Nods for Broadview Dock, Georgica Garage
The East Hampton Town Zoning Board of Appeals approved the reconstruction of a dilapidated dock in Gardiner’s Bay off the subdivision known as Broadview at its Nov. 18 work session in Town Hall.
The old L-shaped dock had served for most of its roughly 80 years as a groin, running out over 100 feet into the bay, perpendicular to the shore. Originally built for the late Dr. Dennistoun M. Bell’s yacht, drifting sand has almost completely submerged the structure. The Broadview Property Owners Association of Amagansett had appealed to the board after Tom Preiato, the former town building inspector, denied a building permit for it.
Brian Frank, chief environmentalist for the East Hampton Town Planning Department, had told the board on Oct. 28 that a rebuilt dock with steel sheathing, as the deteriorating dock has, would help build up the beach to the north, all the way to Albert’s Landing Road. The dock is about halfway between that road and Barnes Hole Road.
The zoning board had made it clear earlier that Mr. Preiato’s decision to deny the permit had been correct under the town code, and that the appeal provided the board with an opportunity to make a thorough examination. Normally the board cannot consider such docks. The vote was 5-0 in favor of allowing the work.
Another decision by the board that night was not as harmonious. A variance allowing a garage to be larger than the 600 square feet permitted by the code was approved by a 3-to-2 vote.
Mr. Preiato, who is now the building inspector for Sag Harbor Village, had issued a stop-work order for an almost completed garage at 30 Association Road in Wainscott, after discovering that it was 771 square feet rather than 576 square feet, as the building permit showed. In addition to the oversized first floor, what Mr. Preiato saw as a second floor had been built as well, which would double the floor space to about 1,500 square feet.
At an Oct. 6 hearing, David Eagan of Eagan and Matthews, representing Thomas P. Odgen, as trustee of the property, admitted that “there were obviously mistakes made.” As to the second floor, he said it was intended only for storage. Mr. Preiato argued that in order to conform to the code the ceiling would have to be low enough to prevent an adult from standing up beneath it.
Mr. Eagan also said the garage had been expanded to make room for the house’s mechanics and that the house itself, at 4,440 square feet, was modest by neighborhood standards. The record was kept open for a revised survey.
On Nov. 18, however, David Lys made it clear that he was likely to vote against the variance. “They knew they were building it incorrectly,” he said. “They disregarded what the code is. They admitted that it just kept getting bigger and bigger.” He warned that by granting the variance, the board would be sending the wrong signal to builders. His argument resonated with another board member. “They were issued a permit for a 576-square-foot garage,” Lee White said.
Elizabeth Baldwin, the board’s attorney, cautioned the board to make decisions on the merits and not be “punitive.”
“It is always easier to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission,” Don Cirillo said. “I learned that in parochial school.”
“They did not build a massive house,” John Whelan, the board’s chairman, pointed out, while saying that he was as frustrated as his colleagues. “Too many times, people are coming in and saying, ‘This is a building mistake,’ ” he said. Nevertheless, he cast a “yes” vote.
The issue of the second floor was resolved when the board agreed that a covenant should go along with the variance limiting the ceiling height to five feet, although the new survey had showed the ceiling at six feet.
In the end, Mr. Cirillo and Cate Rogers joined Mr. Whelan in voting to grant the variance.