ZBA Grants Front Setback Variance for Irving Avenue Addition and Fence Height Variance for Young Avenue Corner Property

The Croton Zoning Board of Appeals heard and approved two variance requests at its May 19 meeting, both with no public opposition.

Irving Avenue addition Don Laird and Betsy Laird received a 1.5-foot front yard setback variance for their home at 71 Irving Avenue to build a front mudroom, second-floor closet, and a portico, along with a full second story and attic above the existing one-and-a-half-story house. The property sits at the end of a dead-end street in the RA-5 zoning district. According to architect Joseph Arnow, the existing house has a 19.4-foot front setback based on a 2016 survey, leaving 4.4 feet of remaining setback after accounting for the 15-foot requirement. The mudroom needs five feet of clear interior depth plus framing and siding, requiring an additional 1.5 feet of relief. Arnow explained: “To achieve a five foot deep clearance for the mudroom plus framing and siding, we would need an additional 1.5 feet.” Read 1:58▶ The open portico requires no variance. The discussion distinguished the permitted eight-foot width and six-foot projection from the proposed portico, which Arnow described as four and a half feet deep. The board previously granted a two-foot front yard variance in 2019 for an existing deck on the northeast side of the house, which will remain in place. Arnow presented a second design option with a dormer that the board found stylistically consistent with Sears homes found in the village. Board members described the revised design as contextual and an improvement to the property. The board found that the variance would not change the neighborhood character, could not be achieved by another method — without the additional 1.5 feet, the mudroom would be too narrow to function — was not substantial, would have no adverse environmental impact, and that the difficulty was self-created. No neighbors spoke at the public hearing.

Young Avenue fence Coleman Clancy received an 18-inch fence height variance for the corner property at 40 Young Avenue and Benedict Boulevard, allowing a 48-inch open metal fence within the corner sight triangle where village code limits fences to 30 inches. Clancy told the board the fence is needed for safety as his family grows. His daughter is five months old, and the family may get a dog. A 30-inch fence, he said, would not reliably contain either. The previous owners received an identical variance from the ZBA in 2023 — same height, same 25% solid limit — but never built the fence, and the variance expired after one year. The proposed fence is black aluminum with open construction, approximately 75% open space. Clancy explained the request: “While a 30 inch fence would technically mark the property boundary, it would not provide meaningful safety or containment for a young child or a dog.” Read 17:35▶ Clancy said it would be installed on the property line, several feet back from the sidewalk, not extending into the public right-of-way. Two neighbors spoke in support. Neighbor John Farrell said: “a 30 inch fence is not keeping my Margie in the yard.” Read 21:47▶ John Farrell of 34 Young Avenue, immediately next door, said his own similar fence created no visibility issues and described how his dog had been hit by a car on Benedict Avenue before a taller fence was installed. Julie Evans, on the other side, said a 60-year-old privet hedge had previously stood at least four feet tall along the sidewalk and was more obtrusive than the proposed open fence. Evans said: “this will be less obtrusive than that had been for many many years, decades.” Read 23:32▶ During deliberations, the board agreed to carry forward the 2023 conditions: a four-foot maximum height and 25% or less solid construction.

On the five-factor test, the board found no detriment to neighborhood character, that the benefit could not be achieved by another method given the 25% solid condition, that the variance was substantial but mitigated by the distance between the property line and the street, that there would be no adverse environmental impact, and that the difficulty was self-created. The board also approved minutes from its March 17 and April 21 meetings.