Middlebury ZBA To Hear Lake Shore Drive Variance Request, Receive Second Application

MIDDLEBURY, CT — The Middlebury Zoning Board of Appeals will hold a public hearing Wednesday, Oct. 7, on a request for four zoning variances at 440 Lake Shore Drive, including relief from lot coverage, frontage and lot-area requirements.

The board is also scheduled to receive a separate application involving 290 Lake Shore Drive and set a public hearing on that request. Because the Oct. 7 meeting has not yet occurred, no decisions or vote counts are available.

Kade Courtois, applying for Kimberly Rose at 440 Lake Shore Drive, is seeking a side-yard setback variance from the required 25 feet to 17 feet, with 17.2 feet proposed. The application also seeks to increase the maximum permitted lot coverage from 10 to 20 percent, with 19.55 percent proposed.

Two additional variances concern the size and dimensions of the existing property. The applicant seeks relief from the 150-foot minimum road frontage requirement for a lot with 80 feet of frontage and from the 40,000-square-foot minimum lot area requirement for a 25,283-square-foot property. The public hearing notice included with the agenda says written comments may be submitted to the Zoning Office and that application materials are available at the Land Use Office and Town Clerk's Office.

Second Lake Shore Drive Application

The board will also consider accepting an application from attorney Michael J. McVerry on behalf of property owner William Fitzpatrick III for 290 Lake Shore Drive and setting a future public hearing.

The supporting application proposes a 30-by-40-foot, 1,200-square-foot dwelling on the 0.23-acre property in the R-40 zone. The application identifies the requested relief as variances involving the front yard, two side yards and lot coverage and cites the property's narrow lot size and topography as the claimed hardship.

The agenda describes the requested variances more specifically: reducing the 25-foot side-yard setback to 4 feet and 8 feet 3 inches, increasing maximum lot coverage from 10 to 12 percent, and reducing the minimum front-yard setback from 35 feet to 15 feet. The application is listed only for acceptance and the setting of a public hearing, not for an Oct. 7 decision on the variances.

The board will also consider approval of its Sept. 2 meeting minutes.

The meeting begins at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday in Room 26 of the Shepardson Community Center, 1172 Whittemore Road.