Summary AI
The Zoning Board of Appeals approved an extension for a prior variance, approved variances for an accessory dwelling addition and shed legalization, adjourned two appeals to April 23, and reserved decision on a non-conforming use application.
Key actions
- The board granted a second one-year extension to appeal 2024-001 (Vincent and Thomas Franchini, 196 South Jamesport Avenue), expiring March 14, 2027.
- The board approved variances for appeal 2026-003 (253 Newton Avenue, Riverhead) allowing an addition to an accessory structure and legalizing a shed, subject to the accessory dwelling unit code.
- Appeal 2026-006 (North Shore Sprinkler, 1264 West Main Street) was reserved for a written decision to be issued April 23, 2026, regarding a change from one non-conforming use to another.
- Appeals 2026-002 and 2026-005 were adjourned to April 23, 2026.
Auto-generated from an unofficial, machine-made transcript. It may misstate names, figures, or votes. Verify against the agenda and the full transcript below.
Full Transcript
Thank you.
I invite you all to please stand and pledge allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Be seated, please.
Number one on the hit parade. Yep, so we have a request for an extension, appeal number 2024-001, Vincent and Thomas Franchini, 196 South Jamesport Avenue in South Jamesport. The relief was originally granted March 14, 2024, and the zoning board granted a first extension with an expiration date of March 14, 2026. They are requesting their second one-year extension, thus expiring March 14, 2027. So moved. Second. I said second. All right. Mr. Barnes? Aye. Mr. Zwieski? Aye. And Mr. Portia? Aye. And I vote aye. So adjourned. And then we have two adjournments, one for appeal number 2026-002, Maria Salguero, 178 Main Road in Aquebog, adjourned nunc pro tunc from March 12th to April 23rd, 2026. Move. I move. Second. All right. Once again, Mr. Barnes? Aye. Ms. Zwieski? Aye. Mr. Portia? Aye. And I vote aye. And then the second adjournment is appeal number 2026-005, Charles Agis, 167 Pierre Avenue in Jamesport, adjourned nunc pro tunc from March 12th to the requested date, which was April 23rd of 2026. So moved. I second. So moved.
for an addition to an accessory structure and to legalize a shed. Applicant requests variances and or relief from Town Code Chapter 301-9, where proposed side yard setback is 1.8 feet and the minimum required is 20 feet. Chapter 301-9A1D, where shed is 1.9 feet from property line, minimum required is 5 feet. And Chapter 301-11, where proposed impervious surface coverage is 50.3%, maximum allowed is 15%. You want to raise your right hand, please? So we tell the truth, the whole truth, nothing but truth to help you out. Yes. Would you hand down, please, a loud, clear voice. Please state your name and your address. Chuck Thomas, 206 Lincoln Street, Riverhead, New York. I am the architect for the project. The homeowner is here as well. So we were here last month to discuss this project, and the building department notice did not include lot coverage and the shed. So we had to... We had to get those numbers updated and put on the surveys that I believe you all have. So this project has been going on for a little over three years. I initially met with Amory and the building inspector at the time to discuss the path of approval for this project, or if there would be one, and we came up with a bunch of different paths. The garage was existing. Pre-CO. We could have just gone in and got an accessory apartment for the existing garage. No variance needed. We also could have put an addition on the garage as a garage, and since we were maintaining the existing side yard setback, we wouldn't need a variance for that either, and we weren't increasing lot coverage. I could have got a building permit for that and then applied for the apartment. It seemed very convoluted, and we thought the best way would be full disclosure. Our plan is to do an apartment in this garage. So that is what we applied for. Not to go around the barn three times. Keep it simple. It has taken three years for us to get to this point, going through all the different personalities in the building department, whatever. But we are here now. So what we are proposing is to maintain basically our lockup. We are going to be able to maintain our property at 50% of the property coverage at 50.3%. And in the notice, it says we are also grandfathered in as resident C, which has a 25%? 30. It's 30% lot coverage allowable, not 15. So that was the maybe you don't have sighted building department. They can't write a denial letter for a code that doesn't exist, but they do acknowledge that the property was developed under a previous zoning agreement. Right. So that which was 30%. So what we're looking to do is to do this minor addition to this existing garage, maintain the existing setback. And then we also would like to maintain the location of the existing shed. My client has owned the property for over 11 years. All the improvements on this site were there when she bought it. Right? And they were different. That's how she took ownership of the property. She did not construct the shed. She did not move the shed. The shed has been there for a very long time. I have a nice picture of the shed, if you all would like to see it. I also have another picture that shows the neighbor's shed to the west, and the neighbor's shed to the south. These are all in the backyard. It's surrounded by sheds. Thank you. Which is wonderful. Can we keep them? Absolutely.
