Perelman’s Creeks to Lose Six Bedrooms and More

After months of back and forth, the East Hampton Village Zoning Board of Appeals and Ronald Perelman, the billionaire owner of the Creeks on Georgica Pond, agreed on Friday that some illegally built structures on his 58-acre estate would be eliminated or reduced in size and use. 

In 2012, the village discovered that Mr. Perelman had constructed and altered multiple buildings at the property at 291 Montauk Highway without building permits and in violation of code. It was also discovered that he had illegally cleared some 70,000 square feet of vegetation on the property. After the East Hampton Village Board rejected a proposal to create a new zoning district that would effectively legalize the structures, he came to the Z.B.A. 

Mr. Perelman sought to legalize the enlargement of a small synagogue to 1,275 square feet, where the maximum permitted for an accessory building is 250 square feet, and to keep its 15.1-foot height, where the maximum is 14 feet. He also sought variances to legalize 160 square feet of additions to the main residence and for the earlier extension, expansion, and alteration of nonconforming accessory buildings containing cooking and living facilities. The additions are 100 feet from wetlands, where a 150-foot setback is required.

He also sought variances to legalize a 5,802-square-foot barn with cooking and living facilities, which he proposed in exchange for converting a 4,217-square-foot carriage house, also containing cooking and living quarters, into an accessory building with storage space. Area and wetlands setback variances were also required to legalize six pieces of art and sculptures installed within the rear-yard and wetlands setbacks, the nearest being directly on the rear-yard lot line and wetlands. 

On Friday, the fourth meeting at which the application was considered, Frank Newbold, the board’s chairman, and Leonard Ackerman, an attorney for Mr. Perelman, detailed the proposal on which the board will make its determination. 

Mr. Newbold highlighted concerns about the ecological health of Georgica Pond, which has experienced several toxic algal blooms in recent years and led to the board’s insistence that a vegetative buffer between the property and the pond, and nitrogen-reducing septic systems covering the entire property, be included in the mitigation offered in exchange for variances legalizing some of the structures. 

“As in all applications before this board, it’s a question of balancing the mitigation offered against the variances requested,” Mr. Newbold said. “Particularly, since this property has more frontage on Georgica Pond than any other, we’re concerned for the impact on the neighborhood, and in particular the water quality of Georgica Pond.”

Mr. Perelman will be required to remove the six bedrooms, six bathrooms, and cooking facilities in the carriage house and convert it to unconditioned space to be used only for storage. A shower is to be removed from the synagogue, with two half-bathrooms allowed to remain, and a covenant to be filed with the village will prohibit cooking facilities or use as a residence, including overnight dwelling. A portion of a swimming pool cabana that was added to include a workout room must be removed, and a shower must be removed from a pool house. Fences that encroach into wetlands must also be removed. 

Along with the 70,000 square feet of vegetation that had been illegally cleared, Mr. Perelman will revegetate additional land, for a total of 133,756 to be planted with native species to form a natural buffer between the property and Georgica Pond. It is to be maintained without pesticides or fertilizers. 

“Finally,” Mr. Newbold said, “the applicant has proposed agreement to a nitrogen-reducing septic system for the entire property to be installed within two years, which will benefit the pond and leave it in healthier condition going forward.” A covenant stating that the applicant will apply to the Suffolk County Health Department for that upgrade within 60 days of the zoning board’s determination will be filed with the village. 

The hearing was closed, and the board’s determination will be announced at a future meeting. 

Also at the meeting, a hearing was opened, and quickly closed, for six properties surrounding Lily Pond. Bruce Horwith, a conservation biologist, detailed a plan to remove phragmites from wetlands and adjacent areas by cutting with hand-held equipment at properties on Lily Pond Land and Apaquogue Road, which collectively cover 22.3 acres. A seventh property, also on Lily Pond Lane, will be added to the project once a survey, wetlands flagging, and paperwork have been completed. “The idea will be to approach the whole pond holistically with one project,” Mr. Horwith said.

The project, projected to span four years, requires approval of the town trustees, which Mr. Horwith said has been given, and a permit from the State Department of Environmental Conservation, which is pending. Billy Hajek, the village planner, recommended that the board require the applicants to submit reports to monitor the project’s success in controlling phragmites and the re-establishment of native species, and to notify the village’s Code Enforcement Department when the project is to commence. Mr. Horwith agreed. 

Two determinations were announced at the meeting. The board denied an application from Georgia Benevicks to install a powder room in a 436-square-foot detached garage, where bathrooms are prohibited, at 75 Mill Hill Lane. The survey submitted with the application depicts a proposed swimming pool, but no building permit application for a pool has been submitted; and, the board noted, the applicant characterizes the structure as a garage and not a pool house or recreational room. 

Richard Furlaud Jr. was granted variances to legalize alterations of a nonconforming detached garage in the front yard at 79 Hither Lane. One variance legalizes a 361-square-foot finished studio room, where 250 square feet is the maximum permitted; another allows the studio room to remain insulated, and a third allows the installation of another garage door. The board, however, denied Mr. Furlaud’s request that the structure have a heating and cooling system and an indoor shower.