The Town of Clay Zoning Board of Appeals granted area variances April 13 that will let Community Bank build a new branch with a drive-thru on State Route 31, fit onto the eastern end of an existing commercial plaza's parking lot. The board voted to reduce the required side yard setback from 75 feet to 44 feet and to shrink the mandated site perimeter landscape strip from 30 feet to 25 feet for the project at 4000 State Route 31, Tax Map #055.-01-03.1. Lisa Wennberg, a project manager with Keplinger Freeman Associates representing applicant Erik Turner of Community Bank, told the board the reduced setback and buffer were needed to fit the new building and drive-thru into the plaza's existing layout while keeping the site's traffic flow intact. She pointed to the alignment of Soule Road as providing enough separation to offset the smaller buffer, and noted that neighboring commercial buildings already carry similar setbacks. Answering the board's standard five-part test for area variances, Wennberg acknowledged the need for both reductions was self-created — a product of the plaza's existing footprint rather than any hardship imposed on the applicant — but said the project would remain compatible with the area's commercial character. Planning & Development Commissioner Brian Bender told the board his department had received no objections to the application, though the Onondaga County Board had submitted referral comments; he said those comments apply to the bank's still-pending Special Permit and Site Plan reviews rather than to the variance request before the board that night. No members of the public spoke for or against the project, and the board voted unanimously — Mary Lou DesRosier, David Porter, Michael Becker and Chairperson Vivian Mason all in favor — to approve the variances on condition the project match the site plan submitted as Exhibit A. The board handled one other case the same night: a variance for a detached garage at 8285 Oswego Road sought by Robert Aluzzo of John Anthony Properties LLC. Aluzzo's engineer, Steve Calocerinos of Calocerinos Engineering, told the board his client bought the rental property and is renovating it, and wants to add a 16-by-24-foot detached garage because the house's side-door layout ruled out attaching a garage to the home. The variance reduces the required side yard setback from 20 feet to 9 feet and raises the height limit for an accessory structure from 12 feet to 18 feet. Calocerinos likewise told the board the need was self-created but said the design followed standard building practice and would add value to the property. That vote was also unanimous, with the same condition tying construction to the Exhibit A site plan. Both applications moved through the board without any recorded opposition — the Planning Department reported no remonstrance to either request, and no one from the audience spoke on either case. The board had opened the meeting by voting to classify all of the night's actions as Type II under the State Environmental Quality Review Act, meaning each received a negative declaration without further environmental review. Chairperson Mason gaveled in at 5:59 p.m. and adjourned by 6:16 p.m., with Deputy Chairperson Karen Liebi and member Ryan Frantzis absent and alternate Michael Becker filling in to cast votes and make both approval motions. The bank variances clear one hurdle for the Route 31 project, but Bender's comment about the pending county referral is a reminder that Community Bank's application still faces Special Permit and Site Plan review before construction can begin.