DAVID A. BARBUTI, ARCHITECT
Plans show existing rear of American Legion Post and proposed new addition in the center.
By JEFF MORRIS
The Katonah American Legion Post No. 1575, located at 136 Jay St., is proposing a small addition to its existing building.
The building currently occupies 4,911.5 square feet, or 2.8 percent, of its lot. The planned expansion would only increase that by 183.6 square feet, to 5,095.1, or 2.92 percent of the lot.
Under the plan, the only change would be that an existing roofed deck in the rear of the building, measuring 10 feet by 20 feet, would be demolished and replaced with an enclosed addition.
An existing fabric overhang would be removed, as would the entire porch structure, including the wood deck, footings and railing, and portions of the surrounding sidewalls and adjacent roof overhang and windows.
Once demolition is complete, a new structure would be constructed and integrated with the rest of the building, providing an additional seating area for the current bar.
On Oct. 28, architect David Barbuti presented the plan as part of an application to the planning board for expansion of a special use permit, and the board held a public hearing on the matter. Barbuti said the special use permit was originally granted in 1952.
The only public comment was from a neighbor who wanted assurance that exterior lighting would not be expanded. She said she enjoyed having the Legion as a neighbor. Barbuti said the addition would not be visible from the street, and there were no plans to add any lighting.
The board could not take any action on the application because it still had to go before the zoning board of appeals for a variance. That appearance was to take place Wednesday, Nov. 6. The variance is required, as stated in the application to the ZBA, to permit “the construction of a one-story addition where the front yard setback to a legal, preexisting, nonconforming structure is 14’ where 35’ is required and where the front yard setback to the proposed addition results in 34’ where 35’ is required in the residential half-acre zoning district.”
Chairwoman Deirdre Courtney-Batson closed the public hearing and wished the applicant luck with the ZBA, calling the American Legion one of the town’s “important organizations.”