Highway Restaurant in Village Crosshair

Ken Collum, the East Hampton Village code enforcement officer, continued to oppose one component of an application on behalf of the Highway Restaurant and Bar on the Montauk Highway from the Albert Herter Veterans of Foreign Wars Post, which owns the property, as the Zoning Board of Appeals debated it on Friday.

As he had at the board’s April 22 meeting, Mr. Collum spoke against allowing the restaurant to move three tables from a patio on one side of the building, a legally pre-existing use, to a larger deck on the other. While the tables had past approval, the code now states that any variance for reconstruction or alteration of a lawfully existing outdoor use in a residential area cannot exceed 100 percent of the pre-existing area.

With Memorial Day weekend approaching, Mr. Collum said allowing the tables to move to a larger area “would be creating an enforcement issue.” Restaurants that have outdoor dining, he said, “constantly use the deck; they’re constantly being warned, and I think it’s just a matter of tying up more resources.” He told Andy Hammer, an attorney for the V.F.W., that his comments specifically included the Highway Restaurant, which has a legal occupancy of 116.

Frank Newbold, the board’s chairman, asked Mr. Collum if would it make any difference if the tables were on their existing patio on the westerly side of the building or on the deck on the opposite side. “If they’re out on that deck, it’s going to become 60, 70 people out on the deck and then 116 people inside,” was his reply. “These things tend to grow.”

Businesses on the South Fork need to make the most of the brief tourist season, Mr. Collum said, “and they’re going to do whatever they can. Our point of view is, you’re going to create a huge issue for us. It draws attention away from everything else we’re trying to do with housing, with signs, with fire safety.”

The board also repeated its opposition to a request that the restaurant’s sign, which straddles the V.F.W.’s and the village’s property, be raised from 10 to 14 feet. The code sets the maximum height at 8 feet.

 Lys Marigold, the board’s vice chairwoman, told Mr. Hammer that she had surveyed signs between East Hampton and Bridgehampton and found they typically were lower than 10 feet. “Your sign is the only one with a roof over it, which makes it hard to see. My suggestion is to lose the roof, lower it so it’s at the eye level of the cars. . . . Then it could be conforming, and you’d have better exposure.” The board certainly does not want it any higher, Mr. Newbold said, adding that it should be entirely on V.F.W. property.

The applicant had also submitted a parking plan showing 52 spaces. Billy Hajek, a village planner, said the restaurant requires 39 spaces for patrons and one for every employee. “That leaves them with 13 for employees and to accommodate the meeting hall,” he said. He was referring to the separate building used as a membership club by the V.F.W. “It would be prudent to have actual figures of how many employees work there and how many parking spaces are allocated to the meeting hall,” he said.

But apart from picnics on July Fourth and Labor Day, activities at the V.F.W. building and the restaurant rarely overlap, Brian Carabine, the post’s quartermaster, said. Mr. Hammer then said there were 58 spaces on the property, explaining that the surveyor did not include spaces on grass. A prior, approved plan included 58 spaces, Mr. Hajek agreed. “It might be easier to leave the parking the way it is,” he said.  The hearing was left open until the board’s next meeting on Friday, May 27. Mr. Hammer said he would discuss the sign and outdoor tables with his client.

Four determinations were also announced at the meeting. David Zaslav, the president of Discovery Communications, was granted variances to allow changes in plans previously approved by the board. In 2015 Mr. Zaslav and his wife, Pam, were granted variances allowing additions to an existing residence, demolition of a pool house, and construction of a garage-storage-pool house at 24 Drew Lane. The variances were granted on the conditions that certain methodology of construction was followed, the landscaping was compliant with submitted plans, and that only code-compliant wire fencing be used.

The board granted Christopher Mitchell, the publisher of Vanity Fair, and Pilar Guzman, editor in chief of Conde Nast Traveler, variances to legalize alterations made to a garage in a pre-existing nonconforming location, and pool equipment, a roof dormer, and a patio to remain within required side-yard setbacks at 62 Dunemere Lane. The relief was granted on the condition that the building continue to be used to store a motor vehicle and that no plumbing, heat, or air-conditioning be installed.

Most Holy Trinity Catholic Church, at 57 Buell Lane, received a special permit and a coverage variance to allow a memorial patio to be constructed. Mario Casciotta had presented the application on April 22, explaining it was part of an Eagle Scout project.

Helen Chardack of 100 Egypt Lane was granted variances allowing two air-conditioning units, a garbage bin, and a patio to remain within required side-yard setbacks.