Niskayuna board approves variance for Chestnut Lane homeowner’s 140-sq-ft shed

The Niskayuna Zoning Board of Appeals on its July meeting approved a variance allowing Wadler Saint Jean to build a 140-square-foot shed at 11 Chestnut Lane that will sit closer to the side and rear property lines than the town’s zoning rules normally allow.

Saint Jean, the applicant, told the board the 10-by-14-foot wood shed with a metal roof is intended to store pool and lawn equipment and that the lot’s pie-shaped geometry and existing pool limit locations that would avoid a variance. He said the proposed corner site would be screened by trees and resemble a neighbor’s shed at 9 Chestnut Lane. “I just want a shed back there,” Saint Jean said while describing the site and the need to keep the yard’s appearance.

Town staff summarized the rule at the hearing: major accessory structures larger than 120 square feet must meet the principal building setbacks specified in sections 2-20-18(b)(3)(b) and 2-20-13 Schedule I(b) of the Town of Niskayuna zoning ordinance. Staff said the code requires a 20-foot side-yard setback and a 25-foot rear-yard setback. The proposal would place the shed roughly 5 feet from the side line and 15 feet from the rear line, requiring a 15-foot side-yard variance and a 10-foot rear-yard variance.

Board members explored alternatives and site constraints, asking whether the shed could be shifted nearer the pool fence, whether grading or a foundation could create a compliant pad, and how drainage would be handled so runoff would not affect neighbors. One member suggested using a poured or stone foundation to level the site farther from property lines; Saint Jean said he planned to follow contractor and building-department guidance on foundation and drainage.

A board member who moved approval said the requested change “wouldn’t impact the neighborhood character” and that environmental impacts “seem to be, very low or nonexistent.” The motion was seconded and the board voted unanimously to grant the variances. In explaining his yes vote, Chairperson Hoch acknowledged the request was substantial but said the parcel’s unique shape and the likely visibility of other locations would make the proposed placement preferable: “Given that…and the other factors that we’re balancing, it is substantial. But I don’t think that there is an environmental impact,” he said, and congratulated the applicant.

The board recorded no public objections at the hearing; staff said nine notices were mailed and zero responses were received before the meeting. Saint Jean told the board he had discussed the project with his immediate neighbor at 9 Chestnut Lane, who expressed support, and that he has lived at the property for about seven years.

The variance approval was the only substantive item on the agenda; the board adjourned after completing the vote.