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Before this weekend I had never heard of this - the town is no longer allowing people to build up their home beyond what their lot size deems fit... that's all well and good but we're looking to simply add a 4-bedroom dormer to a ranch.. about 1100sqft. There is uncertainty about needing a variance because the home already has a living room extension and garage conversion... anyone go through this? I basically want to know about the determining factors for even needing a variance. What's involved and how strict are they on this for a typical dormer? Still in the preliminary stages of info gathering... your experiences appreciated. Town offices are all voicemail.
What town? I had a pretty harsh experience with Smithtown trying to add a second floor to my home. The issue is what's referred to as floor area ratio (FAR), which is the percentage of square footage of your home to the square footage of your total property. We had to get a variance for ours, and it was a fight. Smithtown typically won't grant a variance over 30% FAR. Other things that different towns factor in are: is this a second floor and does the town count that toward FAR (some do not), is this environmentally sensitive land, what is the slope of the land, etc.
Sorry to hijack this thread, but I might be interested in doing a similar thing by expanding on the 2nd floor. The burner chimney is right in the middle of the future expansion area, is there a way we can re-route it or burner relocation is the only option ?
Sorry to hijack this thread, but I might be interested in doing a similar thing by expanding on the 2nd floor. The burner chimney is right in the middle of the future expansion area, is there a way we can re-route it or burner relocation is the only option ?
Must be an older house.....how old is your boiler?
Town of Oyster Bay... the footprint will not be changed (it already was with the living room extension though, which already has a CO). Essentially we'll be adding the 2nd floor and doing some reconfiguring of existing rooms on the 1st floor and basement.
I haven't had an architect do anything yet so no drawings (which would cost thousands) have been done... I would definitely need to find out if it's even possible to do such an addition before throwing down that cash.
mynassauproperty.com lists the home at 6500 lot square feet and 1528 living square feet... if they go by ratio, it will end up being near 40% (2600 sqft of 6500 sqft).
Town of Oyster Bay... the footprint will not be changed (it already was with the living room extension though, which already has a CO). Essentially we'll be adding the 2nd floor and doing some reconfiguring of existing rooms on the 1st floor and basement.
I haven't had an architect do anything yet so no drawings (which would cost thousands) have been done... I would definitely need to find out if it's even possible to do such an addition before throwing down that cash.
mynassauproperty.com lists the home at 6500 lot square feet and 1528 living square feet... if they go by ratio, it will end up being near 40% (2600 sqft of 6500 sqft).
If they do give you a variance for going larger than the town's maximum, your taxes are going to go UP as you are significantly increasing the living space in the house.
Before I did a significant project ten years ago, I contacted the tax assessor for my town (Brookhaven.) The quote they gave me was underestimated by over $1K.
40% FAR?ood luck, most towns will not allow that. Contact your town and find out if this is possible, you don't want to shell out the cash for plans and then not be able to do it.
Speak to the building department. They are good in that town. They will let you know what will be allowed and what will (most likely) be granted in a variance hearing.
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