Asked questions This last weekend Brooker Hardware & Lumber sponsored their third annual Home Show at the North Street Pavilion here in the Town of Webb.

And for the third time, the Town of Webb Code Enforcement Office, along with the Adirondack Park Agency (APA), was invited to have an informational booth.

Although we were not selling anything, plenty of zoning maps, district use charts and various information fliers seemed to disappear.

There were quite a few people that asked all sorts of different questions.

Some questions were specific to the Town of Webb and some directed to the Park Agency.

Either way, everyone believed that having the Code Office and the APA there, available to answer questions on Saturday or Sunday, was beneficial and helpful.

There were many questions regarding additions, especially additions to shoreline structures.

Other questions included new garages, sheds, and second story additions, docks, swimming rafts, boathouses, bunkhouses and new homes.

Those are fairly straight forward questions and easy to answer.

The more difficult questions were things like the neighbors’ junk yards, abandoned buildings, unsightly properties, noise complaints, illegal commercial activities and bothersome campfires (a subject of a recent article).

Grandfathering in all types of situations was another common question.

Grandfathering refers to “lawfully existing but nonconforming” building, lot or use of property.

Something had to built before Town zoning (1965) or before APA (1973) and never altered.

A nonconforming use had to be established before those same dates.

Typically nonconforming uses are restaurants or other commercial activities in residential zones that are prohibited by the Zoning Ordinance but have lawfully existed since before 1965.

Expansions, replacements or alterations of any kind to any type of grandfathered situation may be allowed but are subject to special approvals and due process locally known as Conditional Use Permits.

Although grandfathered situations are allowed to continue and be maintained, their replacement, expansion or repair is subject to review.

Comment by the public and approval (or denial) with potential conditions intended to help minimize any impacts the request may have on the surrounding neighborhood or the community in general.

During the Home Show many positive comments were made regarding this article.

People do read it and the awareness of the requirements has definitely increased.

Thanks to the support of The Weekly Adirondack this article provides one of many different ways of trying to let the world know about all the different rules and regulations that are out there.

And we all agree there are plenty of regulations.

Ultimately, it is the property owner’s responsibility to comply. Ignorance of the law is no excuse.

Contractors are as responsible as the property owner for compliance of any work they do.

Not just the general contractor, but anybody working on the property, which includes even the laborer, the delivery driver, any subcontractor, the job site supervisor… it does not mean just the general contractor.

Thanks again to Brooker Hardware & Lumber for the show. It is a lot of work to organize. It can benefit many people and businesses other than Brooker Hardware & Lumber.

Hopefully it benefits the property owner the most who is the actual consumer.

Maybe next year the Code Office along with the APA can stage a little show, with the help of some unsuspecting people.

Maybe something like the perfect application with a successful outcome, and then the complicated application with a more difficult result.

There have to be some people out there who would love to hammer the Code Office and the APA with some tough questions.

This could be fun and informative!!