One Month Later: Out From Under the Moratorium?

On Tuesday night, one month into a temporary moratorium on construction of most new single-family houses and major improvements on existing ones, the Sag Harbor Village Board heard some complaints, as well as four requests for exemptions.

Noel and Gwendolyn Hankin are seeking an exemption so they can expand their house at 27 Harding Terrace in Ninevah. The small two-bedroom house, just over 1,000 square feet, was built in the 1950s for weekend use, they told the board, and they want a larger, two-story, three-bedroom house, as they now live in the village full time. Mr. Hankin said he was the only full-time resident in a neighborhood of 13 properties, all of which have been enlarged over the years.

“I feel a lot of other people have been speeding and I’m getting a ticket,” he said. 

In July, the village board unanimously imposed a temporary moratorium halting development while it considers how to strengthen the village’s building code. On Tuesday night, members agreed after a hearing to amend the zoning code by redefining a property’s “degree of non-conformity.” Fred W. Thiele Jr., the village attorney, said the law would compel property owners to apply for a variance before adding on to a pre-existing, nonconforming building, or a part of one

“This is Mrs. Olejnik’s case, I think, to a tee,” Mr. Thiele said, referring to Carol Olejnik, a Main Street homeowner whose neighbor essentially tore down the house next to hers and rebuilt it right along her property line, expanding it in accordance with its pre-existing, non-conforming dimensions. An eight-foot section of her property caved in during the initial construction.

“Those would at least now have to go to the zoning board of appeals for a variance before a building permit could be granted,” Mr. Thiele said.

Though she said she was happy the law was being passed, Mrs. Olejnik mumbled from the front row, “a little late.”

During the hearing, Tim Culver, a former village board member who lives behind Mrs. Olejnik, raised some questions about the way the law was written, and said he wondered if it would not force the zoning board, already reviewing a large caseload, to hear even more.

Beyond the amendment, several others spoke during the hearing. Lydia Bucks said she had received all the approvals except for one from the Suffolk County Health Department, which is expected soon, but now will not be able to build an addition to her house, at least not during the moratorium. “After that, we were told we could spend $33,000 on the renovation, which is not going to go very far.”

The moratorium allows for some exclusions, among them renovations that are not considered “substantial improvements” to existing one-family detached houses. A substantial improvement is defined as any change whose cost equals or exceeds 50 percent of the house’s market value before the construction begins. Assessments, however, do not always reflect market value, as in Mrs. Bucks’s case.

Mr. Thiele told her she could apply for the exemption, as four others had done before the meeting. He offered to help guide her through the process.

Frank Ahimaz, who owns houses on Madison Street and Howard Street, said the amendment seemed “pretty broadsweeping,” and he wondered if having just one nonconforming portion of a house would prohibit the expansion of another, conforming part of it. Mr. Thiele said that was not the case.

Mr. Ahimaz also said there had not been enough opportunity for the public to weigh in on the moratorium. Some details, he said, were not available until after the hearing, which was followed by the moratorium’s passage. “It would be helpful if we used part of the meeting to look at it,” he said, “and then, the next meeting, vote.”

Mr. Thiele told him the moratorium, as well as Tuesday’s amendment, had been presented at a public meeting and noticed in newspapers at least 10 days before, as is required. It had been available to the public over a month in this case, he said.

Steven Barr, who owns houses with Mr. Ahimaz, took umbrage with changes to the code that, he said, are being “dribbed and drabbed out.” He likened it to “Chinese water torture.”

Mr. Thiele answered that the amendment had been under consideration for several months, mainly in response to what happened next to Mrs. Olejnik, which he called “one of the most publicized issues” in the village. “If you missed it, I don’t know how,” he said.

“That’s kind of a rude comment,” Steven Barr said from the audience, adding that the “Tomato Lady,” as Mrs. Olejnik has been known in the village, seemed to be setting the tone.

Changes specifically related to the moratorium would be coming later, Mr. Thiele said. Mr. Ahimaz said they seemed to be tied together.

“We consider changes to the village code every month, and that is part of the job of the trustees,” Mr. Thiele said. Mr. Ahimaz said that he thought the idea was to stop McMansions.

After a bit more back-and-forth with Mr. Ahimaz, Mr. Thiele said, “I know a lot of people have been trying to scare people out there” about the moratorium.

Meanwhile, the board agreed to hear four applications for exemptions to the moratorium, all of them filed since it was passed.

Melissa A. Dedovich, the president of Peconic Environmental Associates of Southampton, filed an application for 154 Redwood L.L.C. at the same address. The owner, Andrew Friedwald, who purchased the property in September, wants to raze the existing house, which predates the zoning code, and build a new five-bedroom residence in its place. The project was held up last year by the village’s wetlands moratorium, and has since been revised to conform to the new wetlands code, which is under review by the harbor committee.

“It seems clear, based on public comment and discussion of the trustees, that this application is not the intended development the moratorium is seeking to curb or halt,” Ms. Dedovich wrote. “In fact, it is clear that this application will enhance the character of the community and is well outside of the historic district.”

The board will hold a hearing at its next meeting, on Sept. 8, to decide if the planning and zoning boards can hear the applications during the moratorium. The other two proposals set for hearing were for 209 Division Street and 18 Howard Street.

In other news, the board passed a new law allowing for two alternate members on the zoning board of appeals, the planning board, the harbor committee, and the board of historic preservation and architectural review. Each alternate member on the Z.B.A. and planning board will serve for five years; the terms will be three years otherwise.

Mayor Schroeder said the alternates would ensure that there are always enough people to hear applications. Alternates are expected to show up at every meeting, just like a sitting member of a board, but will not vote unless a member is absent or has to abstain.

“It’s like being an alternate juror. You’ve got to be there,” Mr. Thiele said. 

Also, Brendan Skislock has resigned from the zoning board of appeals. Robert Plumb was appointed to replace him.