Brennan Wins One For Mom & Dad

Liam Brennan’s elderly parents will be able to live just steps away from their grandchildren — while maintaining the independence of residing in their own detached home — now that the city’s zoning board has approved the conversion of the former mayoral candidate’s backyard garage into a two-story accessory dwelling unit (aka ​“ADU”).

The Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) granted a suite of relief during its latest monthly online meeting on June 18 to allow for Brennan to build out the separate living space for his parents right behind his family’s single-family Westville home.

Namely, the BZA unanimously approved his and local architect Fernando Pastor’s application for variances at 28 Elmwood Rd. to allow for an average building wall height of 19 feet where 12 feet is permitted and building coverage of 31 percent where a maximum of 30 percent is permitted.

That requested relief is designed to allow Brennan — who ran on a pro-housing, pro-density platform in his unsuccessful bid for mayor last year – to convert an existing single-story garage into a two-story accessory dwelling unit, or ADU.

Brennan’s parents currently live in West Haven. He, Pastor, and Brennan’s mom, Anne, explained during Tuesday’s hearing that Brennan’s dad, a Vietnam War veteran, is now in his 90s, uses a wheelchair, and was recently declared legally blind. 

“I find I’m isolated from my children. I’m isolated from everybody. It’s a 24-hour job” caring for her husband, Anne said. ​“The thought of being in somebody’s backyard where I can talk to them, where they can be at my beck and call if I need them,” would make a world of difference. Especially if she can retain the independence of having her own place where she can put her desk and computer and sewing machine and bed.

Pastor said the expanded garage would be ​“very similar” in character and appearance to most of the houses in the area. 

While the city’s current ADU law — a 2021 ordinance amendment that has tried, and failed, to promote the creation of basement, attic, and garage apartments – does not currently allow for ADUs to have a second floor, he said, a proposed amendment currently before the Board of Alders would allow for such a height. 

“The city wants the ADUs to happen,” he said. ​“There’s more density needed. … This is exactly what the ADUs are looking to provide, homes for in-laws or someone related to the family that’s residing in the house.”

In response to questions by BZA Commissioner Erroll Saunders, Pastor and Brennan explained that the proposed second floor would allow for a separate room for Brennan’s mom and, if necessary down the line, for a live-in nurse or aide.

“We’re trying to expand as minimally as possible,” Brennan said. He said the variances he requested sought to balance ​“the lot coverage vs. the need. We thought the extra height was in keeping with the neighborhood.”

During the public hearing portion of the meeting, Elmwood neighbor Tadhg Dooley spoke in support of Brennan’s application. He said he was one of a dozen neighbors to submit a letter urging the BZA to approve.

“It’s a wonderful block with a lot of folks of all ages,” he said. ​“I know it will be enriched by [Brennan’s parents’] presence.”

The only person to speak out against the ADU application was Brennan’s immediate next door neighbor, Veronika Shabanova.

“I’m not the bad guy here,” she insisted at the start of her testimony. ​“The family is lovely,” she added about the Brennans.

Her complaint focused on the design and dimensions of the proposed ADU itself.

She argued that Brennan did not prove the legal standard for a variance — that he suffers from a hardship unique to the land he’s looking to build on.

“Zoning rules exist to protect all neighbors, not just some neighbors,” she said. ​“This is not right.”

Hill resident Leslie Radcliffe, who also chairs the City Plan Commission, and Westville resident Ben Trachten, who is also a leading local land-use attorney, followed up with their own testimonies in support of Brennan’s application.

Radcliffe described Brennan’s ADU application as ​“in alignment with the original intent” of the 2021 city law ​“for ADUs with resident homeowners,” providing additional housing within existing structures. 

“I’ve been waiting for a true ADU application to come before this board,” added Trachten. ​“The city created this ADU ordinance for exactly these types of situations. This type of minor bulk relief is going to accompany nearly all such ADU” applications.

Later in the evening Saunders questioned Brennan and Pastor on why exactly they want to add a second floor rather than seek to expand the garage’s first level and not change its height. Trachten jumped in again, speaking in support of the project in his capacity as an individual member of the public.

Expanding a single-story ADU rather than building a second-story would change the lot coverage in a significant way, and that’s a ​“much more impactful variance than building height,” he said. It affects stormwater, heat island, and impervious surface rules, he said. ​“Creating a single-story unit that expands is a much more significant degree of relief.”

Saunders told his colleagues on the board that he was satisfied with the explanations as to why a second story was being requested, and he and his colleagues subsequently all voted in support of Brennan’s requested ADU.