So we just wanted to establish for the record while we're looking at the pictures, this is the primary residence of your client? Yes, it is. So it's not like a vacation house or a second home. This is a full-time Riverhead resident, lifelong? I am. Okay. Who's going to be living in the main house? Who's going to be living in the accessory apartment? I can't answer that. Okay. What do you plan on having there? I don't plan on anything. I'm the architect. Who's your client? I believe my client is, I'm going to say I believe, my client is going to live in the main house and rent the apartment. Yeah, my mom. You would need to. Yeah, if you want to come up and just. She doesn't want to come. Okay. Don't be shy. Hey. Don't bite. What? I'm sorry.
If we granted the accessory apartment and the application, would your client be amenable to moving the shed off the property line, off the fence line five feet like it's supposed to be? We see the board seems to be concerned about making the shed. We're surrounded with the whole bunch of non-performing setbacks around us. We don't want to be pointing fingers. The shed has been there. I went there again today to look at it. This shed has been there for over 20 years. It is surrounded by a six foot fence. You can't even see it from the neighbors. The neighbor to the west, they have their shed right there. You couldn't even see it. You'd have to get on their roof of their shed to see our shed. So we would really like to keep the location of the shed. By the time we lift it up and move it, I'm not sure. It's not on a condo. Mr. Thomas, typically we would want you to move it, but it's kind of a unique shed. It's not one of these ... It's not. Not a Home Depot, put it together, make it look pretty. What I could tell, the shed was built in that spot. Exactly. My knees are dirty. I was digging around underneath it today. I'm afraid if we go to ... We're just going to knock it down and then we need a new shed. That's what's going to probably have to happen. But it's a shame. It's a nice looking building. It's maintained. You can see how the property is maintained. This is not ... I will tell you, the fact that everybody else has one. My mother told me, your mother may have told you too, if all your friends jumped off the Brooklyn Bridge, would you jump off? The fact that other people have done it. I'd let them go first. Yeah, exactly. But I can live with it. Chuck, it was hard to see, but just for the record, the neighbor's shed that was just right on the other side of that fence, would you say that from your professional perspective, that was closer than five foot off the fence? It's very close. I don't have a number assigned to it, but it's very close. The one to the south is very close. Everything is close. It's ... Yeah. The attorneys, you want to reserve on this? Reserve decision on this? No. All right. Anybody want to move on this? I just want to ... You know that we ... I'm not sure if you're going to be able to move on this, but I'm just curious. I'm just curious.
You said that you had adopted the accessory dwelling unit code, right? I did. Yeah. I mean, that'll be ... I think it's a little bit easier of a process actually than the accessory apartment code, but still subject to all the same size restrictions, owner occupancy requirements, and everything. We're fully aware of that. Thank you very much, Heather. You want to move on? Sure. Mr. Vice Chairman, with respect to appeal number 2026, there's 003 Marianne Lo Sierra, 253 Newton Avenue, Riverhead, New York, Suffolk County tax map, number 600, 0.5, [transcription gap]
This was seeking for addition to an accessory structure and to legalize a shed. I move that we grant such authorization and just recognizing that it is subject to the accessory dwelling unit code. I move the grant. Second. All right. Mr. Zaleski? Aye. Ms. Portia? Aye. And Mr. Barnes? Aye. Mr. Zaleski? Aye. And I vote aye. It's been approved. Thanks a lot. Thank you. Take care of yourself. You're welcome. Thank you. Good night. I just have to pick the shed pictures for the file. Thank you. Take care of yourself. And next, appeal number 2026-006, North Shore Sprinkler, 1264 West Main Street, Riverhead, Suffolk County Tax Map number 600, North Shore Sprinkler, 1264 West Main Street, Riverhead, Suffolk County Tax Map number 600, North Shore Sprinkler Oh!
