FEMA Rules Spur Variances
Pyramid laws, which govern the height of buildings and are designed to prevent new ones from looming over their neighbors, were the order of the evening when the East Hampton Zoning Board of Appeals met on Dec. 2. The board approved one set of variances and heard a second request for similar relief.
In the past, pyramid variances were rarely granted. But now, new houses located in flood zones must comply with Federal Emergency Management Administration regulations, which require that they be built higher, depending on the risk of flooding.
In both cases, the applicants were represented by Trevor Darrell of Fleming and Darrell. The first request, heard on Nov. 25, came from Asa Gosman and his wife, who want to tear down a dilapidated cottage and build a one-story house at 97 Mulford Lane near Lazy Point, a neighborhood highly susceptible to flooding.
“In order to be FEMA-compliant,” wrote Lisa D’Andrea of the Planning Department in a memo to the board, “the proposed house must have a base elevation of 12 feet. Since the property is only 50 feet wide, the residence raised to that elevation will not meet pyramid requirements, and, therefore, two five-foot variances are required.”
During the hearing, Mr. Darrell asked board members if they could expedite the matter, because of mortgage considerations. The board agreed, and granted approval for the variances the next week.
That night, they heard an application from Pelger Associates, the owner of property at 40 Gardiner Drive in Amagansett’s Beach Hampton neighborhood, asking to be allowed to tear down a 1,183-square-foot house and replace it with a two-story house of 2,807 square feet. Ms. D’Andrea wrote that FEMA regulations required raising the house, and that the proposed 16-foot elevation “creates the need for two pyramid variances.”
“We’ve shrunk the house,” Mr. Darrell told the board, saying that the ceilings would be made just high enough for comfort. The architect, Bruce Siska, was on hand, which turned out to be fortuitous.
Don Cirillo, a board member, said that while the proposal was to raise the house by 16 feet to suit a 14-foot flood zone, it appeared that the actual FEMA zone it is in requires only a 10-foot elevation. John Whelan, the board’s chairman, agreed. “This can really help you,” he told Mr. Darrell, encouraging a redesign of the elevation.
One neighbor expressed concern about the height of the new house. “This is a big house on a quarter of an acre,” John Arpino told the board.
Mr. Siska and Mr. Darrell agreed that a redesign was in order. They will present new plans to the board, which will revisit the matter at a future date.