A Montpelier restaurateur whose home overlooks Berlin Pond has been told to move the ornate “garden shed” that he “inadvertently” built on city property about 50 feet from water’s edge earlier this year.
The request to Philip Gentile to move the shed that he mistakenly built on Montpelier property back in May came from Berlin Town Administrator Jeff Schulz.
Schulz, who doubles as Berlin’s zoning administrator, spent the summer gently nudging Gentile and Montpelier, which owns the property the structure is located on, to move the tastefully constructed camp-like structure that faces the pond and features a covered deck, custom woodwork and more windows than your average “garden shed.”
According to Schulz, the shed was built in violation of both its year-old permit and Berlin’s zoning ordinance. Berlin Pond is the source of the public drinking water supply for the state capital.
Based on the permit that was approved last October, Schulz said the shed should have been built on Gentile’s land – perhaps 250 feet from its current location. Instead, he said it was constructed in a wetland, the floodplain and a “buffer area” for a nearby stream that feeds the pond, all in violation of the town’s zoning ordinance
