Zoning Board of Appeals - Regular Meeting

depend right now. Let's start the meeting of the Cold Spring Zoning Board of Appeals. I'm Eric Worth, the chair. With me is um Billy Fields, John Martin, and Maryanne Remy. We have a quorum tonight. Four out of five members. And there's one item on the agenda, the workshop for One Depot Square. You're here for that, right Jamie? Uh Jamie Copelan, Miss Gracie McGuinness. Uh really appreciate you meeting tonight. I realize we're the only one on the docket. So that's it's our regular date. So we are here. Okay. Um would you like to come to the table and Yes. And and we have some drawings that probably better laid out on the table. Move that. That's Robert. Yeah. But we were by we were approached by the owners of the uh the depot restaurant. Um they have a outdoor dining area and uh it's it's such a prominent spot uh and they wanted to do something that would be in keeping with Cold Spring history. We've lost a lot of the uh cast iron uh fronts. um detailing and um they found a uh uh the structure. So, I'm going to let Gracie walk you through it. It does have some issues about setback parking and so yeah, we're just going to be concerned with the setback in this board. Okay, great. So just for the purposes of that tonight, um we have it marked out here on the site plan a 25 by 50 pavilion that is um just at the other end of site from the existing restaurant towards the

corner of Main Street Depot Plazas. The variance that we're asking for is the rear setback which the requirement is 10 as you know and our building sits at 7 ft. Um, the reason we located it in that exact position was to keep the same uh relationship to the sidewalk and the parking and streetscape as the existing restaurant. And with the size of the building, you know, needed for function that we're looking to get out of it. That's where it landed. Um, of course, it's well within the footprint of the existing building in relation to the the nonconformity there. So, we're hoping for the three-foot uh variance just to make sure everything lines up in the front and we could still use the building um you know at the capacity that we're looking for size. So, you say it's a um a reclaimed building like a pre-existing structure or it's it's it's not reclaimed. Not reclaimed character to it, I guess. So, Oh, here's some some drawings of a design similar to what we're looking for. A little less ornamental of a structure in uh by the same manufacturer. We would be going for a darker color that's more fits with the building that's there. a brown bronze kind of color not green but so it'll be a new construction. Yes. There was a time when Cold Spring transferred to peace time and stop making cana and started to make building fronts cast iron uh cast iron

for bridges. Um and there were there was a lot of work came out of this foundry that was seen all over uh the eastern seabboard. And this is a you know this is a prime example of that methodology of of wet sand impression casting. You're saying what's left behind in the ground right now? There's a there's a wooden gazebo. Um there's a flag pole of what's currently there. Yeah. Yeah. I'm familiar with and it's not at the same size of what you're proposing. No, it's it's a small uh the purpose of this one uh is to have outdoor time and have a covered area that uh it could serve for uh places to meet outdoor. But under serve that area served. Yes, the kitchen uh they serve out there now. Uh so it uh will give them a chance to do it with the cover with a canopy. There mechanicals in this. Uh there may be if they enclose it, it could have mechanicals. It's probably a heat pump that would uh So right now right now it's just as it's designed is is just open space that's covered. Yes. So would that be glass lined or is it actually all open as it's designed present? Well, it's designed to take glass panels so that it in the tween seasons they enclose it and make it come. Oh, just curious, Eric. Uh, you know, as you look at the size of the property, right? Uh,

coverage. But what would it be? The their property is actually the whole includes the street. Oh, it does. Oh, it does. Okay. The only thing that's actually varants is the just the rear setback. Yeah, else is fine. Yeah, I saw that. But I just was trying to figure out where the rest of the propert has been granted for use of that street section. So at a workshop um we mainly just check the application for correctness, completeness, make sure that we all understand correctly the uh issues of code that are involved and um whether the application is in its best state for a hearing because that's when the public will have a have a chance to weigh in on it. Um, you provide there were a couple of gaps which you have provided. We now have a zoning conformance worksheet and I assume the deed is here. I Yeah, it's not in that packet. I have a have to be notified. Yeah, that's one of the issues dealt with in the workshop is the uh notification to neighbors. Um when a public hearing has been set, you'll have to mail notices with the list of neighbors. Uh and you you

