiting for his approval for the water or
3 whatever it was.
4 There were letters sent to the Planning
5 Board trying to' get an extension of his site
6 plan. I would be interested to know, and I
7 think this Board should know, what steps he
took to preserve his application.
9 MR. TSUNIS: Mr. Chairman, that is a
10 very good point because I was concerned about
11 that. ,. The -Town of Southold does not require
12 extensions for the site plan approval. I
13 inquired many, many times. Once a site plan
14 approval is approved; it is approved and there
15 is nothing necessary in addition to perfect it.
16. Unless that rule, has changed. There was nothing
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17 to do.
18 THE CHAIRMAN: I think it is three years
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19 now, and after that you have to go back for
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20 readdressing.
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21 MR. TSUNIS: My gripe is not that the
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22 zoning was changed. My gripe is that I was
23 not issued a building permit pursuant to all
24 the regulations in effect for that three-year
25 period. However, a permit was subsequently
/,C3-
1 108
2 issued based upon -my original plea to drill
3 a well. If that building permit, Mr:' Townsend,
4 was issued originally, I would not be here
5 now. I would have complied with everything.
6 Only because of this three-year municipal
7 delay, whether it was on behalf of the Village
� 8
of Greenport for not giving municipal water --
9 I heard I was Number 4 on the list .for three
10 Years - or because the Building Department
11 did not issue a building permit even though
12 I: requested . to. drill my- own well. That is
13 the hardship I am facing here. There was some
14 roadblock. Why for .three years I could not
15 get it, and all of a sudden I can get it?
16 That is the question. That' s my hardship.
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17 MR. TOWNSEND: To the extent the Buildin
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18 Department caused you to lose that money, have
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19 you taken them to court for that? Are you
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20 pursuing Article 78? .
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21 MR. TSUNIS: Legally speaking, Mr..
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22 Lessard advised' you have to execute all
23 administrative remedies before any civil or
24 any kind 'of action is taken against the Village
25 of' Greenport, the Town, or any individual who
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1 109
2 may have willfully. ot, for one reason or another,
3 acted in violation of my rights or the law.
4 So that' s why I am here.
5 THE CHAIRMAN:. Before I continue, I
6 want to make you aware of the fact that this
7 is a final hearing, for verbal testimony. What
� 8 . .
we are doing is very simply sending the site
9 plan back to the Planning Board for a last
10 perusal to make sure it is still in order. I
11 will close the hearing with no mare oral
12 testimony. At the -next regularly scheduled
13 meeting, you are very welcome to come if you
14 so choose to., and I am just going to look at
15 it at that point. I ,don' t want them to give
16 me information that I can' t accept and be put'
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17 into this file. When I close the hearing that
18 is usually the case,. Mr. Tsunis, and that is
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19 why I don' t want that to happen.
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20 MR. TSUNIS: Yes , Mr. Chairman. Frankly
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21 I really don' t know if -the site plan -- now
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22 you are telling me it was three years. I was
23 never advised of this three-year period. This
24 is the first I am hearing of it. All I can
25 tell you is it was pursuant to Code. I did not
110
? ask , for any kind of relief whatsoever. I
3, built only what the Board permitted me.
4 Obviously the site ..plan is defective.
5 THE CHAIRMAN: Why is it defective?
6 , MR. TSUNIS: Because it was not zoned
7 properly. However, if it was interpreted or
� 8
refused pursuant to the pre-existing Code,
9 if -the interpretation is that, I was refused
10 because- I expended hundreds of thousands of '
11 dollars, because I was refused because I have
12 ; everything in order 'exc,ept the building permit
13 because someone didn' t issue it to me, for
14 one reason or `anothe`r;� ' that was out of my.
15. control -- or that I could have effectuated --
16 that was asked of me to effectuate . now..
17 THE .CHAIRMAN® Right. If 'there so comes
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18 a point.. where the Planning Board. said no, the
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19 site plan is not in order, then I will let
20 them. tell us why it is not in order and we
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21 will have -to reconvene the hearing.
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22 MR. TSUNIS: That would be a very curiou.
23 case.
24 THE CHAIRMAN: We are not closing the.
25 hearing for that particular reason. I will
-
' 111
2 certainly ask them' is it in order at the
3 present time, based upon the original site
4
plan.
