OGDENSBURG — The Ogdensburg Community Garden for which ground will be broken Saturday morning will be promoted and maintained in accordance with city code, thanks to a pair of zoning variances that were approved earlier this week.

On Tuesday, the city’s Zoning Board of Appeals voted 6-0 in favor of two variances for the Fort La Presentation Co. One will permit more signage than allowed to identify the garden, which will grow vegetables on a parcel of the company-owned land at Lighthouse Point.

The other variance enables a 10-foot-by-12-foot storage shed for gardening and landscaping tools to stand alone and, unlike other accessory buildings, not be attached to a larger, principal structure.

The three signs add up to 50 square feet, more than twice the allowed 20 square feet. Michael A. Forrest Jr., construction manager for the company, said a four-foot-by-eight-foot sign will advertise the fort, a four-foot-by-three-foot sign will identify the community garden and a 36-inch sign on the shed will identify the Ogdensburg Rotary Club, a donor to the garden project.

In his proposal to the board, Mr. Forrest described how the community garden would complement the historic fort replica/interpretive center that is planned for the site.

“The community garden, which is being supported by the Fort and the city of Ogdensburg will only beautify and attract visitors to the site and bring in more tourism to the area,” he wrote. “Fort La Presentation is presently engaged in a major capital fund-raising campaign to build an interpretive center. Therefore, any enhancements to the property will help the campaign.”

Voting in favor of the variances were Chairman William Flynn, Jamie R. Amo, Kevin Thomas, Bonnie Franz, Kevin J. Wilder and Misty L. Smith. Steve Schlieter was absent.

Saturday’s groundbreaking ceremony will be held at 8:30 a.m.

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