Stone Harbor Council Dips into Pool Regs

STONE HARBOR – An invisible line running along the bay side of Stone Harbor is denying swimming pools to homeowners who otherwise have the land available to install one. 
Stone Harbor has two bulkhead lines, one real, the other invisible. The first is the actual bulkhead and the second is something called the “established bulkhead line.”
On April 3, borough council discussed the impact of the established bulkhead line concept on bay-side pool construction. The local Planning Board is considering an ordinance change to improve the pool problem at the same time that council is considering ordinance amendments that would raise the elevation height requirements for bulkheads.
The two related issues put the discussion of the established bulkhead line on council’s work session agenda.
Established Bulkhead Line
Council member Charles Krafczek described the established bulkhead line as an invisible board created to maintain line-of-sight distance for any construction of new structures along the bay.
It is there, Krafczek said, to protect the view of neighbors by establishing a point beyond which no one can erect a structure that would obscure that view.
This raises two issues concerning the pool discussion.
Why should pools be labeled as structures subject to the established bulkhead regulations? Why should this invisible line be the reference point for pool construction codes?
Current regulations here say that a pool must be 10 feet back from the established bulkhead line. In some instances where the invisible line lies a significant distance onto the property and back from the actual bulkhead, what appears to be a large plot of land can no longer support a pool and conform to the ordinance.
Krafczek explained that the established bulkhead line has no necessary relationship to the actual bulkhead. The two can coincide, the established line can be back on the property side of the actual bulkhead, or the invisible line can actually be out in the water on the bay side of the actual bulkhead.
Given that the meandering invisible line can vary so greatly from the actual bulkhead, the impact on pool construction can be arbitrary.
A large piece of land can be denied enough space for a pool due to the line running too close to the house side of the bulkhead or a line out in the water can actually allow a pool to be constructed right up to the border of the actual bulkhead with no necessary set back.
Add this result to the fact that pools are not raised structures likely to obscure line of sight, and the question becomes one of whether or not the established bulkhead line is the best reference point for rules regarding the location of pools. 
Debate over Timing
Krafczek, who is council’s liaison to the Planning Board, took the position that a change to the ordinance is warranted.
“This is where our market is,” he said. “This is what our homeowners want.”
Some other council members, notably Joselyn Rich and Mantura Gallagher, raised concerns about making changes at the same time that council is considering bulkhead evaluating rules.
“We should get the height requirements set before we consider other changes,” said Rich.
One solution to the pool issue discussed was reverting to using the actual bulkhead line as the reference point and employing a set back from that line rather than the invisible line that protects line-of-sight.
Some on council argued that members need to know more about the purpose of the established bulkhead line before changing how it is used.
Mayor Judith Davies-Dunhour explained that there was time to get more information. Introducing a resolution leads to a four-week period for consideration and an eventual public hearing before any vote.
Davies-Dunhour said that the borough could work to prepare an ordinance change that would alter the reliance on the established bulkhead line while still simultaneously gathering more information that would inform an eventual council vote.
No resolution changes have yet been introduced.
To contact Vince Conti, email vconti@cmcherald.com.