A Huntington Bay homeowner, who was recently denied a pool permit, appeared before the village's Board of Zoning Appeals at its August meeting to find out exactly why the request was rejected.

According to Village Building Inspector Richard Kinch, Bruce and Paula Feiner who live at 264 Bay Ave., made numerous renovations to their house without following proper protocol. "When I saw the photos of the house that were submitted with the pool permit application, compared to the old photos in the file when I reviewed it, I denied the permit request until we addressed the work that was done without approval," Kinch explained.

The renovations in question include a new driveway, a new concrete wall in front of the driveway, new steps by the garage and an enclosed breezeway.

"My wife and I lived in Huntington Village for over 30 years before we moved here, and we did extensive work on our prior home," Feiner explained. "I never thought to apply for permits, so I didn't. I apologize."

Despite Feiner explaining his reasoning behind the renovations and adding that "everything was done correctly and up to code by the contractor I used," Kinch questioned the homeowner.

"How do you know it was up to code without having the work inspected?" Kinch said. "I question whether you used a licensed home improvement contractor because if you had, he would have known a permit was required."

Feiner admitted he did not know for sure if the contractor was licensed, but he was sure that the work did not affect the square footage of the home. Kinch once again disagreed.

"The breezeway, which is now your den, was converted to habitable space," Kinch said. "You not only enclosed it, you expanded it to include a laundry room and a new bathroom so additional plumbing was installed. ... That room is part of the floor area ratio so that renovation did and does affect it."

Kinch continued, "It didn't occur to you that putting in a fireplace would require an inspection or a permit?"

"It did occur to me," Feiner responded. "I'd be lying to say it didn't."

While much was discussed, the Board of Zoning Appeals did not reach a decision pertaining to the Bay Avenue home during the meeting. The BZA's next meeting will take place on Sept. 16 and such a decision could be made then.