Z.B.A. Mulls a Boardwalk in the Dunes

The East Hampton Town Zoning Board of Appeals held a two-hour public hearing on Sept. 16 on whether to allow a boardwalk through the double dunes in Amagansett to accommodate access to the ocean beach by upland property owners who use wheelchairs. The hearing was essentially part two of the application. 

The applicants, who were named only by the corporate title MYSTL, own  roughly eight acres at 2 Tyson Lane. Their proposal is to use five-foot-long sections of six-foot-wide wooden planks over more than 800 feet of the dunes, which are owned by the Nature Conservancy. Patrick B. Fife, an attorney with Twomey, Latham, Shea, Kelley, and Quartararo, represents MYSTL.

At the first hearing, on June 17, the board learned that the East Hampton Town Planning Department was opposed to the plan. According to Brian Frank, the department’s chief environmentalist, this would be the first six-foot-wide boardwalk in the double dunes, and he warned that some 5,000 square feet of vegetation would be cleared. While the Nature Conservancy is named as one of the applicants, its position on the application remains unclear.

In a letter, the conservancy’s attorney, Jeffrey S. Larson, writes, “The Conservancy recognizes that the Atlantic Double Dunes is one of the remaining areas of undeveloped barrier beach and dune ecosystem on Long Island, and we advocate for it to remain in its natural state to the greatest extent possible.” The letter then goes on to indicate that the boardwalk should be laid out over an existing foot path, while the proposed route bypasses part of that route to avoid a hill. On the other hand, Mr. Fife said two members of the conservancy had walked the proposed path with Robert Grover, an environmental consultant for the applicants, and had agreed to the route. “It seems contradictory; that has to be clarified,” Donald Cirillo, a board member, said.

John Whelan, the board’s chairman, pointed out that the proposed deviation of the boardwalk from the natural footpath would take it through some of the densest beach vegetation. Mr. Grover, who was at the hearing, insisted that the project would result in more vegetation on the dunes over a two-year period. The board went on to discuss these differing points of view.

One of the board members, David Lys, asked Mr. Fife if there were a plan to put in a sunset clause to require the walk to be removed if the applicants sold the property. Although he had previously insisted that a width of six feet was necessary for the wheelchairs, Mr. Fife answered that a four-foot boardwalk might be better than a sunset clause.

The hearing was closed, but the record will be kept open to allow Mr. Fife to make his intention that the conservancy is supporting the application clear.