provided one in your application which was mo seemed mostly complete. Um I saw a couple of let me call the map here. Yeah, we had about five five adjacent properties that we called out. Well, one one that you'll need to notify is MTA as John said, hard as it may be to imagine that they will care. Still, they are the adjacent property owner right on that spot. environments are relevant and to be complete need to send them a notice as we go. And I was also seemed to me of a map here Washington spring going to be like right in the middle of it. I I think that going the that stone with the plaque has been in numerous other places. So, uh if if the it may be there's you know at the end of Main Street there is that semicircle that's juts out towards the track. Um the flag pole and that stone uh because right now I remember it's just it's like vacant spot. That would be a should be nice to have a flag pole at the book Main Street. This be an argument for sending a notice to 37 Main Street. That's the yellow

building that's Sure. that um is being renovated now because they have a standing in the front of that building. You've got a clear view of this site or part partial the site. So they do have some interest potentially. And then the the last one I I was going to ask about is two railroad avenue. According to the map, that is the right across the street from the restaurant. Two railroad is that big boxy corner building that got like an old garage in the bottom floor. That shows up as two railroad avenue here. Is that also that I think that's the same building as Gate Depot potentially unless there's two separate owners. That was what I had it listed as. I believe so. Yeah. I don't know if is there a preferable I guess. Oh, okay. Yeah, I guess on the railro railroad side it's known as two railroad. On the depot side it's not. So that's fine. No, just as long as you whoever the owner is that building. Okay. I mean when you you'll you'll be you'll include that. So that's that's already on your list. That's great. So yeah. So it's just those two the MTA and 37 main and then the ones that you've already given. What about the the house that's across from the terrace that's faces main corner? Um yeah, that's 43 Maine. Um, that's reasonable. I mean, it's they have a courtyard there, I think. Right. Um, oh, I see what you're saying. On the far side, the back back side courtyard is okay. Yeah, they they have a view of it, too. Sure. That would be pretty much it. I in your interest to notify as many people

as possible just protect yourself against somebody coming back later and saying, "How come you, you know, this upsets me? How come you didn't tell?" Right. Is there a form uh yes letter that we use? I will um in the next few days send you I'll email you a um the uh announcement itself, the announcement of the hearing and you'll that's just what you'll just print that and that will be made off just gives the full uh the full explanation of what's what it's about. And then there's a sign there's a sign posting. Yeah, you'll need to get assigned clerk and put that in front of the property. Those need to be certified but yes and I will provide explanation about all that there return receipt requested and so on. So yeah, I'll explain all that within 10 days before the hearing date and and that'll be the next question when to have the hearing. Well, that's um uh in order to set that board has to whether to have a hearing, whether the application is ready to go to a hearing. So, let's make sure we see if does anyone have any other questions, comments um about the application there. We didn't talk about photos. Um photographs are not a required part, but useful. I saw some in the the PDF. You have some drawings. Yeah, there are there are some wowite photos drawings as well. Oh. I've been drawings of myself.

There's a Washington in the back there. Yeah. There all the time. I know. Okay. So, yeah, that's that's really helpful. It's a pretty broad street. So, yeah. You know, you've got the railroad right there. Uh I I guess I'm not seeing that need for like brass all the neighborhood necessarily in this case. Oh, no. Yeah. Such a familiar site to all of us anyway. Yeah. Oh, great. Okay. So, um I I I see no u nothing to add to the application that seems ready to go. um mentioned having a copy of the deed. Um you mind providing that? I think I missed that the application. Oh yeah, I have this one copy that I brought with me, but I think I emailed it to you as well. Emile it later, but I I could leave one here if it did make it. on the next page. That's the receipts. Yeah. Yeah. Abby, there's a message from Gracie on 620 that you should have got. Well, it has the the PDF

Well, I would move uh to uh the the package seems complete that is completely I guess we need to set a date and then you'll include that in your motion. Hold it, hold a meeting, hold a hearing on X date. Yeah. So, let's um it's um we need like a four-week lag from now until the hearing in order to carry out the um there's a required referral to the planning board. We've got to just notify them of the existence of this application under under cold springs law. So, um they have 30 days to respond. So, to allow for that, we need basically a four at least a four-week lang. So that means this the soonest date for the hearing would be um today's the 24th um July 22nd. Yeah. There's a meeting a DBA meeting on the 22nd of July. So that would be a possibility if that works for you. The 22nd of July. Correct. Okay. Here at 7 o'clock, right? And that's the public hearing. Yes. John, why don't you frame your motion to include that date? Right. So I moved that the uh package floor here for the one depot square uh looking for area variance 3 ft on the rear setback uh beh

