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Record of Proceedings

Danbury Zoning Board of Appeals Meeting - August 13, 2026

Meeting Portal — Thursday, August 13, 2026

BodyDanbury, Connecticut

SessionMeeting Portal

DateThursday, August 13, 2026

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 16:06

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0:01

Good evening, welcome to the City of Danbury.

0:05

Regular meeting for the Zoning Board of Appeals here at City Hall 155 Deer Hill Avenue in the City Council Chambers Thursday, August 13th, 2026, 7 p.m.

0:17

My name is Juan Rivas, Chairman of this committee.

0:21

I'm gonna do roll call of the commissioners.

0:26

Barry Rickard?

0:28

Present Jason Williams.

0:31

Present.

0:33

Peter Delusha.

0:34

Present.

0:35

And Keegan Williamson.

0:37

Present.

0:41

Do I have a motion on the floor to accept the meeting minutes of July 9th, 2026?

0:47

Make a motion to accept the minutes.

0:49

July 9th, 2026.

0:51

I second that.

0:53

All right.

0:54

All in favor signify by saying aye.

0:56

Aye.

0:57

Aye.

0:58

Any nays?

1:00

Our next regular meeting is scheduled for August 27, 2026.

1:05

Do I have a motion on the floor for to open public hearings listed here for tonight?

1:13

Motion to open the public hearing for application 26-12, Worcester Heights.

1:18

Do I have a second?

1:19

Second.

1:20

All in favor, signify by saying aye.

1:22

Hi.

1:23

Aye.

1:23

All right.

1:24

Any names?

1:25

All right.

1:26

I can have the applicant approach the podium.

1:32

State their name for the record and address.

1:35

And the floor is yours.

1:37

Good evening, Chairman Reeves, members of the board.

1:39

For the record, uh my name is Greg Bronizen.

1:42

I'm an attorney with an office at 148 Deerhill Avenue in Danbury.

1:46

Here tonight.

1:47

Uh represent the applicant, the contract purchaser of the property.

1:52

Two principals of the applicants are here tonight with me, Jeffrey Bruno and Steve DeMarco.

2:00

The property is located on Wooster Heights.

2:03

It's a pre-existing non-conforming building lot, and it's now in the R20 zone.

2:10

It is a 6,300 square foot lot, so severely undersized for the zone, and we are just asking for a minimal relief from the rear and side yard setback.

2:22

The proposed home is in conformity with the character of the neighborhood and is of a modest size in that it is in conformity with the allowed building coverage in the R20 zone, even though it's a severely undersized lot.

2:50

Are there any questions from the board?

2:56

Any questions?

3:02

So this is gonna be a single family home?

3:04

Correct.

3:05

How many bedrooms?

3:06

Three.

3:20

Yeah, only because of the it's a different section, uh Mr.

3:23

Rickard for the for the deck.

3:25

That's with the side yard and rear yard setback.

3:29

So the question would be why not build it to the within the restrictions of the code.

3:38

Um because it's a 6300 square foot lot in a 20,000 square foot zone, and a home of that's uh that would be within the setback requirements for R20.

3:52

This lot was created in 1944.

3:55

You know, zoning didn't even go to fact in 1960.

3:58

So you know it's an approved building lot and a house that would conform to the setbacks we get of such size that it would be more of a a bungalow or cottage and not even in conformity with the neighborhood and build a house small.

4:20

You can build a hundred square foot house, I imagine.

4:25

In this case, you're asking that the it's an eighteen hundred and fifty square foot house, Mr.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

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Procedural████████████21%

Summary of Proceedings

Danbury Zoning Board of Appeals Meeting - August 13, 2026

This regular meeting of the Danbury Zoning Board of Appeals was held on Thursday, August 13, 2026, at 7:00 PM in City Council Chambers at 155 Deer Hill Avenue. Chairman Juan Rivas presided. The board addressed one public hearing and variance application, with all members present except where noted.

Consent Calendar

Acceptance of Minutes: The board unanimously approved the minutes from the July 9, 2026, meeting.

Discussion Items

Application #26-12 – Wooster Heights (Codfish and DeMarco LLC, Attorney Greg Brauneisen): The applicant requested variances under the RA-20 zone to reduce the side yard setback from 15 feet to 10 feet and the rear yard setback from 35 feet to 28.5 feet for construction of a single-family home, and to reduce the rear yard setback from 25 feet to 20.2 feet for a deck. The property is a pre-existing non-conforming lot of 6,300 square feet (severely undersized for the 20,000-square-foot zone requirement, created in 1944). Attorney Brauneisen argued the relief is minimal and the proposed 1,850-square-foot home conforms to neighborhood character. Commissioner Barry Rickard expressed concerns about building a house of that size on such a small lot, questioning whether a smaller home could be built within existing regulations. Other commissioners noted the lot is legal, the home is a minimum use, and no objections were received from neighbors. Chairman Rivas noted the property is part of a neighborhood with many non-conforming lots. The board discussed that the variance is only one step in the process; the applicant must still meet building department standards.

Key Outcomes

Vote on Application #26-12: The board voted to approve the variances. Motion carried 4-1, with Commissioner Barry Rickard voting against. The approval allows the requested side and rear setback reductions for the home and deck. The next regular meeting was scheduled for August 27, 2026. The meeting adjourned with a correction noted: Chairman Rivas corrected the roll call to state Commissioner Jason Williams (previously called Jacob).

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