Members Split Yes, No Votes on Montauk Shores Condos

After recent contentious public hearings, the East Hampton Town Zoning Board of Appeals rejected applications from the owners of two mobile homes on the oceanfront in the Montauk Shores Condominiums at Ditch Plain and another from the owner of a lot with two houses on it between Indian Wells Highway and Further Court in Amagansett. However, the board approved variances for a house at Amagansett’s Cranberry Hole Road. The vote in each case was split, 3-to-2.

The Ditch Plain homeowners were seeking special permits to replace their structures with substantially larger ones. Variances were required because of the proximity to wetlands and a proposal that they be closer than the required distance from the bluff crest.

During a March 2 hearing, Richard Carvell, a neighbor, had expressed opposition, and asked, “When is big too big?” The answer, according to three of the five members of the board, was that the 870-square-foot trailers requested by the owners of the two lots, Tom and Peggy Dempsey and the Neubert Trust, were too big.

The board began debating the Dempsey application first on May 5. David Lys pointed out that the replacement trailers they wanted were 60 percent larger than the existing Dempsey one. In addition, Mr. Lys noted that the applicants were seeking to move their trailers a foot closer to the bluff crest, despite the fact that the current structures are well over 50 percent closer than the town code allows.

The danger of such structures breaking up in a major storm was a major concern, he said. “It would produce more damage. Is this the right design for a home in this location?” Cate Rogers concurred. “When you increase the mass, you increase the potential damage.”

Don Cirillo, a board member who was in support of the variances and permits, as was Lee White, argued that the board had allowed similar applications to go through. John Whelan, chairman of the board, agreed with Ms. Rogers and Mr. Lys. “These are all nonconforming,” he said. “I have no problem replacing them in kind. This is a major increase,” he said, adding, “Smaller is better.”

“It’s relative, John. You make it seem like it’s 3,000 square feet,” Mr. Cirillo said. He continued what had become a heated debate, arguing that if the condominium board had considered and approved the proposal, that the Z.B.A. should give its approval weight.

“I don’t know what their standards are,” Ms. Rogers retorted. “We have a job to do. We are adhering to our code.”

“They might want to get bigger, and that doesn’t interest me,” Mr. Whelan said. He also warned that if all the beachfront owners in the Ditch Plain complex were granted similar requests, the net result would be a wall between the rest of the units and the oceanfront. Both the Dempsey and the Newbert Trust applications were defeated 3-2

At stake in the equally contentious discussion the followoing week was an application to divide a narrow, slightly over one-acre property with two houses on it, with different alliances being struck. The driveway to one of the houses is from Indian Wells Highway, the other from Further Court, which is to the west. Two houses would normally not be permitted on one lot, but they both predate the town code by many years.

The property owner wants permission to divide the property into two lots, neither of which would conform to current zoning, which calls for minimum one-acre lots for single family residences..

Mr. Lys started off the discussion, saying the benefit to the applicant, Thomas Onisko, was mainly economic, as had been pointed out by his representative, Britton Bistrian, during the February public hearing on the application. In addition, five neighbors had spoken out against the proposal. The hardship claimed by Mr. Onisko was self-created, Mr. Lys said. “There has to be more than that in order to downzone.”

Mr. Whelan, the chairman, saw the application differently. “If this board does nothing, the owner can go to the building inspector tomorrow and do a couple of things,” he said, including replacing the houses with larger ones than would be allowed if the land were divided into two lots. Mr. White agreed with Mr. Whelan, pointing out that Mr. Onisko was willing to increase the setbacks to protect neighbors if the variance was granted. “They are cleaning up the site,” Mr. Whelan added.

“It creates substantially undersized lots,” Ms. Rogers said, however, joining Mr. Lys in opposition. If granted, the door might be open to many more people asking for lot size variances, citing financial gain as the reason. This left Mr. Cirillo with the deciding vote.

“Don’t be shocked,” Mr. Cirillo said, turning to Ms. Rogers, “I agree with you. This is a small parcel to begin with,” he said. “To reward the owner, to allow him to divide, is not the way to go. I don’t think it is fair. It is not something that is in the best interests of the neighbors or the neighborhood.” If he is allowed to expand on that legally, let him do that.” The application was rejected, 3-to-2.

Also in Amagansett, the board voted 3-to-2 to approve a new house at 320 Cranberry Hole Road. Jeffrey Locker plans a 4,180-square-foot one-and-a-half story house, along with a 600-square-foot detached garage, a 750-square-foot pool, and over 2,000 square feet of decking on low-lying duneland. Two hearings had been held, on Feb. 28 and April 14, and the town planning board had opposed the application, saying the footprint was too large. But Mr. Locker argued that the larger footprint allowed for lower visibility, due to the configuration of the dunes.

Mr. Whelan agreed with the planning board, as did Ms. Rogers. In particular, they called the deck excessive. However, Mr. Lys endorsed the application. “I believe the way he designed it, it will nestle into the dune,” he said. Mr. White joined Mr. Lys, pointing out that only a special permit was needed due to proximity to wetlands. While he would have preferred a different plan, “I don’t think there is enough to deny.”

Mr. Cirillo agreed with Mr. Lys and Mr. White, saying that he did not want to micromanage the proposal, and the vote to approve carried the day.

On the other hand, the board rejected an application for a walkway to the Gardiner’s Bay beach from 349 Cranberry Hole Road. The walkway was intended to be used to get Sam Isaly’s wheelchair down to the beach.

Cate Rogers told her fellow board members that the path chosen for the walkway, which runs through  dune vegetation, was not preferable. Board members pointed out that there already was a stepped walkway that could be used. Members also expressed concern about the fixed nature of the proposed walkway. The vote was 4-to-1 against, with Mr. Cirillo alone in approval.