Owner sought to develop a one-story building on a corner lot formerly occupied by two-story single-family home. The owner of a vacant lot at the corner of Midland Avenue and Freeborn Street in Staten Island applied for a use variance to construct a one-story commercial building. A two-story single-family home formerly occupied the 60 x 87 foot site, which consisted of two separate lots that were merged in 2008.

The owner claimed that the lot’s shallow depth and the area’s commercial nature, which included several automotive businesses and dry cleaners, constrained residential development. The owner cited Midland Avenue’s heavy traffic and the lot’s proximity to the border of a 100-year floodplain as additional conditions making an as-of-right development difficult. (more…)