I swear I told you, I told you, I told you, I told you to help me God. I do. All right. And allow a clear voice. Please state your name and your address. My name's Andrew Roth. The property is 1264 West Main Street, Riverhead, New York. And any state listing? Roth, R-O-T-H. Okay. How can we help you? We're looking, as the application states, to update the use from a non-conforming use to another non-conforming use for the existing operations of North Shore Sprinkler at the site. We are working through the planning department on restoring the site back to the original site plan approval, which will include the landscape buffers, the impervious that was originally approved, dumpster location. The storage in the front yard that is currently there will be removed to the side and rear.
Basically, and removing the fence in the front as well that was placed without a permit. So. We're here for the non-conforming use.
All right. And how long have you been doing this? Is it established? At the address? I know at least a few years. I'm not sure exactly when they moved in to the property. Their lease is up in, I believe, a year or so. They're leasing. And there's been no complaints about noise or anything like that or traffic? Not that I know of. Yeah. And will the application affect anything? The noise at the property? Is there anything different going to be going on at the property that's going on right now? No. It's just the wholesaling. Before, it was the storage containers. So, similar. Moving around storage containers, trucks coming and going, contractors coming and going. How about the traffic? Is your application going to affect the traffic, in your opinion, at all? Is it going to be more cars or less cars than what's going on presently? Well, I mean, the business has been operating for a few years, so there would be no increase. But, as far as that regard is? I have to say, for the record, it's a very nice building. I've been in there multiple times myself. You guys keep it very neat. It looks great from the street. It's one of the more nicer-looking buildings in the town of Riverhead, in my opinion. Thank you. I think the board just wanted to stress that you hit on a few of these topics already. But we wanted to stress that, you know, the storage had to be moved more appropriately to the back. Yeah. There'd be no outdoor storage on the street side, so to speak. Yeah. And if you do maintain some of that storage, as you're looking at the front of the building, to the left, which would be like the west side of the building, that it's going to have to have like a fence, or they call it screen. It's got to be screened in. It's going to have to put some arborvitaes in there, some plantings in there, just to hide it. Okay. But overall, the place looks wonderful. Yup. And they just replanted some of the landscaping as well. So. Okay. And there could be no overnight storage, I don't think, in the front of the building as well, as long as you understand that. Right. Okay. I think the town is going to be a little bit more open. I think the town attorney wanted to reserve a vision on this. I think they'll plan it. I see. Yeah. We have our council on Zoom. Ann Marie, can you hear us? I think she wanted to reserve a decision on this. Yeah. Hi. Here. So, for the, if the board is so inclined, we could set a reserve decision date. Yeah, please. With April 23rd work, come back with a written decision. Sure. So, does the plan want to move to that? Yeah. I move that we do a reserved decision on April 23rd. I second. All right. Mr. Barnes? Aye. Mr. Gillespie? Aye. Ms. Gillespie? Aye. Ms. Gillespie? Aye. Ms. Gillespie? Aye. And I vote aye. Thank you very much, sir. Is there an explanation of why it's being reserved? So, essentially, because it's a special exception, the board has to, you know, they'll make a written finding and they just read their decision into the record, and then you'll continue along with the process with the plan. Okay. So, do we have to come back with a decision? No. Okay. No. Your attendance isn't required, and once, you know, the chairman signs, I'll distribute the written decision. You'll get a copy of it. Whoever the contact is on the application will get a copy of it. Okay. Take care of yourself. Good luck. Thank you. All right. Thank you. Do we have any minutes? We do. We have minutes from February 12th and February 26th. Okay. Do we have unanimous that we approve? So moved. I second. All right. Thank you.
So moved unanimously. Aye.