Sewage Excess Leaves Montauk 'Trailer Park' Projects in Limbo
The future of development in the Montauk Shores Condominiums was front and center Tuesday night during a series of hearings before the East Hampton Town Zoning Board of Appeals.
The evening’s least controversial proposal, which was in the leadoff spot, demonstrated the hurdles owners may face in seeking to replace aging trailers with modern prefabricated structures.
Steven Cronley has owned the 600-square-foot trailer at 739 East End Drive for many years, he told the board, and now he wants to demolish it and replace it with a bigger one of 916 square feet, along with a deck.
It was clear from Lisa D’Andrea, a senior planner for the town, and questions from board members as well, that the park’s sanitary system is a major obstacle.
The aging system is designed to handle about 26,500 gallons of waste per day, Ms. D’Andrea said. The potential flow from the site’s existing units, according to her calculations and those of Kim Shaw, the town’s natural resources director, is around 43,000 gallons per day. Because of the shortfall — about 16,900 gallons — the Suffolk County Health Department rejected the park’s proposal in December to add two bathrooms to its recreation center.
“It is imperative that we do not have antiquated, overtaxed, or failing sanitary systems contributing further to the degradation of our ground and surface waters,” Ms. D’Andrea told the board.
“They are going to have to install a new sanitary system,” John Whelan, the chairman, said. Board members agreed that if they were to approve Mr. Cronley’s application they would require proof that the sanitary system is up to date and capable of handling the sewage generated by the residents.
Because of the sanitary issues, as well as the fact that many trailers are in a flood zone under Federal Emergency Management Agency regulations, there is currently an effective moratorium on building in the park. The FEMA hurdle was next up at Tuesday meeting.
Eric Cole owns a modern house facing the ocean on Edgewater Drive, built in 2014 where once a trailer stood, with variances granted by the zoning board, despite the fact that no one — not the board, not the builder, not the Building Department itself — considered that the house was in a major flood zone. Any structure built there would have to be raised 16 feet above grade to allow flood waters to pass underneath. Mr. Cole’s house is only four and a half feet above grade, according to the builder, George Thamsen.
“We followed the code or the rules at the time,” Mr. Thamsen told the board.
“We were not made aware of the FEMA requirements.” That argument fell on deaf ears, particularly Mr. Whelan’s and Roy Dalene’s, both old hands in the building industry. Residents of Montauk Shores “are going to have to get used to it,” Mr. Whelan said of the FEMA regulations.
“There are no exceptions for mobile homes,” Ms. D’Andrea said. “It is the homeowner’s responsibility to meet all codes,” Mr. Dalene said. “You are responsible.” Cate Rogers pointed out that flood insurance rates for the entire town would rise if the board granted variances from FEMA regulations.
Two of the three applicants who followed Mr. Cole have structures that conform to the FEMA laws, with the exception of their central air systems. It was clear from the board’s discussion that Jim and Kim Welsch and Anthony and Janice Paratore will have to find a way to raise the equipment off the ground to become compliant.
The final application was from James and Susan Wandzilak. They too will have to raise their unit to meet FEMA regulations. As with Mr. Cole, their parcel is on Edgewater, requiring a 16-foot elevation.
Mr. Wandzilak told the board his family started going to the park almost 60 years ago, staying in a tent. “I love this place,” he said. “Now I’m looking at 20 to 30 thousand dollars,” he said, estimating the cost of raising the structure. “I understand what you are saying, but it is killing me.”
While most of the applicants were likely not humming a cheerful tune when they left Town Hall Tuesday night, one Ditch Plain owner may have broken out the bubbly if she were watching the session on LTV. The board indicated that it would approve an application from the designer Cynthia Rowley to tear down and replace a house on Seaside Avenue, on the western edge of Ditch. Ms. Rowley’s was the only open application discussed that night.