The owner of 51 South Edgemere Street in Montauk, the property on Fort Pond that was formerly the site of the East by Northeast restaurant and the Stone Lion Inn, is planning to open a new motel and restaurant there by next summer.
The property was recently purchased by a limited liability company, and Vanessa Price, a wine educator, is overseeing the project, according to Deborah Choron, a lawyer for both. Ms. Price is seeking site plan approval from the East Hampton Town Planning Board.
The lot contains a two-story structure with a 200-seat indoor restaurant (including an outdoor dining patio), and a 16-unit motel. The owner is proposing to renovate the interiors, refinish the exterior, reconfigure the entranceway to the restaurant, install solar panels on the roof, and add outdoor showers to the motel’s balconies.
Other proposed changes include redesigning the restaurant’s bathrooms and one motel unit to be accessible to people with disabilities, and removing an existing outdoor bar and a concrete platform adjacent to Fort Pond.
The commercial property is a pre-existing, nonconforming use in a residential zoning district. Due to the site’s proximity to Fort Pond, a special permit must be granted by the town’s zoning board of appeals prior to construction, and changes to the exterior of the structure must be approved by the architectural review board.
The planned renovations will not increase the gross floor area of the structure, and therefore the installation of a nitrogen-reducing septic system is not required by the code, but Ms. Choron said the owner is considering upgrading the conventional system.
“The owner takes the environmental concerns seriously,” she said.
During the initial site plan review on Oct. 16, planning board members urged the applicant to upgrade the system and to install drainage structures to control stormwater runoff.
Randy Parsons, a board member, said he suspected the property exceeded the county’s standards for sewage flow, and Eric Schantz, a senior planner, confirmed those suspicions. “The allowed sanitary flow on the property is about 750 gallons per day, and a 16-unit hotel plus 200-seat restaurant generates 4,400 gallons per day,” said Mr. Schantz.
“So that’s one of the reasons why Fort Pond is in trouble,” said Mr. Parsons, meaning the pond’s poor water quality.
Mr. Parsons said the property had also been overcleared. “Clearing in the harbor protection overlay district allows 16,250 square feet of clearing on that lot, and they currently have 44,887 square feet cleared,” he said. The board should insist on revegetation, he said, which would help mitigate stormwater runoff.
Lou Cortese appealed to the owner’s business sense to make the improvements. “One of the attractions of going to this restaurant is being on the pond, it’s got a beautiful view,” he said. “If you want the restaurant to be successful and to maintain that attraction, you work to keep the pond clean. It sounds like you guys want to do the right thing, and I’m hoping this will be the number-one thing on your list.”
The board decided to ask Ann Glennon, the town’s principal building inspector, to weigh in on whether the proposed renovations would increase the value of the property by 50 percent, and thereby trigger a code requirement for an upgraded septic system.