5 I do want you to know that I do under-
6 stand your plight, and before I say what I
7 finallywant' to
say, I just want to make sure
8
that everybody else remembers there is no
91
more verbal testimony after this hearing. We
10. are going to close the hearing and the matter
11 at the next regularly scheduled hearing
12 assuming we have the report back from the
13 Planning Bo
ard,' .which we will send them a letter '
14 over tomorrow.
15 Are" there any"questions from anybody?
16 MR. TSUNIS: ' Mr. _Chairman, one other
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17 issue, in case it means something to the Board.
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18 I had a land loan on this property for
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19 a very long period of time. The bank demanded
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20 the last month that I reduce that land loan
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21 by $100 ; 00.0 due to, the pending uncertainty.
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22 MR. CHAIRMAN: Mr. Tsunis, at the last
23 hearing on the way out you said to me, "I
24 appreciate, " to some degree, "I appreciate the
25 courtesy. " That this Board has run a good
117-
1 , 112
2 hearing and a fair hearing, and so on and so
3 forth. I don' t know if. you remember the
4 conversation.
5 MR. TSUNIS: Yes, sir.
6 THE ' CHAIRMAN: You are truly 'a gentleman
7 and so is your staff and .so are the people,
8 .
good-woman and gentleman who have .come before
9 us. I will truthfully say that there was a
10 real degree 'of professionalism .in the way
11 things have been presented in this hearing. The .
12 only thing; that bothers me to this particular
13 degree; at this point, is that- you have not
14 shown.- me, or the other four -members -- this
15 gentleman here and- the. gentleman. to his left
16 having been on- the' Board since the inception
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17 of -the zoning, since 1958 --- prior to the
18 zoning they have been on this. Board -- you have
19 not shown me that this ,property cannot be used
20 for the . professional office park or business
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21 park. That is the only thing you have not
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22 done: 'to this date.
23 I am saying it would be unkind of me to
24 have you leave here thinking that you -have,
25 because you have not. I am only speaking of
113
2 me. I am not speaking as a member of the
3 Board, at this point.
4 MR. TSUNIS: First of all, let me just
5 touch on one thing. At the last meeting, also
6 I think the meeting was stopped midway because
7 some personnel from the Incorporated Village
of Greenport requested we explore any alter-
9 natives or any avenues, or whatever. I said
10 I would. be open to that. A meeting was
11 scheduled last week. Someone was ill in the
12 Village of Greenport and could not attend.
13 There was no meeting, although I believe both
14 parties tried to effectuate that. I would
15 alsd assume that the various municipal agencies
16 would sit on -the sidelines,, as well, and wait
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17 to see•what' the decision is in this case.
0 18 Speaking to- the - fact that cannot be
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19 used as a professional office --
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20 THE CHAIRMAN: Or business office.
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21 MR. TSUNIS: I believe if you would
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22 review the record, someone from my staff had
23 testified that we advertised the property for
24 a period of time and my office has also been
25 out in the field contacting people. His name
114
2 was Stuart Kramer. I can also attest to it,
3 because .besides being an attorney I am a
4 developer and I work to lease my property.
5 Except for some interest by a chiropractor
6 and perhaps a dentist, the request for
7 professional office space in this area is
� 8 .
devoid of any demand.
9 I' also believe that the way the Code is
10 _ written as RO, residential/office, I don' t
11 believe offices as a matter of right must be
12 built there'. I think a special permit must
13 be obtained. The . fact 'of the matter is all
14 I can build there, asd a matter of right, is
15 maybe four houses.
16 I appreciate the courtesy of bringing
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I 17 this to my attention. If it was ambiguous
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18 or- it .was not strictly touched upon, let me
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19 sav this : In all due .candor, Mr. Kramer
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20 unfortunately is not here tonight. I can tell
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21 you I am a real estate broker, as well. My
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22 office has endeavored to unearth any kind of
23 tenant that was permitted in the permitted
24 zoning and professional office was one of those
25 things recommended by the Planning Board. It
1 115
2 was very difficult to. obtain any interest,
3 whatsoever. The sincerest interest was in
4 a .building that was developed in a residential
5 type of ' fashion. If' you remember, the rendering
6 of it could, be used as a professional office.
