by Kristina Gabalski
An application for a use variance to convert a single family home at 19 Park Avenue in the Village of Brockport to an owner-occupied two-family home has been denied by the Brockport Zoning Board of Appeals.
Planning/Zoning Clerk Pamela Krahe said acting chairman Jim Hamlin asked for a motion to approve the application as submitted during the board’s April 5 meeting, but because no board member did so, Hamlin declared the application denied.
Krahe said more than 20 people attended the meeting and 12 made public comment.
Brockport Code Enforcement Officer Scott Zarnstorff said the majority of speakers did not want the application approved.
“The process of local zoning went through its full course,” Zarnstorff said. “Everybody had a chance to speak – the applicant, the board and the public.”
Zarnstorff noted the use variance can be a challenging one for which to obtain approval. “There are high standards the applicant needs to hurdle,” he said. “I think the process went through its course. That’s what it’s there for.”
Park Avenue resident Pam Ketchum told the Suburban News she is concerned about the conversion – both legal and illegal – of properties from single to multiple family in the village. “The uncontrolled growth in rental property is not right,” Ketchum said. “It affects every single aspect of Brockport.”
