Apr. 2, 2014:  First, a stand of mature trees disappeared at 50 Masterton Road, and then last week, the house, itself. But the property may not remain empty for long.

Owners James and Tracy Murray, who have purchased, redesigned, and refurbished several village residences, among them 60 Prescott Avenue and 6 Sunset Avenue, could begin construction on a new house at 50 Masterton in two to three weeks, pending final plan approval by the village building department. 

The Murrays and their architect addressed concerns expressed by the zoning board of appeals at its January 2014 meeting and presented a revised application, which the board approved at its February meeting.

Several changes reflected in the revised application will bring the proposed structure in conformity with the village code. A modification in the slope of the roof, as well as a reduction of ceiling height in the basement by approximately one foot, will lower the total height of the structure and bring it within the maximum two-and-a-half-story, 35-foot limit allowed by the code.

The redesigned parking configuration includes a two-car garage, facing Pondfield Road, at the top of a serpentine driveway with an entrance on Masterton Road. 

The original application's Zen garden, proposed to sit adjacent to the garage and face Pondfield Road, has been replaced with a space near the garage large enough to allow vehicles to make a two- or three-point turn and head out of, rather than back down, the driveway. The zoning board of appeals granted a variance to allow for the turnaround area.

Of concern in the original application, and satisfactorily addressed in the subsequent revision, was the planned structure's floor area ratio, calculated by dividing the total square footage of a residence's total ordinary living space by the square footage of the lot it occupies. According to Bill Fredericks, Bronxville Zoning Board of Appeals chairman, any square footage of a structure built into a slope that sits below the slope's surface gradient on a lot is not considered as ordinary living space.

Fredericks noted that the large area designated as the basement in the original application plans resulted in a floor area ratio calculation so finely tuned that it did not allow for any margin of error in determining the lot's surface gradient. "If the gradient was off, even slightly, it would flip square footage from basement to ordinary living space and the house would exceed the allowable floor area ratio," he stated.

Vincent Pici, superintendent of buildings, indicated that the larger margin of error needed for the plans to conform to village code has been satisfied.

Pici indicated that the building department will not require a variance to remove basement space from the floor area ratio calculation. He pointed out that there will be some rock removal from the parcel's slope to accommodate a portion of the new dwelling, but that surface reconfiguration to create increased flat surface will be insignificant.

Drawings show the front of the new structure facing Masterton Road. A new stand of trees will screen the view of the garage and the vehicle turnaround area from Pondfield Road.

The house refurbished by the Murrays at 6 Sunset Avenue was previously owned by John and Danesi Wilson. The house furbished by them on Prescott Avenue was owned by Alfred (Moose) Copeland. Sarah Clifford, who lives across the street from the Copeland house, commented, "They did a great job on the renovation, were respectful of the neighbors, and upgraded the neighborhood."

The Murrays declined to comment on the plans.

Pictured here (rotating): The empty lot at 50 Masterton Road and other houses in Bronxville refurbished by James and Tracy Murray.

Photos by N. Bower