7 I would beat the bushes to try to get
8
it. It certainly was appealing to the McCrory
9 Stores, 'a local chain of small supermarkets
10 on the North Fork, Shop With Us, who now
11 terminated their lease, and the local Chinese
12 restaurant who. is hanging on up- until this
13 time.
14 I will not say I will not endeavor to
15 seek and try to obtain that type of use, but
16 the life blood up until this period of time
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17 was the retail uses.
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18 . Frankly, I am not .here to hurt anybody.
19 I am -not here to hurt the downtown people,
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20 but, frankly, a new, building with -a parking lot
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21 in front of it is a very attractive thing. I
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22' submit to the Board that it would be observed
23 over a period of time. It is bringing in new
24 uses, new tenants. It is not conflicting. It
25 1s a service or retailer that does not exist
116
2 out here. It would better serve the public.
3 It would increase your tax base. It would
4 put some people to work who need it.
5 I mean, I am not .going to stand here
6 and say that .there is not a lot of money at
stake to, my family. There certainly is, and
8
the only way to recoup is to be permitted to '
9 proceed with an. approval that was existent but
10 in reality was denied because the permit was
11 being held for three years and unreasonably so.
12 I make no bones about it, at this p6int, but
13 to speak to your issue -- I hate to belabor
14 the point'. The hour is late. I want to be
15 courteous to everybody, else, but this." is very
16 important.
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17 There were no offices interested in
18 this location, or I' would suggest to any strange
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19 office use anywhere in the Town. I can verify
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20 that personally', from my -own personal experience.
21 If that is a �question that was left slightly
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22 ajar or we did not touch on it, I thought Mr.
23 ,Kramer did. Rest assured, you can take
. 24 judicial notice if it is available to the Board
25 29 , 000 square feet of professional office is
117
2 impossible. It is time for Chapter 11. It
3 cannot be done.
4 THE CHAIRMAN: Thank you. We will
5 then submit this back to the Planning Board
6 for their viewing of the site plan and we will
close this hearing at the next regularly
8
scheduled meeting, assuming we have the
9 decision back from the Planning Board. We will
10 not take any more oral testimony. If somebody
11 wants to reduce something to writing, you may.
12 The only problem is you have to come in and
13 review the file, if you want to rebut the
14 information that will be reduced to `writing.
15 We had three hearings. We exercised a
16 tremendous amount of time, and we find it has
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17 been .done very well.
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18 A VOICE: There is something, if you
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19 want tb submit something in writing:
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20 THE CHAIRMAN: No. problem. You are
21 welcome. The record is still open if you
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22 choose:, the record ;tonight. It will. be closed
23 and I don' t want to do that.
24 A VOICE: When will -the -record be closed.
25 THE CHAIRMAN: ' Hopefully we will close i
1 118
2 on July 25th.
3 MS. WADE: Randi Wade, Greenport:
4 I want to comment the Southold Town
5 Attorney told Mr. Tsunis he, should come before
6 this .Board to seek relief. I think that is
7 probably the correct way to go. Before I
8 . spoke to a Southold Town Councilman who told
9 me they wouldn' t be able to decide on
10 the zoning until you have denied him a v.arianc .
11 So it would be appropriate for you to deny him
12 the variance. Having spoken to a Southold
13 Town Councilman, they were upset at the
14 thought that a year and a half ago, after a
15 long council deliberation, they passed the
16 master plan and this was a specific issue.
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17 They. appointed a. b.oard to effectively rezone.
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18 This was upsetting to them. They thought
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19 that really wouldn' t be the right way to go,
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20 and I hope you agree. with them.
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21 Also, Mr. Tsunis, as I said to you
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22 outside, I do hope you will pursue other
23 ways. If there .is anything that any of us
24 can help you with, we would love to seek some
25 kind of residential relief for you. I am sure
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2 a compromise can be worked out.
3 MR. TSUNIS: I will be happy to turn
4 the land over to you- for the money I have in
5 it without profit.
6 MS. WADE: When you said that the
professional office space value would' be nil,
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so would retail space. If you look at the
9 vacancy rate of Greenport, except for the
10 supermarket, the retail stores you would want
11, to put in would be in direct competition with
12 the stores downtown and would cause them hard-
13 ship. So I do not see why you would be granted
14 a variance for that.
