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Commission flags conflict between accessory-structure caps and boat wells; may add ordinance to review list
Summary
Planners and a ZBA member described a ZBA case that exposed a conflict between Section 5.02 of the zoning ordinance (two detached accessory buildings maximum) and rules about covered boat wells; the commission agreed to add the issue to its ordinance review list.
Township Planner Adam Young outlined a recent Zoning Board of Appeals case in which a waterfront property owner sought approval for a shed as a third detached accessory structure despite already having a gazebo and a covered boat well. Young said Section 5.02 of the zoning ordinance permits a maximum of two detached accessory buildings per site and states that covered boat wells count toward that total, prompting a question about how the rule applies to waterfront properties.
Robert Leonetti, who identified himself as a member of the Harrison Township Zoning Board of Appeals, described the specific variance request: the property owner planned to store recreational vehicles in a garage and build a shed to store items displaced from the garage. Leonetti said the applicant could not meet the hardship standard required for a variance and therefore was denied; as a result, the applicant planned to use a wheeled trailer for storage. Leonetti told the commission the existing ordinance language governing accessory structures and the allowance for recreational vehicles are now in conflict.
Member Larry Tomenello said he had no objection to adding the topic to the Planning Commission’s list of ordinances for review.
The minutes record no vote to change the ordinance at this meeting; rather, the commission directed that the topic be added to its review list for future consideration.
