Q: Can I replace an old storage shed with another one, but a little bit bigger?

A: Maybe. Tell me more about where it is on your property.

Q: It’s at least fifty feet from the side property line, and much farther from the road, probably 300 feet. We use it for canoes and kayaks, so it is kind of near the lake…maybe 25 feet…is that a problem?

A: In your area, being in a RS zoning district, there is a 50 setback from the mean high water mark for all structures except boathouses and docks.

If this shed has been there since 1973, or before, and has never been enlarged since then, it may be grandfathered.

Exact in-kind replacement may be allowed.

Q: You said boathouses are exempt from the shoreline setback requirement. We keep our canoes and kayaks there which makes it a boathouse, right?

A: The town’s definition of a boathouse is: “A structure with direct access to a navigable body of water used for the storage of one or more boats and associated equipment and which is not used as a dwelling.”

Your shed does not have direct access to the water, therefore it is just a shed that you happen to keep some canoes in.

Therefore, it is not a boathouse.

Q: What about the Adirondack Park Agency? We have seen some buildings close, but not direct access to the water that the APA has approved… Why?A: You need to speak to the APA, but they do have some standards for direct access which include short ramps.

The APA and the town’s definition for Boathouse are close, but not the same.

Here is the APA definition:

“A covered structure with direct access to a navigable body of water which

(1) is used only for the storage of boats and associated equipment;

(2) does not contain bathroom facilities, sanitary plumbing, or sanitary drains of any kind;

(3) does not contain kitchen facilities of any kind;

(4) does not contain a heating system of any kind;

(5) does not contain beds or sleeping quarters of any kind;

(6) does not exceed a single story in that the roof rafters rest on the top plate of the first floor wall, and all rigid roof surfaces have a minimum pitch of four on twelve, or, alternatively, one flat roof covers the entire structure; and

(7) has a footprint of 1200 square feet or less measured at the exterior walls (or in the absence of exterior walls, at the perimeter of the roof), and a height of fifteen feet or less.

For the purpose of this definition, the height of a boathouse shall be measured from the surface of the floor serving the boat berths to the highest point of the structure.

The dimensional requirements specified herein do not apply to a covered structure for berthing boats located within the Lake George Park, provided the structure is built or modified in accordance with a permit from the Lake George Park Commission and is located fully lakeward of the mean high-water mark of Lake George.”

Q: Okay, so we have just a shed, not a boathouse. Can we replace it and make it bigger?

A: You will be restricted with any increase in size to a rearward direction only, not to the sides.

Q: Making it longer, going away from the lake will not accomplish what we need!!… We must make it wider and parallel to the lake. Why can’t we?

A: Both the Town law and the APA regs will prohibit making it any wider.

Q: Well then I’ll just get a variance. Is there an application for that?

A: Sure, we have the town application. You will have to contact the APA for their application.

However, you may be better off spending your time and energy figuring out a way to make a rearward expansion work, or just removing what you have and building a new shed 50 feet from the lake.

Besides, then you can make it almost as big as you need, with just a building permit.

Q: Obviously, you did not hear me. We want the shed located where it is, and bigger, otherwise it’s not worth doing. Why can’t we just do what we want to?

A: Shoreline structure setback requirements help to protect the shoreline from overcrowding and environmental disturbances.

These rules have been around for a long time.

Although there are many examples of grandfathering, new or expanded structures must comply.

Neither the town nor the APA just hand-out variances.

Certainly, if there are any alternatives to do something in a compliant manner, your request will most likely be denied. Spend your time and energy wisely.