15 Also, you mentioned that a letter was
16 sent saying that the Greenport Village would
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17 help you out with sewer and water once you
18 started to put in the -cement. You also told
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19 me outside that the Deputy Mayor had said to
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20 you that that person from Greenport was not
21 authorized to send any letter to you making
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22 any, offer of any kind.,. So I wish us all luck
23 in working out •a good compromise.
24 THE CHAIRMAN: . Randi, you just addressed
25 the question to the Board. It has to be to Mr.
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2
Tsunis.
3 .
MS. "WADE: I wish%him and all of us
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luck in working out a.'good compromise, and I
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certainly hope you deny, this application.
6 Thank you.
7
THE CHAIRMAN: I am-hoping the Village
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of Greenport gets back to you during this
9 interim period,. between now and the 25th, and
10 that. you submit something to us on the 25th
11 which says that you are gonig to do something
12 else, or whatever, as a result of the meeting
13 --= the last meeting.
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In any case, we will close the hearing.
15 Hopefully, we will close it on the 25th, and
16 anything you want toL reduce to writing you are
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17 very welcome to.
18 MR. TSUNIS: ' Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
19 I want to comment I 'think you have been more
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20 than fair to all parties concerned. You have
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21 been very thorough. I appreciate all the time
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22 this" Board has offered. to my family and in our
23 application. Thank you very much.
24 THE .:CHAIRMAN: Thank you.
25 Hearing no further questions, I make a
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2 motion .--
3 MR. DINIZIO: I have .a question.
4 Mr. Tsunis, I just want to go over a
5 few things to make it perfectly clear. . You
6 say you. spent $900, 000. Roughly that much.
7 You paid $700, 500. . That is your investment
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'in this property You can divi.de it .into
9 four lots legally under the zone and get --
10 approximately how much per lot are you saying?
11 MR. TSUNIS-: I stand by what the
12 record says. I believe it was. $150 , 000 for
13 whatever I could subdivide it for.
14 ,MR. DINIZIO: That pretty much takes - .
15 care of your hardship, as far as -residence
16 is concerned. What I am saying is you spent
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17 far too much already, and you would not be
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18 able 'to .get your investment back 'if you sold
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19 the four lots --
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° 20 MR. TSUNIS: That' s the point.
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21 'MR. DINIZIO: -- as you can legally
22 do.
23 .MR. TSUNIS:;. I believe you will see
24 cancelled,.hecks or verification of about
25 82..6; 000-. The appraiser , indicated it is worth
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2 somewhere around one hundred fifty. If
3 somebody wanted to be kind and double it to
4 300 , 000 , I would suggest it is not a reasonabl
5 rate of return.
6 MR. DINIZIO: I woul'dsav the same thing.
I would have said . that had you let me.
$ MR. TSUNIS: Thank you.
9 MR. DINIZIO: The only other thing that
10 remains in my mind, the same thing the Chairma
11 alluded to, is that office space or that this
12 could be used as office space. , .
13 I did a little investigating myself
14 because I don't feel it was offered and I
15 don' t feel that aspect was covered as
16 thoroughly as it probably should have been,
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17 at least not to my mind. I did read the
0 18 testimony. It is. a lot, and perhaps I missed
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_ 19 it. What- I did .was obtain a zoning map of
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20 the Village of Greenport which is in close
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21 proximity to this. I live in the area, although
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22 I don' t live in the Village of Greenport. I
23 also got a copy of their Code which states the
24 zoning' in which office space is permitted.
25 There are two zones, one .as retail/commercial
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2 and the other is general commercial district.
3 Of the Town area, not including the residences
4 basically Front Street — Main Street -- I
5 estimate that at least five percent of that
6 roughly could have office space in it. The
7 old Bohack building, I, just can' t think of ,
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the name. of it now, is currently empty with
9 just one store in the front. That is next
10 to the, movies. There is also an auto supply
11 shop behind the gas station that is empty.
12 There is Sterling' s. ' We all know the plight
13 of that. There is the old Grant' s building.
14 I have not been inside, ,but there ,is space
15 available in that building. There is an empty
16 lot next to .Mills.
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i7 I guess ..what I am getting at here is
18 if you were to try to use that office space,
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19 you are right; you could not .use it for office
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20 space for that reason, in my mind, but you
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21 would not get a' decent rate of return for it.
