Maggio expansion creates open space

The accessory structures at Shorewood have
been there forever and we want them to stay, said
Patricia Shillingburg. She and Joann Piccozzi voted in favor of
the resolution with restrictions.

“It’s a huge plus.”
That’s how Zoning Board members described the conservation easement that they and applicant John Maggio solidified through granting his variance requests to expand his home in the Heights. The board also allowed Richard Hogan to preserve three historic structures at Wards Point, which have come in conflict with town code through his subdivision plans. The board voted unanimously in favor of resolutions for both these applications at its April 28 session.
A third hearing, for Shanty Bay on Tuthill Drive, Big Ram Island, was adjourned until May 26.
MAGGIO – HEIGHTS
The board granted the Maggio family relief to allow them to renovate and expand their non-conforming house at 5 Auburn Place, Shelter Island Heights, which is in Zone AA reverting to A-residential. They received a special permit and multiple setback variances (25 feet to the north, 15 feet on the west and 21 feet on the south) and a 9-foot variance on the south for a terrace.
Their plans include increasing their approximately 2,000-square-foot home, which is located immediately downhill from Shelter Island Hardware, by about 1,500 square feet. Expansion of the foundation will occur primarily on the back side of the house, which will increase by 700 square feet on the first floor.
These variances are contingent on the Maggios’ agreement to create a conservation easement on their adjacent lot, an offer the family put forth at their application’s March 24 hearing. “If anyone’s willing to give us something I think we should be willing to take it,” explained Board Chairwoman Joann Piccozzi.
The easement is for a lot on Meadow Place, separated from their primary property by a Heights “paper alley” which runs from Chase Creek to the hardware store. Development will be prohibited on the Meadow Place lot but the Maggios and subsequent owners will be allowed to use the property as a recreation space to play ball or plant a garden, but not to install a basketball or tennis court.
The home’s expansion will not create an undesirable change on the character of the neighborhood, the board concluded. They also found that the expansion into zoning setbacks will be offset by the large conservation easement.
The Heights Property Owners Corporation expressed conditional support for the project contingent on granting of the conservation easement, according to a letter to the board. The board also received 18 letters of support from neighbors.
AMERICAN DIRECT – SHOREWOOD
Buildings are in flux at the Shorewood estate as the owner secures the necessary town approvals to see his vision of a new manor house on the property.
American Direct LLC and property owner Richard Hogan were granted a variance at 1 Shorewood Court, which is Zone A residential. Mr. Hogan had received sketch plan approval from the Planning Board in 2008 to split the property into two lots. The Zoning Board variance became a necessity when Mr. Hogan moved the original manor house from its promontory on Ward’s point in 2009 and relocated the building’s two original gables for use as a guest house.
William Fleming, representing Mr. Hogan at the March 24 hearing, said that the Hogans plan to live in the guest house while they decide the exact location and orientation for a new primary house on the 6.1-acre lot. The project is expected to begin within two years’ time.
But the relocation of the buildings left three accessory structures (the old manor’s 3 1/2 story tower, a beach cottage and crenellated water tower) on what would become a 6.1-acre lot and the other buildings on a 1.3-acre lot. According to zoning code, a lot does not conform if it contains accessory structures and no primary structure.
Therefore, said a letter from the planners to the ZBA, “The Planning Board now is unable to proceed with the subdivision process because doing so would create a nonconforming lot.” Relief from the zoning code is needed before the subdivision can move forward.
The board voted to allow the existing accessory structures on the 6.1-acre lot to remain without a primary structure, but only for two years if Mr. Hogan doesn’t get a building permit for a primary structure on the 6.1-acre lot, he will have to return to the board to renew this variance. Mr. Hogan will also need to connect the small cottage to a well on the proposed 6.1-acre parcel, so that it no longer relies on the other parcel’s water source.
AMICO – MONTCLAIR COLONY
During their April 21 work session, the board reviewed photos of the new construction on the Amico property on 5 Bay Avenue at the request of the building inspector. Thomas Amico received a variance of 21.4 feet varying to 1 foot from Montclair Avenue on December 9 to in order to construct a deck with pergola on the southern and eastern sides of his home.
The photos showed that the applicant had built steps attached to the deck, an addition that wasn’t included in the variance resolution. Since this construction wasn’t part of the granted variance resolution, the board said that the steps would have to be removed.