Congers Residents Oppose Variances For Oversized House

For the second time this year the owner of 129 Lakewood Drive in Congers went before the Clarkstown Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) seeking three variances and drew visible neighborhood opposition.  An estimated 300 people, many wearing solid white t-shirts, filled the seats and stood along the walls of the town hall auditorium on Monday night. The ZBA did not issue a decision on the application but is expected to do so at its September 9th meeting. 

The subject of the hour-long public hearing was less than a quarter acre of property with a small, dilapidated white house with turquoise trim and a ramshackle red shed at the corner of Lakewood Drive and Lakeland Ave. WC Montebello Corp of 23 Remsen Avenue in Monsey had applied for variances for floor area ratio, front yard area and side yard area for the parcel. The ZBA Agenda for its next meeting on August 19th lists “Reserved Decision” for the variances sought by WC Montebello Corp.

Deputy Building Inspector Eric Asheim could not be reached on Tuesday to provide additional information about the variances sought.

Peter Bradley, president of the Clarkstown Preservation Society, sent an email blast to the membership about the public hearing. He said the house is about 700 square feet much smaller than the approximately 2,700 square foot single family home proposed to replace it. Bradley said a residence that size would dwarf the rest of the neighborhood of mostly high ranch, single-family homes of between 1,600 and 1,800 square feet. Bradley, who was present when the property owner went before the ZBA in January, said the original plan was for a 2,900 square foot house on the corner parcel of about .21 of an acre.   

Bradley said numerous residents spoke Monday about safety because the requested variances would put the proposed house closer to an existing house on Lakeland Avenue as well as to the curb effectively limiting or even blocking the view of school buses going to and from Lakewood Elementary School on Lakeland Avenue.

Bradley talked about the danger of having a reduced buffer between houses in the event of a fire

“I spoke on experiences as a firefighter and fire marshal,” he said.

Bradley said there should be about a 20-foot buffer between homes.

“But the buffer is clearly not being met, grossly not met,” he said.