HARTFORD — The Planning Board issued a retroactive building permit Monday for a deck more than a month after an application had been denied.

The application had been voted down at a Jan. 3 meeting because the Robert and Susan Brown were not present. The board agreed to reconsider on Jan. 17 after they learned that the family was not present due to the death of  Susan Brown’s father and they were out of town.

At a board meeting on Jan. 17, a motion was made to table an after-the-fact application from Brown for a deck repair.

The board had several questions which centered around the repair of a deck on a cabin in a Shoreland Zone without a permit. The one remaining question that held up the approval of the application was that they were not sure if the deck replacement was in the same place as the old one.

The board had asked the Browns for pictures showing the original deck. The Browns did not find photos, but asked two neighbors who had lived there for 19 years to verify in writing that the deck was the same as before. They presented these documents to the board.

The Planning Board had asked Code Enforcement Office Bill Kennedy to be present and bring any correspondence he had had with with Browns over the construction.

Kennedy showed e-mails that had been sent to all Planning Board members concerning the issue with the Browns. None of the members could recall the e-mails. Kennedy said there had been much discussion over the issue of the work done without a permit at previous board meetings.

After more questioning, the Board approved the after-the-fact permit. Chairman Harvey admonished the Browns saying, “I hope this experience has made it clear to you that if you do anything near water, get a permit.”