Statement of Hardship (3) STATEMENT OF HARDSHIP
The petitioner, Roberta M. Reddy, is the owner of the property known as 31 Calumet Street. The
property consists of approximately 35,000 square feet of land with one single-family dwelling
where the petitioner resides. The property is in the R-1 zoning district. In the R-1 District, the
Zoning Ordinance requires minimum lot size and minimum lot area per dwelling of 15,000 s.f.
On December 16, 2021, the Board of Appeals granted the petitioner variances from the minimum
lot area and minimum lot area per dwelling unit to allow the property to be subdivided into three
lots. The existing dwelling unit was located on one of those lots and two new buildable lots were
created. Based on the plan that was submitted to and approved by the Board, it appeared that the
lot with the dwelling conformed to the minimum lot area of 15,000 s.f. requirement. However,
the surveyor has since discovered an error in his calculations which leaves the lot with only
12,503 and short of the minimum lot area.
The petitioner is requesting that prior decision be amended to extend the same relief that was
granted for the two new lots from the minimum lot area and minimum lot area per dwelling unit
be granted for the third lot where the dwelling is located.
The grounds for the variance remain the same as stated in the original petition as follows:
There is a significant amount of ledge which exists on the property which prevents it from being
used for any productive purposes without incurring substantial cost to remove that ledge. By
allowing the applicant to subdivide the property, the economic benefit of creating new buildable
lots will support the cost of ledge removal and the installation of utilities. In addition, the cost of
extending the unbuilt portion of Calumet Street adds a major expense to the use of the
undeveloped portion of this land.
If the zoning ordinance is strictly enforced, only one additional lot could be created which will
not support the costs described above and would create a hardship for the owner by preventing
him from reasonably using the undeveloped portion of the land.
The majority of all the lots in this neighborhood are similar in size to the lots which are
proposed, therefore the relief granted could be granted without derogating from the intent of the
Ordinance or without detriment to the public good.