A ‘Model House’ Request Is Debated

The East Hampton Town Zoning Board of Appeals seemed to be navigating through a foggy sea regarding businesses in residential districts Tuesday night, after a public hearing on an unusual Wainscott proposal. Hovering over the hearing was the question of whether a model house is an office.

Michael Davis, a builder of high-end houses, had overcome opposition from several neighbors when he was allowed to build a small house on the one-acre residential lot his office is on, at the southeast corner of Sayre’s Path and Montauk Highway.

 Mr. Davis now has his eyes on two buildings to the east, at 405 and 407 Montauk Highway, which are also on one-acre residential lots but contain offices, which are permitted because that use predates zoning.  

Mr. Davis wants to merge the properties, tear down the structures, and build a new one of the same square footage. He first brought this idea to the planning board in September of last year. Even if combined, the properties would not meet the one-acre requirement.

At the time, JoAnne Pahwul, the town’s assistant planning director, questioned whether combining “the square footage of the two nonconforming uses into a single new structure for an office use is permitted.” She directed the board to seek guidance from Ann Glennon, the town’s head building inspector.

The question was complicated by the nonconforming uses of the structures. Anthony Pasca of Esseks, Hefter, Angel, DiTella & Pasca, Mr. Davis’s attorney, told the board that both buildings were built in the 1950s or ’60s as model houses. One, he said, was a “bargain residential home that you could buy for $4,500, or have installed for $5,500.”

And, he said, a model house is exactly what Mr. Davis wants to construct.

 Mr. Pasca said that Mr. Davis’s clients would be able to walk through the new building to see various architectural styles designed by his architect, Roger Ferris. He also pointed out that allowing the property to be used for a single model house would decrease density and lead to one modern septic system.

 Ms. Glennon had been asked by the planning board to determine whether replacing the structures currently on the two properties with a model house on a newly merged property was permitted. Not finding the term “model house” in the  code and noting that the certificate of occupancy for the building at 405 had long been cited as in residential use, she ruled that the proposal was contrary to the code.

Mr. Pasca, acknowledging that the town would like to see nonconforming structures made more conforming, argued that the courts had found they were allowed to be modernized.

Cate Rogers expressed concern that the board would be setting a precedent if it overturned the building inspector’s finding. “This is the type of precedent you want to set,” Mr. Pasca answered.

Two others at the hearing raised other questions. Bob Schaeffer, who retired from the planning board at the end of last year, supported Mr. Davis’s proposal. This raised a red flag for John Whelan, the board’s chairman.

Mr. Schaeffer’s assigned district as a planning board member had been his home hamlet of Wainscott. In that capacity, he had shepherded Mr. Davis’s previous project through the site plan process. Ms. Rogers asked Elizabeth Baldwin, attorney for the board, if a letter to the town ethics board was in order. “You can do that,” was the answer.

At that point, Roy Dalene told his fellow members of the board that he needed to recuse himself. Unbeknownst to him until that moment, his brother, Frank Dalene, a neighbor of Mr. Davis and a member of the Wainscott Citizens Advisory Committee, was about to speak about the application. He expressed opposition to the proposal, telling the board he was speaking as a private citizen. He asked the board to delay a decision until the planned hamlet study for Wainscott could be completed. Another neighbor, Jose Arandia, also spoke in opposition. However, yet another neighbor, Scott Bartlett, spoke in support of the project, saying that the new structure would, at least in appearance, reflect “the real nature of the neighborhood.”

Ms. Pahwul reiterated the point that 405 had a residential history and reminded the board of the code’s directive to bring structures into conformity. She said a larger building was less likely to ever become conforming.

Ms. Glennon also spoke about 405 Montauk Highway at the hearing. “They have always maintained that it was a house,” she said about the town’s Building Department. She pointed out that she had been asked for a determination about office use, not that of a model house.

 David Lys,  a board member, questioned the 16 parking spaces proposed, and Mr. Pasca assured him the number could be lowered. In a comment that could cut both ways, Mr. Lys said, “We also know certificates of occupancy can be issued improperly.”

Mr. Dalene’s recusal means it will take at least a 3-to-1 vote to overturn Ms. Glennon’s determination. A split decision would leave the determination standing.