Two applications were reviewed by the Planning and Zoning Board at their January 11 meeting.

•  The first application, by the owner of a property at 55 West 34th St., was for a number of minor setback encroachments and, more importantly, for a floor area ratio (FAR) variance for a newly constructed cabana.  The Applicant’s house was built in 2002, meeting code requirements of the time.  The FAR code was established in 2009.  The Applicant does not have an FAR for the house as built.  Before deciding whether to grant an FAR variance, the Board sought to know the FAR of the house in order to have a precise measure of the FAR relief the Applicant is seeking for the cabana.

  The Applicant and the Board agreed to continue the application next month to give the Applicant an opportunity to get a precise measurement of the FAR.

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• The second application was by 5499 Dune Drive, LLC, for property in the dunes at that address.

  The Applicant was not seeking any variances.  The Applicant is going to build a house with the same footprint as the house now on the property. Avalon’s Beach Dune Ordinance, however, requires the Applicant to demonstrate that any construction activity in the dunes will comply with such ordinance.  To this end the Applicant provided the testimony of four experts:  the architect, the flood plain manager, the the land use planner, and the construction manager.

  The application was approved subject to numerous conditions.