In a three-minute, 16-second meeting that may have set a Town record for brevity, the Zoning Board of Appeals has voted to reopen two public hearings.
The action allows the applicants to present new information at future dates to be determined.
With no other work before it on Wednesday evening, the ZBA adjourned.
D’Arcambal: 8 East Brander Parkway
Last summer, Michelle D’Arcambal proposed adding a large deck and steps to her vintage Sears & Roebuck kit home at 8 East Brander Parkway. It’s on the corner of South Silver Beach Road with a lovely view down the Town Landing opposite her property to West Neck Creek.
In response to largely negative feedback last August, D’Arcambal somewhat reduced the scope, and a second ZBA public hearing this June drew detractors as well as many supporters. Some supporters claimed that D’Arcambal, a prominent proponent of short-term rentals, was being targeted for her views.
Follow this link to see D’Arcambal’s plan packet on the ZBA’s webpage. Jump to page 15 to see how the proposed deck varies from the setbacks.
Following that, the ZBA discussed the proposal during a July 19 work session and agreed that the proposed deck was still overly large, given the lot’s zoning constraints. Chairman Phil D’Orio noted that more than half the additional 600 square feet of deck surface required variances.
“Quite massive” is how member William “Punch” Johnston III described the project, which was intended to replace a small kitchen-entry deck and stairs that have fallen into disrepair.
Member Lynne Colligan noted the house already has a large screen porch facing North Silver Beach Road (the house and porch predate the Zoning Code).
“They already have this sizeable front porch that is screened in for entertaining and such. To extend beyond that just seems like a lot.”
DiOrio polled the other ZBA members on whether they’d support having D’Arcambal present a reduced proposal, and they agreed. Town Attorney Stephen F. Kiely said he’d tell D’Arcambal the ZBA would consider “something a little smaller, or a lot smaller.”
But, to review an alternate plan, the ZBA would have to reopen the public hearing at its next business meeting, Kiely said.
And that’s what happened at the ZBA’s July 26 work session, with Colligan presiding. She said D’Arcambal indicated she wants to present another plan modification in response to public input and ZBA feedback. The board set no hearing date.
Flower: 10 Chequit Avenue
At Wednesday’s meeting, the ZBA also voted to reopen a public hearing on a proposal by Anthony and Anna Marie Flower at 10 Chequit Avenue for the limited purpose of receiving a formal vegetation plan.
At the mid-July work session, DiOrio said the review of the Flower’s family plan to raise their 10 Chequit Avenue home beyond what’s required by FEMA standards left a few unanswered questions.
While he’d resolved most to the ZBA’s satisfaction, the Flowers still owed the board a formal vegetation plan. He said the notes submitted regarding some trees and other plantings weren’t sufficient.
Kiely said such a plan should include detailed descriptions of the proposed plantings, including the type, quantities, and sizes of plants, and the trunk size and heights of any trees, among other pertinent details. These details need to be shown on a survey that a licensed professional stamps, he said, “to make it enforceable.”
However, he said the ZBA had to reopen the hearing to accept the vegetation plan, which it did at this week’s mini-meeting. No hearing date was set.
