Homeowner Gets More Room for Snow Blower

The approved a variance for Joseph and Jan Panto of 1825 Clarendon Drive. They want to build a 9-by-20-foot addition to their garage for storage.

The problem is that it will encroach into the yard by six feet. ’s ordinance requires a 20-foot setback from the property line, but the Pantos’ addition will have only 14 feet.

Joseph Panto said they needed the addition because his wife’s health issues make it hard for her to get into the car. He needs to move his snow blower, lawn mower and other items so there’s more maneuvering room in the garage.

“Our garage is small to begin with,” Panto said, “but when you accumulate the things you tend to accumulate over the years, it gets crowded.”

Panto said he thinks the addition will be nice, and won’t hurt the property values of the houses around them.

“Neither she nor I would want to do anything that would stick out like a sore thumb,” Panto said.

Jay Miller, the general contractor for the Pantos, told the board that this is the best spot for the addition.

“The back of the property is rather steep,” Miller said. “There’s really nowhere else to put this.”

Robert Kimmel, zoning board secretary, told the board that there weren’t any objections from the neighbors. In fact, the neighbor whose property borders the addition wrote a letter to support the project, he said.

The zoning board unanimously approved the variance for the addition.