Gazebo is ok'd, Pole Barn for tractor storage scrutinized in detail

The Zoning Board of Appeals meeting held on November 22 included two public hearings and two projects in discussion. A request for a variance for a gazebo on Reggie Drive was approved (with the provision that if it was ever re-built/replaced it would meet zoning code requirements for setbacks) and a variance for a pool rebuild installed on Hilltop Drive was approved. The projects in discussion included a request for a garage larger than the code allows for Sylvia drive, to make loading/unloading a car from a steep driveway easier and to provide more storage for an active family. The public hearing is set for December 13.

A request for a pole barn to be installed on over 10 acres of property on Diddell Road was then discussed. The applicant would like to store farm equipment in a new pole barn, rather than having it sit outside in the weather. The size of the pole barn (over 4000 square feet) was discussed in great detail, with the board requesting an understanding of all the equipment that would be stored in the barn. It should be noted that this area of the town is part of an agricultural district, and it shouldn't come as a great surprise that agricultural equipment is used/stored on such properties -- but what is a surprise is the level of interest expressed by the board -- given they seemed to have NO interest in a very large building proposed for the center of the Hughsonville Hamlet and what activities would be conducted in such a structure. Admittedly there is a difference between an accessory structure and a main structure, but one would think such scrutiny would be equally warrented. The public hearing is set of December 13.