Ambitious Additions on Drew Lane

David Zaslav, the president of Discovery Communications, and his wife, Pam, who purchased an oceanfront residence on Drew Lane, East Hampton, from the restaurateur and advertising executive Jerry Della Femina in 2012, have applied for a coastal erosion permit and variances to allow additions and renovations to the existing house. They also seek to construct a new swimming pool partially within the footprint of the existing pool, demolish the existing pool house, construct a new 767-square-foot building to be used as a garage, storage area, and pool house, install a new sanitary system, expand a driveway, and add drainage structures, two stairways, and landscaping. The stairways would be situated within required setbacks.

The East Hampton Village Zoning Board of Appeals scrutinized the application at its meeting on Friday. Richard Hammer, an attorney representing the Zaslavs, said his clients had considered demolishing the house, but concluded that additions would minimize disturbance to the dunes and surrounding area. A significant change in elevation at the property immediately to the west, he told the board, meant that “our additions would probably not be visible to them.”

The integrity of the primary dune is a concern for the village and the Zaslavs alike, Mr. Hammer said. He told the board that Lee Weishar, a senior scientist and coastal engineer at the Woods Hole Group, a Massachusetts environmental consulting firm, had determined that the proposed project would not have an impact on the dune’s stability. “Our proposal is to try not to excavate or disturb any area seaward of the existing residence. In fact, we might be providing volume to the dune,” he said.

Frank Newbold, the board’s chairman, said that, while the application says there would be no excavation of the dune crest, the proposed swimming pool, at eight feet deep, would be three feet deeper than the existing pool, “so you will be digging into the dune to excavate it further down.” A member of Mr. Zaslav’s family had been injured diving into a pool, Mr. Hammer responded, hence his wish for a greater depth. Excavation, he said, would be “probably just beyond the existing fittings.”

“The plans show an indoor shower and two sinks in the pool house,” Mr. Newbold continued, noting that the former is prohibited. “Then there will be no indoor shower in the pool house,” Mr. Hammer replied. The accessory structure’s septic system, he said, would also comply with the requirement that it be situated at least 150 feet north of the contour line that represents a natural elevation of 15 feet above the mean high water mark.

The residence, Mr. Newbold said, would have to be “totally compliant with FEMA,” referring to a Federal Emergency Management Agency requirement for waterfront properties located in highest-risk flood zones. If the cost of a proposed renovation is more than 50 percent of the current construction value of the existing house, the entire new house must be FEMA-compliant, on pilings and with a breakaway foundation wall, among other requirements. If the renovation costs less than 50 percent of the house’s current construction value, the house is considered pre-existing nonconforming and can be modified with the appropriate permits and variances.

This, Mr. Hammer said, was the most difficult aspect of the project, but “we will be in the reconstructed 50-percent limit as required by code.” He promised to submit evidence confirming that compliance after the meeting.

As the property is “in the heart of the dune,” the construction protocol is important to the board, Mr. Newbold said. A 1988 variance granted to Mr. Della Femina specified that all work be done by hand, with no machinery permitted in the vicinity of the dune. Christopher Minardi, a board member, asked if the application should be shared with Rob Hermann, a coastal management specialist who has served as a consultant to the village. Mr. Newbold agreed, adding that information would also be forwarded to Drew Bennett, a consulting engineer to the village.

The hearing was left open and will continue at the board’s Dec. 12 meeting.

The board announced one determination. Matthew Foulds and Eleanor Jinks of 80 Pantigo Road were granted variances for the continued maintenance of an air-conditioning unit, a swimming pool, pool patio, pool equipment, slate pavers, and an outdoor shower within the rear and side-yard setbacks, and to permit the continued maintenance of 5,060 square feet of lot coverage where the maximum permitted by code is 4,391 square feet. The variances were granted on the condition that no beds or sleeping be permitted in the pool house, and that the applicants file a declaration of compliance with the condition authorizing an annual inspection on 24 hours’ notice.