A front-yard shed that neighbors called an overt and flagrant abuse of zoning ordinances is scheduled to be removed as part of a negotiated settlement between the residents who own it and the Borough of Wildwood Crest, but it isn’t going as quickly as some in the area would like.
After the Herald reported the settlement in April, Crest residents who vocally opposed the shed’s placement were relieved that what they argued was an eyesore would soon be history. But as summer came and went, the shed remained in the front yard of the home in the 200 block of East Columbine Road, even after a new shed was installed in the back yard, also a part of the settlement with the borough.
Residents reached out to the Herald, wondering why the shed, which the homeowner uses as a pottery studio, was still standing in the front yard.
As the Herald previously reported, according to the settlement the Crest paid the shed owners $25,000, which went toward legal fees and expenses associated with the new shed. The borough was to take the shed from the front yard and then restore the home’s landscaping, with the homeowners purchasing a new shed for the backyard.
The owners, Allen E. Hirschmann and his wife, Susan Fox Hirschmann, appeared before the Wildwood Crest Planning Board in March to present their proposal to replace and relocate the shed. The board unanimously approved their application.
The 12-by-20-foot, prefabricated, one-story structure received a zoning permit from the borough in December 2021 and a construction permit in May 2022, allowing for it to be placed in the front yard; however, the borough later informed the Hirschmanns, after residents complained about it, that those permits were issued in error and the shed would need to be removed or relocated.
The borough reviewed and changed some of the zoning law after neighbors complained about the shed to tighten things up and prevent something similar from happening in the future.
According to Wildwood Crest Mayor Don Cabrera, everything is still on track with the settlement, and the shed will be removed.
“The new shed is awaiting electric and flooring,” Cabrera told the Herald, adding that once those things are installed, items that are in the front yard shed will be moved to the new backyard shed.
“Public works will then move the [front yard] shed to the public works garage,” and it will become an office for the sanitation department, the mayor said.
“Target time frame is before Thanksgiving,” he added.
At the March Planning Board hearing, the Hirschmanns agreed to follow the rules of an at-home occupation with regard to their pottery business operations in the new shed. Their property is in a residential area.
Under the rules for a home occupation, there must never be more than two clients on the property at one time, and all client visits must be by appointment only.
The shed will be insulated and contain an electric kiln, which Susan Fox Hirschmann testified is safe.
Contact the author, Shay Roddy, at sroddy@cmcherald.com or 609-886-8600, ext. 142.
