Pinto - Shorewood

Builder Andrew Triffitt of Southampton planned to complete a semi-buried tennis court for Margot Pinto of 16 Shorewood Road by mid-June but needs 25 feet of relief from the 40-foot frontyard setback to do it. “We want to get in, get it done and let everyone enjoy their summer,” the builder said after neighbor Tom Underwood asked how long he would have to endure a “major construction job.”

However, Mr. Triffitt's plans are not to be. The hearing was left open and will continue on May 27.

According to Ms. Pinto's lawyer, Ed Boyd, the court would be sunk 4 feet and the fencing around it would rise 4 feet out of the ground. However, due to the property's trapezoidal layout and the desire to orient the court in a north-south direction to limit the effects of the sun on the court, Mr. Boyd said, “I'm at a loss to find any other place to put this.”

That did not draw much sympathy from Building Permits Coordinator Mary Wilson. “At what point are people obligated, when they buy a piece of land, to figure out the total improvement that they can do, complying with the ordinances?” she asked. “Why should the neighborhood be inconvenienced at all if these improvements can be put in a conforming position?”

Her comments drew a “second” from audience member Bill Van Diepen and a “third” from Mr. Underwood.

The ZBA pressed Mr. Boyd and Mr. Triffitt for a way to put the court in a conforming location or to more it further back than the planned 15.1 feet from one side of a private road where the required distance is 40 feet. Board members said they did not want to make Mr. Triffitt dig up a functioning septic system but wanted to know what kind of leeway there might be to move the court's location. Before the next hearing, the board hopes to review maps of the underground systems and a lot coverage calculation.

Boeckmann - Silver beach

He should have caught the initial error that left  pool decking and a generator inside the required 25-foot sideyard setback, Henry Boeckmann said of himself. The decking is 22 feet from the sideyard line and the generator 20 feet, at the Boeckmanns' 10 Peconic Avenue residence. To keep the structures in place, the Boeckmanns need a variance from the required sideyard setback of 25 feet.

Mr. Boeckmann said the generator runs for five minutes a week in the mid-afternoon and that in the year and a half since the decking has been installed, there had not been a problem as a result of the contractor's error. Not so for neighbor Kathleen Van Diepen, who said her and her husband Bill's lives have changed dramatically since the pool was installed. “We are at the pool,” Ms. Van Diepen said. “It's essentially on our fence.”

ZBA Chairwoman Joann Piccozzi asked Ms. Van Diepen to show the location of her house relative to the Boeckmann residence. After several moments, the house was located. When it was, ZBA member Doug Matz informed Ms. Van Diepen that moving the generator to a conforming location would put it closer to her residence. “Leave the generator. We're happy,” Ms. Van Diepen responded.

Mr. Boeckmann suggested it would be a “coarse correction” to saw off the non-conforming part of the deck, which he estimated to be 40 to 45 square feet. He did acknowledge that it could be moved, and said that regardless of the decision, he would put in landscaping to help mute the noise from the generator and sounds from the pool. He is just waiting for a ZBA decision so he knows where to have the landscaping installed.

The hearing was closed except for correspondence and a site visit.

Sweet tomato's - heights

Anthony Rando requested several variances for Sweet Tomato's at 15 Grand Avenue. Foremost is full relief from the 10-foot setback to construct a firebrick oven, around which Mr. Rando said the restaurant wants to build its menu. Mr. Rando also said the oven would become the venue's center of entertainment, hopefully drawing people to the bar area from outside.

Whether or not the restaurant can install the oven, Mr. Rando said, will determine whether it can stay open year-round instead of just during the summer as is the case now. The oven's installation faces significant hurdles. The Building Department's denial letter stated that “the building inspectors have grave reservations regarding matters of fire safety with the construction of this oven immediately adjacent to the alley.” The concern was echoed by the Shelter Island Heights Property Owners Corporation, particularly in the close vicinity to other wooden buildings.

“I have grave reservations, whether it's this application or any others, of reducing the setback to zero,” Ms. Wilson said, adding that such a precedent would enter “dangerous waters.”

Mr. Rando said, “I understand it's very close to the line of being a zero setback.” However, there are two steel poles set in the alleyway behind the restaurant that Mr. Rando said are 3 feet past the property line, creating a buffer between the alley and the oven. He added that he had considered a different configuration for the oven but didn't propose one because he wants customers to be able to see it from inside the restaurant. The ZBA asked for more detailed plans for the oven and pressed Mr. Rando about fire safety. Mr. Rando said two South Fork restaurants have similar chimney configurations and have not had a problem.

Also requested were variances to extend the front porch by decreasing an already reduced frontyard setback from 2 feet to 10 inches (the code requires 30 feet) and to reconstruct the side porch. That includes building a concrete step by the gate behind the main entrance, something Mr. Rando said the restaurant's insurance company required. He said the primary reason for the front porch setback reduction was to send people out the front door and to help contain the air conditioning within the restaurant. He added that it would not increase the outside seating capacity.

The hearing was closed except for correspondence.

Jackson - center

The board unanimously granted a variance to Richard and Marianne Jackson allowing them to move a building formerly used as a gas station and milk house at 8 North Ferry Road from 1.8 feet from the frontyard line to 18 feet from the frontyard line. The required distance is 30 feet.

The Jacksons received a variance from the ZBA in December 2006 but let it lapse. They sent a new application to the ZBA last month stating their desire to modify the original project. Included in the new application was a proposal to add a 6-foot addition and 4-foot roofed deck to the rear of the existing shed. There was also a promise not to put a bathroom in the renovated building.

The ZBA agreed with the Shelter Island Historical Society that the building is significant as a former gas station and milk house. “The town must provide an incentive to the owner to invest in maintaining this building,” the resolution stated. Further, “There are other possible configurations ... but this will not ensure the preservation of the existing structure and will not be pleasant to the eye.”

The main conditions the Jacksons must follow are to have all interior space in the building be at least 30 feet from the frontyard line, and to sign and file a covenant stating that the porch overhang will never be enclosed.

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VARIANCE : 8/3/2010
GIVE HENRY A BREAK

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