Burning Tree Country Club has won retroactive approval to keep a 45-by-62-foot fabric-covered storage structure it built without a permit, after Greenwich’s Planning and Zoning Commission voted 5-0 on Tuesday, June 23.

The structure, west of the 12th tee on the Perkins Road course, had already gone up on a concrete-block foundation before the club sought approval. After a neighbor complained, the club took it apart and returned to P&Z seeking what Chair Margarita Alban called “amnesty.”

The approval comes with strings attached. The club must plant a 150-foot screen of Green Giant arborvitae and build a rain garden to meet drainage requirements. Commissioners also made clear that no chemicals or fuel can be stored in the structure, and no extra vehicle traffic is allowed on site.

The building will house off-season maintenance gear, including plow blades, snow blowers, leaf machines, mowers and a spare tractor. Commissioners also raised wildlife concerns because the structure is open at one end and asked whether it should be fully enclosed.

A separate zoning fight may be next. Alban said Burning Tree’s use of its courts for pickleball could fall outside the club’s approved use for tennis and paddleball. Neighbors have complained about the noise. Club attorney John Tesei said the club has used the courts for pickleball for about nine years and will look at sound mitigation.

Alban said the pickleball issue should come back as its own application. No hearing date has been set.