Five years under Buffalo's Green Code: 70% of variance requests are granted

A proposal to construct 36 new apartments in three dilapidated multi-family structures on East Utica Street just off of Main Street ran into a potential brick wall after one of its variance requests was denied by the Zoning Board of Appeals. Marty Lougen of Laurynthian Campus Properties had applied for a series of five variances from the Green Code

If there’s one word that’s at the core of the debate over the city’s new Green Code, it’s “variance.” So what is a variance? A variance is an exception to the zoning law, permitting a property owner to legally build something that wouldn’t normally be allowed. What can you get a variance for? According to guidance from the state

The Buffalo Planning Board on Monday accepted the final environmental impact statement for Chason Affinity Companies’ proposed project at 1111 Elmwood Ave., pushing the controversial building one step closer to final approval. The developer is seeking to construct a four-story mixed-use building at the corner of Elmwood and Forest avenues, with 40 one-, two- and three-bedroom condos and three

Thirty days. That’s how long preservationists have to save a building once the City of Buffalo receives a permit application to demolish it. But it can’t be done, they say. Consider the recent case of a West Utica Street house built in 1907. The city’s Department of Permit and Inspection Services observes a 30-day waiting period when someone applies