Town Zoning Report: Upland Drive, Larkfield Road and Pumpkin Street

Expansion to  Accommodate Disabled Tenants
Application #20196: Leiann and Robert McGrory, who reside at 73 Upland Drive in East Northport, are seeking an area variance from the to construct several additions to the front and rear of their home in order to legalize a 1,333-square-foot accessory apartment on the first floor.

Speaking on behalf of the McGrorys was David James of John Bracco Architect.

Before James could present the application, the board cautioned him that a project of that size had never been approved by the current members. James countered by saying that it needed to be that size in order to accommodate two handicapped tenants, who were present at the meeting.

James, who has experience designing handicapped facilities, said that the square footage, which included a handicapped-accessible kitchen, was the absolute smallest it could be.

The board suggested to James that a way around this problem would be to convert the existing first-floor kitchen into a handicapped-accessible kitchen. When James responded that the proposed tenants, who were related to the main tenants, would prefer privacy, Chairman Christopher Modelewski responded that "people don't sleep in kitchens."

James also did not come to the hearing with a real estate expert. He originally planned to proceed with the application without one, but was persuaded to take an adjournment by the board until he could find one.

Buffer from Bagel Shop
Application #20198: Chris Garten is requesting a side-yard variance at 680 Larkfield Road in East Northport to construct a two-car garage detached from the main dwelling. He also sought to relocate an existing  shed to a conforming location on the lot.

When asked by the board why he was putting the garage five feet from the property line, Garten said he needed to in order to provide a buffer from on the other side of his property. Modelewski said that the logic was sound, and that it would not disturb the bagel store at that spot on the property.

Garten was in the process of converting an garage attached to the dwelling into a living space. The garage door on that portion of the property was removed. His application was granted pending an additional submission proving that.

Detached Garage, Rec Room
Application #20168: This application was filed by Charles Ludemann on behalf of his family's residence at 5 Pumpkin Street, south of Graystone Drive in East Northport.

Ludemann was seeking side yard variance in order to construct a 380-square-foot detached garage and a new recreation room in the front of the house. He also wanted to convert an existing attached garage into a bedroom.

The board didn't see why Ludemann couldn't move the garage to a conforming location, and didn't accept Ludemann's reasoning that he needed the room between the different proposed structures on the property, ie., the new garage, the dwelling and an above-ground pool.

When architect spoke to defend the project, board member Carol Gaughran pointed out that if the current location of the garage was permitted, there would be only a one-foot distance from the end of the garage to the end of the driveway. The board didn't want to set this precedent. They also noted that a proposed 18-foot setback on the north side could be cut back two feet, which would allow the garage to move to a conforming location.

The application was denied.

The hears applications every Thursday night at 6pm, excluding holidays.