A variance… to build a deck!?!
Okay, so I am just amused. The contractor I hired has told me I need to get a special administrative variance to build a 12 foot by 17 foot deck – less than a foot off the ground – off the back of my house. So now I have to inform all my neighbors, run an ad in the Westerly Sun, and pay additional permit fees to build said deck. The best part is – I’m lucky. If the decrepit old deck that I dare not walk out on were not already in existence off the second story of my house (the deck does not have stairs down, it is merely a 6 by 4 foot deck hanging off the upper floor of my house) I would have had to get a full blooded variance.
Why you ask? Something to do with not having 100 feet of land in front of my house. The kicker is… I have a six foot tall fence around the back yard – no one will ever even see the deck I am building from the front of the house (the deck won’t even have railings as it is so close to the ground). The only bit of new construction they will see is the updated/replaced/shiny/new deck off the second story and a stairwell going down to the new deck.
Oh, and when we had the fence built – I was told by town officials that no permit is required for a fence.
