Waterfront Houses Get Thumbs Up From Z.B.A.

Two waterfront property owners received variances to replace existing houses at Tuesday’s session of the East Hampton Town Zoning Board of Appeals. One is at the Ditch Plain condominium complex in Montauk, the other in the Georgica Association in Wainscott.

The Montauk application was for a two-story oceanfront “trailer home,” Unit 22, owned by Mike Lukacs. The building’s height, required by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, was not up for debate. “FEMA requires a height of 22 feet above the mean-tide, plus two feet from the bottom of floor joists,” Joe Costantin, an architect representing the owner, had written in a letter to the condominium board on Jan. 18.

The plan calls for the existing house to be replaced with one with two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen, a living area, and a deck wrapping around its south and west sides. The structure would cover 769 square feet, as opposed to the current coverage of 605 square feet, with an additional 305 square feet of decking.

In March last year, both the condominium board and the zoning board had looked favorably on the structure’s having an actual ground floor, apparently unaware of the FEMA requirements.

Britton Bistrian of Land Use Solutions, representing Mr. Lukacs, had worked with him and Mr. Costantin, leading to the new proposal. The trailer is to be placed on pilings wrapped with breakaway walls and the ground floor can only be used for storage and a garage.

Lee White, a zoning board member and Montauk resident, said at Tuesday’s session that Unit 22 had previously received approval for a larger, 493 square foot deck. Also, the new structure will be three feet farther from the bluff crest.

The zoning board approved the application by a 4-0 vote. David Lys was unable to attend. Although the height has been set by FEMA rules, the condominium board nevertheless will have to approve the proposal. It was pointed out that the new house would change the view of the ocean for some neighbors.

Mr. White and other board members, however, then called for a review of the condominium’s septic system, which serves the community. The condominium board has not responded to requests for comment.

At Georgica Pond

The Wainscott application involved a proposal to tear down a 720-square-foot cottage at 31 Association Road, alternately identified by the town as 7 Pierson’s Way, and replace it with a 3,976- square-foot two-story house, a swimming pool, and over 1,600 square feet of decking.

 The property, which faces Georgica Pond, is about an acre and a quarter, and the existing house and septic system date to 1966.  The sticking point was a new sanitary system, which would be only 106 feet from the pond, instead of 200 feet as required. The property is owned by Anita Gratwick and Thomas Hayes, who are siblings.

In a memorandum to the board prepared for a Jan. 5 public hearing, Brian Frank, the Planning Department’s chief environmental analyst, called Georgica Pond an “impaired water body,” due, in part, to pollution from septic systems. He suggested a different location for the new system, which would obviate the need for a variance. However, that location would require a well on a neighboring property to the north to be abandoned because of the required distance between wells and septic systems.

“The Planning Department encourages the applicant to work with the adjoining property to either relocate the well or connect the neighbor to public water to facilitate the relocation of the proposed waste disposal system,” Mr. Frank wrote.

 Jeffrey Bragman, attorney for the owners, had said during the public hearing that the siblings were willing to do that, but the neighbor, Anne Gilchrist Hall, had objected.

“The one variance we need is caused by the neighbor’s non-cooperation,” he had told the board. “If we had a cooperative neighbor, we wouldn’t even be in front of your board.”

On the other hand, Christopher Kelley, Ms. Gilchrist Hall’s attorney, said his client “would like to cooperate and see the project redesigned.” He added that his client had offered to buy the property for more than $7 million. “We’re not giving them carte blanche,” he said.

Mr. Kelley had also told the board that the property had previously been merged with a neighboring property owned by the siblings. The board seemed somewhat skeptical of this claim, with Roy Dalene asking Mr. Kelley if the $7 million offer included the merged lot.

At the close of the January hearing, the board gave the neighbors extra time to work out their differences, but that was not to be. On Tuesday, with the neighbors having failed to agree, John Whelan, the board chairman, said he was in favor of granting the variance, noting that the aging system “is in the water, and is currently being flushed into Georgica Pond.”

“I think it is a shame,” Cate Rogers, a member of the board, said. “The neighbors were kind of holding a gun to them.” She said that while it normally would be “crazy” to grant any variances for a septic system at Georgica Pond, “This is a substantially better project than the one that exists.”

“I guarantee you that at some point, this well is going to be connected” to public water, Mr. Dalene concluded, as the board voted 4-0 to approve the variance.