Oh, the Woes of Higher Homes

STONE HARBOR — For decades Stone Harbor has clung to zoning regulations regarding setbacks, regulations which some on the Borough Council believe have contributed significantly to the attractive appearance of the town. 
Now the realities of adjusting to higher elevation levels for home construction may be forcing the borough to consider change.
The borough’s Planning Board has approved a change to the setbacks which would allow front stairs to extend an extra distance toward the sidewalk.
According to the board’s minutes, the change would permit “Stairs to lead to a first-floor landing, the landing size will have no limitation and be permitted within a 10-foot setback in the front or side yard.”
Council member Charles Krafczek championed the proposed change, saying that it was an inevitable result of new height mandates that are tied to Federal Emergency Management Agency flood maps and flood insurance requirements. Krafczek said the new heights when coupled with the setback requirements forced architects to consider stairs that are too steep, with treads that were too narrow.
Council President Joselyn Rich said that she was unsure that a change to the borough’s long-standing regulations was wise. She argued that architects have found ways to accommodate the new heights and stay within the setback requirements.
“I am very concerned about changing requirements that have been in place a long time and have served the borough well,” she said.
Rich also said the proposed change did not make clear what was a landing.  “Can this be a deck?” she asked.
The ordinance amendment had already been introduced by council Nov. 20. The discussion raising concerns at the December work session began when newly-appointed Council member Reese Moore asked questions on the change.
His questions opened a discussion in which Rich voiced concerns and in which member Raymond Parzych admitted he was also unsure of the wisdom of the move.
“I wake up one day and feel I can support it and the next I’m unsure again,” he said.
Member Joan Kramar noted that the planning board had been considering this for six months and ended up approving the change.
Mayor Judith Davies-Dunhour said that she was reluctant to pull the ordinance since it had been introduced, but she also understood that several council members had not had enough time to “get comfortable” with the proposal.
Davies-Dunhour advised council to “go ahead and vote the change down when it comes up at the next meeting.”
She said the council could then reconsider the change and gather more information about it in January.
From Rich who expressed concern that the change could undermine “the quaintness” of the town’s appearance to Krafczek who sees the amendment as a logical outgrowth of the new height requirements, council members distributed themselves on a continuum of concern for how to deal with the issues of front-stair design.
If they follow Davies-Dunhour’s advice, the ordinance change would be voted down at the last meeting of 2018, to be resurrected for further inquiry in 2019.
To contact Vince Conti, email vconti@cmcherald.com.