Golf Course Upgrade Gets Approval
The East Hampton Village Zoning Board of Appeals discussed an application Friday from the Maidstone Club, which is seeking permission to install drainage pipes, sump pumps, dry wells, and a swale on its golf course.
Drew Bennett, an engineer representing the club, said there are several low areas on the course’s second fairway, which is parallel to Dunemere Lane, and near the 16th, which curves around the edge of Hook Pond, that develop large, persistent puddles after periods of rain.
The drainage pipes would be underground and would connect to an existing irrigation reservoir, Mr. Bennett said, and the collected water would be used to irrigate the grounds. The swale, a shallow ditch between six inches and one foot deep containing grasses, would be along a split-rail fence on the second fairway.
Lys Marigold, the board’s chairwoman, said she understood the club’s need for drainage, having driven there recently and been surprised by how large the puddles were. “They’re little lakes at this point, with ducks swimming in them.”
The necessary excavation would be surgically done, Mr. Bennett said, adding that the “golf course wants to minimize the amount of disturbances.”
Ms. Marigold said Billy Hajek, the village planner, had requested wire-backed fencing between the construction areas and wetlands to prevent debris from entering the water. Mr. Bennett agreed.
Raymond Harden, the new vice chairman of the Z.B.A., asked if after the swale were in place golf carts would be able to traverse the second fairway rather than use Dunemere Lane. “If the area is drier, it should improve the ability of carts to stay on the course,” Mr. Bennett said.
Also on Friday, the board announced three decisions on earlier applications.
Morad Ghadamian, the owner of 20 and 24 West End Road, was granted permission to merge two lots and construct a single-family house and accessory structures, resulting in 20,315 square feet of coverage, where the maximum in the code is 18,474. He also received an okay to build a 10,423-square-foot house, where the permitted gross floor area is 8,992 square feet, as well as a variance to build two detached garages joined by a roof in the front yard, although the code prohibits detached garages in front yards. A freshwater wetlands permit also was approved for the installation of a 125-foot naturalized buffer adjacent to Georgica Pond on the condition that its planting be maintained.
The Jewish Center of the Hamptons, at 44 Woods Lane, was granted permission to legalize the conversion of a garage into a building containing four classrooms and to construct additions totaling 1,233 square feet of gross floor area, where the maximum for an accessory building is 250 square feet and limited to one room. A variance also was granted to legalize the 48.7-foot rear setback of the building, where 50 feet is the code requirement. Variances also were granted to allow a tent on the property for more than 21 days a year and for 29,452 square feet of coverage, where the maximum is 21,064 square feet.
Frank J. Jackson, the owner of 223 Main Street, was granted an area variance for an additional 60 square feet of gross floor area for a residence of 2,938 square feet, where a prior determination had permitted 2,878 square feet.