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22 But if you don' t make that clear. -- I don ' t
23 think you .made - that clear to me anyway. So
24 I- have to investigate that on my own.
25 MR: TSUNIS: I appreciate your effort in
1 ,
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2 investigating that.
3 MR. DINIZIO: One more thing _I would
4 like to say, and I don' t know how to get this
5
answer.
6 When you advertise for office space,
7 are you searching for a comparison between an
8
amount of money you are asking as opposed to
9 an amount of money someone could rent that
10. space for in Greenport? I don' t know if that
11 is obtainable.
12 MR. TSUNIS: Well, it is a function not
13 only of supply and- demand -but, again, what
14 would be an' economic rate of return on the
15 dollars invested. I have to tell you that
16 three people from my. office traveled out many,
17 many times from Hauppauge and knocked 'on doors
s" 18 out here. I probably brought some of these
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= 19 problems upon myself, in that it may have
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° 20 rallied some of the real estate merchants'
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21 the Town of Greenport to come out and oppose
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22 me. Perhaps some whispers were made in certain
23 areas of the Village and Town Government that
24 may adversely affect these people. I can unde -
25 stand what they may have done, but all the
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125
2 while the retail aspect of the development was
3 very strong and all I can point out to you is,
4 . yes, there' are a lot of empty stores down in
5 Greenport. They are old,. They don' t have any
6 parking.
7 I .had a proposal for the new building,
. 8 very. aesthetically pleasing to the eye. . You
9 would think you are in a new beautiful area
10 of Southold that was 150 years old because I
11 developed two other shopping centers along
12 these same -lines. ' One is a historic district
13 in 'Mount Sinai. I was patted on the back.
14 It -is an expensive building, because
15 I have committed to the funds. I have got
16 national tenants. There are many stores that
17 are looking to come out to Greenport: I think
is that is good for the Town.
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19 MR- DINIZIO: All I am trying to say, I
20 am trying to just get the office: You have
21 as I see it, uses for that land that you can
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22 have and that ,you have to prove that you can' t
'23 use for your hardship in order ' to get your
24 use variance. One .is residence, and I believe
25 even at $300, 000 you haven' t• proven a hardship
126
2 in- that.-case. The office space. All one has
3 to do is look at the vacant stores in Greenport
4 that could be used for business. I point that
5 out.
6 MR. TSUNIS: I would like to bring to
the Court' s attention that. the site plan
8
provided for office space in that development.
9" So there is a, big development of professional
10 space as well as retail. So it wasn' t strictly
11 retail developments.." Again, just very quickly,
12 I understand the problem of "the vacancies in
13 downtown Greenport. This is not going to
14 be a .white elephant on the highway. I submit,
15 there are clear as bell executed leases and
16 letters of intent. It is simply because it
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i7 has parking and it is new. It is unfortunate
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18 the people found it a detriment, but I don' t
19 think my family should be burdened by the
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20 fact, we are enjoying something that was
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21 properly before the Board; that we took a site
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22 plan that was approved by the Town and that
23 we legally could have proceeded if I only had
24 gotten a building permit which, in my opinion
25 and I believe my counsel' s opinion, was much
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2 more unreasonably' or arbitrarily denied me
3 b some. severe
Y problem..
4
THE CHAIRMAN: Thank you; Mr. Tsur_is.
5 MR. TSUNIS: Thank you.
6 THE CHAIRMAN: Hearing no further
comments, we reserve the hearing until the
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next regularly scheduled meeting for the pur-
9 pose of evaluation from the Planning Board.
10 We will accept no more oral testimony on eithe
1.1 side. Both parties should call us prior to th
12 next hearing to see if there was anything adde
13 to the record, that they might want to add.
14 Thank you.
15 MR. SAWICKI : Second.
16 THE CHAIRMAN: All in favor?
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17 MR. . GRIGONIS: Aye.
18 MR. . DOYEN,: ' Aye.
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19 MR. SAWICKI : ' Aye..
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20. MR. DINIZIO: Aye.
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21 (Time noted: 10 : 47 p.m. )
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2 C E R T ,I F I C A ,,T-.I O N
4
I, Gail, Roschen,,, dn :Official Court Reporter,
5 do hereby certify .that the foregoing is a true and
6 accurate transcription of my stenographic notes taken on
7 June 27, 1990.
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10
GAIL ROSCHEN
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