Library Approval Is Official
“Here endeth the lesson,” said Joan Denny, acting chairwoman of the East Hampton Village Zoning Board of Appeals, using the traditional liturgical wrap-up after the board read aloud its draft approval of the East Hampton Library’s proposed expansion.
The Friday morning meeting lasted all of seven minutes, and the determination was unanimously approved, since the State Supreme Court had ordered the board this spring to provide the library with the two variances and a special permit it needs. The plans still need final approval from the village’s design review board before construction can begin.
In that Supreme Court decision, the court allowed the village to impose some “reasonable conditions” in its approval. As adopted, the plans have changed very little since they were last discussed during public hearings in 2010, before the board denied the library’s application.
The board approved a parking plan that includes an additional 16 parking spaces on the library property, for a total of 42. It also limited the seating in a lecture room to 60, with the understanding that the library would need to come before the board again should there be any further changes in seating capacity.
The library has another meeting room, the Bendheim room, with a capacity of 25. It was not part of the expansion proposal.
The library’s director, Dennis Fabiszak, said yesterday that the site plan was being looked at a final time, and that he expects the plans to be in front of the design review board soon