Last Words End Long Hearing

Hearings that had gone on for months and even years were finally closed when the East Hampton Village Zoning Board of Appeals met on Friday, though not before the board heard a lot of scorn and a smidgen of praise from one applicant.

A 2014 determination granting Shahab Karmely variances to construct a tennis court at the historic Gardiner property at 127 Main Street, provided that several conditions were met, was reconsidered this year after a building inspector determined that the landscaping was not in accordance with the board’s approval. Mr. Karmely’s neighbor, Kenneth Kuchin of 121 Main Street, had objected that the court would be too near a cottage that he uses for meditation, and after its construction he told the board that his fears of excessive noise had been realized.

At the board’s July 8 meeting, Mr. Karmely complained of his neighbor’s “unhealthy obsession” with his tennis court, but offered to attach soundproofing to a fence separating the properties. The board asked to see a plan before closing the hearing, and Mr. Karmely returned on Friday.

It was his seventh time before the board, and he delivered a long statement denouncing its conduct. “I find myself here again defending arbitrary, false, and unsupported allegations despite ample evidence to the contrary,” he told the board members, complaining of the use of Google Earth photos to support the contention that he had not sunk the court four feet below grade as stipulated. The board “then went on to immediately dismiss a report from a leading acoustical engineer,” Mr. Karmely said, and claimed the existence of a retaining wall along the tennis court, which he called “utter fiction.”

“Additionally,” he continued, “you cited specifically that your inspection supports Mr. Kuchin’s fabricated and undocumented claim that the court was raised two feet” and that vegetation to screen it was not as tall as stated. Addressing Frank Newbold, the chairman, Mr. Karmely asked, “Did you, sir, in fact measure the said shrubs, sleuth said invisible retaining wall, and reach back in time to document the exact conditions of the site prior to the installation?”

In fact, he said, he had gone to great lengths and expense to comply with every condition of the approval, including a prohibition on installing any fencing around the court, “which we did not, and now are asked to do so.”

Before concluding, however, Mr. Karmely called the board’s work “crucial to maintaining the beauty and quality of life in our beloved village,” and commended “the passion and dedication you bring to what must often be a thankless task.” Nonetheless, he said, the board “must either rely on the trust of the citizenry or engage in brute force. You, Mr. Chairman, have cast a shadow on that crucial trust by your actions and behavior in regard to this matter.”

Members of the board called Mr. Karmely’s offer to affix dense soundproofing material to a fence separating the properties “reasonable” and “a very fair compromise,” and Mr. Kuchin, who has also attended the meetings, seemed satisfied. The hearing, to everyone’s relief, was closed.

Another hearing that concluded on Friday concerned the Highway Restaurant and Bar on the grounds of the Everit Albert Herter Veterans of Foreign Wars post, at 290 Montauk Highway. At previous meetings, the village’s code enforcement officer complained that allowing the restaurant to offer dining on a wooden deck that had grown larger than allowed by a prior approval would place an undue burden on his department.

On Friday, Andy Hammer, an attorney representing the applicant, submitted a revised survey showing the deck resized according to the prior approval, and its benches removed. Three tables would sit on the patio with occupancy consistent with the original site plan, he said. The tables on a slate patio on the other side of the building will be removed. A request to raise the restaurant’s sign, which is already taller than permitted by code, was withdrawn, and its roof will be removed, rendering it compliant.

Satisfied, the board, which first considered the application in April, closed the hearing.

Four determinations were announced at the meeting. In separate applications for 85 and 93 West End Road, Katherine and William Rayner were granted coastal erosion hazard area and dune setback variances to construct an outdoor pizza oven, alter stepping stones, and retain air-conditioning units, all of which come too close to beach grass and the 15-foot contour line of the ocean dune. The board found the structures insubstantial and posing no detriment. The Rayners were also granted variances to alter a retaining wall and construct a garden gate and retaining walls straddling the two properties, and for the gate to be 11 feet high where the maximum permitted height is six feet.

The board also granted Steven Cohen, the founder of Point72 Asset Management, variances to allow 18,186 square feet of lot coverage at 96 Further Lane, where the pre-existing coverage was 16,657 and the maximum permitted by current code is 15,295. Patios, which fall into the side property line setbacks, and a generator account for the overage.

Jonathan Schulhof and Kimberly Kravis were granted a variance to construct an addition to their house at 101 Georgica Close Road that will result in 10,718 square feet of floor area, where the pre-existing nonconforming floor area is 9,747 and the maximum permitted under current code is 8,258. An attached garage accounts for some of the floor area, and the applicant offered to reduce the floor area of accessory structures to 94 square feet. Approval was granted on the condition of that offer, which the applicants must record in the county clerk’s office.