Government
Orchard Drive Homeowner Flags Neighbor’s Plan to Move Above-Ground Oil Tank Alongside House
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An Orchard Drive homeowner is objecting to a neighbor’s plan to re-locate an above-ground oil tank from inside a garage to the side of the house, saying would create an unsightly view of a property already positioned unusually close to her home. The Zoning Board of Appeals on Monday is scheduled to hear a request from Michael Abrahams, an Old Greenwich resident who owns the 1948 Cape Cod-style home at 100 Orchard Drive. Citing space concerns, Abrahams is seeking to move an above-ground oil tank from inside the garage to a tub that would sit five feet from his eastern neighbor’s property line. The New Canaan Zoning Regulations require a 10-foot side yard setback for an accessory structure in the A Residential zone (see section 3.5.E.3 on page 58 here), so a variance is required. According to an application filed by Abrahams, the proposed 85-by-36-by-60-inch “tank tub” (pictured) would be “hidden from the street and adjacent property by a fence.”
Yet the residents at 92 Orchard Drive, Sean and Lisa Sawyer, said in a June 24 letter sent to the ZBA that the home next door already sits unusually close to the property line, “so should an oil tank be placed within those five feet, it would be further encroachment into an already outdated setback.”
“Though there is a fence on the line, this oil tank would be less than 20 feet from my window, and as his property is downhill from mine, I would be afforded a rather unattractive view.