Dobbs Ferry zoning board approves variances for deck at Nine Ravine Drive

The Dobbs Ferry Zoning Board on June 10 voted to approve variances that will allow the owner of Nine Ravine Drive to build a rear deck that would sit several feet higher than the existing patio.

The owner, Travis Lewis, and landscape architect Donna Gutkin described a compact deck design that, they said, is intended to preserve a very mature maple tree on the property. The board heard that the lot’s angled property line and the existing door locations constrain placement and that greenery along the shared boundary limits sightlines to the neighbor at 72 Buena Vista. The board also noted the project sits entirely within Dobbs Ferry despite the lot’s partial location in neighboring Hastings.

Board members reviewed the numeric details of the request: a 7-foot rear-yard variance so the proposed rear setback would be 18 feet where the code requires 25 feet; a side-yard variance to allow 6 feet 3 inches where the code requires 10 feet (a variance of roughly 3.7 feet); and a reduction in total setback to about 20.6 feet (a variance of roughly 4.4 feet). The applicant described the deck footprint as roughly 22 feet across and said its finished elevation would be only a few feet higher than the existing patio.

The chair told the board the zoning office had received a written statement from a nearby resident, Laura Tolen, supporting the application; no in-person objections were raised. A motion to approve the variances “as laid out in the letter” was made, seconded and adopted by voice vote. The board did not provide a roll-call tally in the record.

The board congratulated the owner and closed the meeting. The approval allows the applicant to move forward subject to any standard building and permit processes required by the village.