2022 22 at 2025 7 p.m. I'll second that. All in favor? I I All right, that's it. The reason part of the reason we're here uh the historic district review board uh thought that this probably should have come here first. Uh uh is there anything that you see in this that you might think cause concern with the public? I don't see that's often a question when a application is referred to more than one board at the same time whether what whether there should be a se a certain sequence. uh we don't have anything uh anything um set in stone on that. It can depend on the application nature of the project. I don't see anything the matter before us is pretty simple and I don't see anything like anything that we do one way or the other would be have a bearing on the HDRB a decision. I this really is actually um something that they have they have a lot more to think about here than we do. So um um I I don't see a need for them to wait. I mean, I I know I get I the danger I guess that they're thinking of is that the ZBA rejects the the proposal and and makes requires some other solution, some other approach that totally requires you to redo the design, then then they're what what they're

looking at is obsolete. I don't see any of that. Well, I think you just would go forward with I mean the plan is pretty straightforward and uh won't be that time consuming. It might be for whether little specific say may have but if they were to grant things at all be conditioned on how we come out. So I I don't think you'd be have a terrible loss of time. Yeah, it's it it actually works the other way around too. They could hypothetically impose on you some requirements that change the set setback, force you to change the setback as part of your adjustments and then that would mean our our decision would be potentially no longer applicable. So, you know, it could work either way. So, you just kind of have to model through. Yeah, you I think you just go forward. It's in a sense straightforward that you've prepared everything. So worse comes to worse. I mean and the 3 ft is not a a unreasonable ask that I don't know that really we have to go through five criteria and we have to do it on a formal basis. We can't give it any preliminary statement on I appreciate that. Okay. Thank you. Thank you. So, I will be writing you um the next few days with complete further instructions on what you what you need to do. Thank you. You can hang. Thank you. Bye.

Good night. You too. Abby, it looks like you provided some new minutes here. Yes. Okay. So, we have a new draft of minutes for May 13th. on that. They say clarify the motion. Um the requested variance for a foot three foot five yard a variance of three feet [Music] set back. You got it full square and to schedule a public hearing. Awesome. Thank you. Got your message. Shut up. Would you remind me? Yeah, that's um garage. He's um has a detached garage in the backyard. He wanted to wants to extend it, right? Because there's the old carport over there. No, he wanted to make a wood work. Yeah. Is woodworking. That's right. And plus for better maneuverability, the car. That's right. Okay. So, did you run the hill or did you just walk? Um, well, I'm not doing the whole hill yet because I'm still not 100%. Yeah, but I'm I'm doing 5k every couple

days, but I get about 700 vertical feet out of it. So, I go up and down. I'll get around to doing the whole thing. Go straight up. Um, going up I'm pretty it's pretty like you just follow the trail. Coming back down I do a lot of like blowing down, moving around. It actually builds up. Yeah. Yeah, for sure. Yeah. Yeah. There's warm, you know. I not really. No, I mean Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It would be great. I just I'm like uh I'd rather be under my own power. I know a bike is too, but like I like put I might have to depend how my knee heals or doesn't heal or get straight. But yeah, I have a couple of changes to to propose to the minutes. Um where it says the applicant at 17 Marion Avenue, he hasn't applied yet. So why don't we just call him the resident? Okay. the resident at 17 Marion Avenue. That makes sense. And the second point, the second bulleted point um really needs more explanation because it's not won't be clear what rejection I'm talking about there. Okay. Um so maybe just delete point otherwise it's going to take we have to get into we have to explain if he had applied once before and yeah, you would get more detail if you were going to get that. So I think that he simply had a few questions. Fine, right? Yeah, that covers all all that the minutes need to say. Um so why don't we just delete the second bulleted point? Just leave it. Leave the first otherwise it looks great.

Anyone else see anything? No. Oh um also the typo. Sorry myself. The meeting was called to order at such and such time. The meeting called itself to order. Yeah. Wasn't even there. So, I make a motion to um accept the meeting the the minutes of the May 13, 2025 meeting as amended. I'll second that. All in favor? I I Okay, thank you. Um, yours 90. Thank you. As long as that sun is cool. Yeah. No, that's exactly it. As long as it's below whatever, you're not in it. Do you realize you see how windy it is right now? I mean, that actually does make it better. It's drying out. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Anyone have any other? No. No other business. Then I make a motion that we close the meeting. Second. All in favor? I I thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Meeting. Everybody says allowing me. Oh, now it's 87. That's like that's like Oh, it's down. Beautiful. Thank you so much guys. Have a good day. Yeah, likewise. Thanks. Should we just leave it here as it is? Okay, great.