Get Your ShedMansion: Southampton May Remove Permit Requirement for Sheds
Anna Throne-Holst, the supervisor of Southampton Town, is pitching legislation to repeal the code requiring residents to obtain a permit before building a shed — opening the door to the next Hamptons real estate craze, the ShedMansion.
“It’s critical that we continually revisit our Town code and re-evaluate how it is working, and the shed permit is an example of a requirement that is simply too onerous,” Throne-Holst said in a statement.
Hamptons architects, thrilled by the news, are already drafting plans for luxury sheds, suited for both farmlands and the oceanfront.
Building a mansion in Southampton requires costly surveys, permits and inspections, but call it a “shed” and soon you can avoid all that fuss.
Why spend months in front of the planning board and zoning board when you can simply rebrand your 12-bedroom, 10-bath palace as a garden shed?
Throw a bicycle and couple shovels in the foyer and, voilà, it’s a “shed.”
In all seriousness, the proposal will only waive the permit requirement for one shed per property, up to 120 square feet and no taller than 12 feet high. But an aspiring real estate developer can dream, can’t he?
A public hearing for the proposal is scheduled for the September 24 Southampton Town Board meeting at 6 p.m.
According to the town, the permit fee for a storage shed is currently $67.50, but a survey that identifies the proposed location of the shed can cost up to $1,200. The code amendment would bring existing sheds into compliance, and the owners won’t need to lift a finger.
Vetted Hamptons Resources
