ZBA to weigh in on shed request

Resident Al Loreto  could find out Wednesday night whether the Shelter Island’s Zoning Board of Appeals will allow him to place a shed at the front of his property at 2 East Brander Parkway, only 12.5 feet from the property line instead of the required 40-foot setback. Mr. Loreto made the case at a ZBA hearing March 27, maintaining there was no other place that would work on his lot without other problems and he promised the shed would be shielded from view by shrubbery.

But ZBA members wanted to visit the site to make their own determination before voting on Loreto application. Wednesday night, they’ll discuss the application, weighing in with their own observations about whether an alternative site on the lot could work.

The lot has what amounts to two front entrance — one on East Brander Parkway and the second along West Neck Harbor. Because of the closeness of the water, a shed can’t be built there without violating wetlands limitations, Mr. Loreto told the ZBA. As for locating it further back near his garage, he worried that if it abutted the garage too closely, it would be subject to mold and rot from the dampness. To put it back further from the garage could interfere with the ability to get vehicles accessing the property for the purpose of servicing his septic system or bulkhead repairs, he said.

Shrubbery at the front was recently cut back at the request of town Highway Department workers, Mr. Loreto said. But when the bushes grow in, they would shield the view from neighbors, he said. There was only one letter last month from a neighbor weighing in on the application and that contained the request that ample shrubbery be planted to assure the shed would be shielded.

One alternative Mr. Loreto considered was adding to the garage, rather than using a shed. But that would require a foundation and other work that the shed wouldn’t, he said.