Stratford ZBA OKs variance for proposed marine service building at 500 Sniffins Lane

The Stratford Zoning Board of Appeals voted unanimously April 2 to grant Landing Strip LLC a variance from the Town of Stratford flood-elevation requirement so the company can build a 6,000-square-foot marine service building at 500 Sniffins Lane.

Attorney Barry Knott, representing Landing Strip LLC and owner Andrew Cooley, told the board the town code requires buildings at this site to be at elevation 14 but the proposed structure would be built at elevation 12.5. "We're proposing to build this facility at Elevation 12.5, not 14, so we're a foot and a half short," Knott said during his presentation. Knott said the property is on the Housatonic River and a marina must be located at the water to serve its intended purpose.

Brian Donovan, Stratford’s building official and floodplain administrator, testified the proposed use meets FEMA’s definition of a functionally dependent use (shipbuilding/repair) and that FEMA and local controls allow exceptions for such facilities when appropriate protections are provided. "This building is a functionally dependent use," Donovan said, adding the applicant would use wet-floodproofing, breakaway walls and water-resistant materials below elevation 14 so that anything below that elevation would be non-damageable by water.

Knott and the applicant described site conditions and remediation needs. The site currently sits at about elevation 10 and is contaminated; Knott said the applicant will bring in "a foot and a half of fill to raise the elevation of the property from 10 to approximately 11 and a half." Applicant Andrew Cooley told the board environmental rules require "one foot of fresh fill over everything that's existing" and that building areas would be capped with concrete.

Board members questioned whether boats and equipment would be secured during storms and how emergency access and wave action were handled. Donovan said he had reviewed structural plans and would review the building-permit application; he also explained that breakaway wall construction and flood vents allow floodwaters to pass without causing structural failure.

Knott said the proposal had already received unanimous approval from the Waterfront and Harbor Management Commission and an ARB approval letter dated 12/14/2023; he added the zoning commission had tabled the applicant’s special-case application pending this variance and would consider it on April 24 if the variance were granted.

After reviewing variance criteria in Dan’s administrative memo — including good and sufficient cause, exceptional hardship if denied, and that granting the variance would not increase flood heights or public expense — the board voted 5–0 to approve the variance. The board required oversight by the building official and discussed standard stipulations to ensure site remediation and floodproofing measures are enforced.

The board moved from the public hearing into an administrative session and approved the motion on the record. The zoning commission will next consider the applicant’s special-case application on April 24, 2024.