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A Tangled Web of Easements in Montauk

Thu, 04/13/2023 - 11:01

A famous surf break in Montauk known as the Ranch may soon have to be called the Ranches if an applicant gets approval for a 3,591-square-foot residence overlooking it. The break is at the base of a cliff in the heart of the moorlands, a dwarf forest habitat that doesn’t exist anywhere else in New York State.

In 2005, the East Hampton Town Zoning Board of Appeals granted variances and a natural resources special permit for a house on the property that was never built. Instead, in 2008, about 4,000 square feet of the parcel were cleared and regraded and used as a staging area for the construction of an adjacent house at 402 Old Montauk Highway.

“Was that cleared legally?” Roy Dalene, the chairman of the Z.B.A., asked at last Tuesday’s meeting.

“I can’t answer that,” said Richard Warren of Interscience, representing the applicant, 404 Old Montauk Highway L.L.C.

Mr. Warren’s client purchased the undeveloped lot in 2021 and redesigned the 2005 house plans.

The natural resources special permit was required in 2005 because there are wetlands on the property and it is close to a bluff crest. A handful of variances were also granted. For example, to move the house as far from the wetlands as possible while keeping it 150 feet away from the bluff crest, it will sit only five feet from its eastern property line.

Brian Frank, the chief environmental analyst for the town, said that while the bluff on the parcel was stable, “Some of these areas are eroding quite dramatically,” sometimes at the rate of one to three feet a year.

Mr. Warren said the owner wanted the redesigned house to be no larger than the 2005 home but added about 900 square feet of decking for morning coffee so he “wasn’t sitting out in the grass, where there’s ticks.” Besides that, he said his client tried hard to make the new project fit into the parameters of the old one, often improving the plan.

The wetlands setback from the low-nitrogen septic system was increased, a variance for pyramid incursion didn’t grow, and the applicant added a drainage plan. He also offered a 50-foot scenic easement along the bluff’s edge, adding to the 100-foot easement imposed by the Z.B.A. in 2005.

Richard Whalen, a lawyer representing the property owner to the east, at 406 Old Montauk Highway, said the 2005 pyramid variance was issued before the regrading of the property. He said the pyramid of the new construction had to be measured from the original topography on the site.

“We don’t have a problem with anything the applicant is proposing, we just want to make sure they don’t get more pyramid law relief than was granted in 2005,” he said.

Apart from the troubling topography, an overlapping puzzle of easements was perhaps the reason why three lawyers were present at the hearing, one for each property owner. Some of the easements were created by the town, but others were between property owners.

Mr. Frank clarified that the “scenic easements” between neighbors were without jurisdiction and another, proposed for a turnaround area on the driveway, was too close to the wetlands, and not tenable.

“I can’t imagine any circumstance where clearing or any sort of disturbance in those areas would be appropriate or meet the permit or variance standard,” he said.

Jameson McWilliams was the lawyer on hand to represent Anthony Ingrao, who owns the property to the west, at 402 Old Montauk Highway; Mr. Ingrao originally owned all three lots. She said that despite the web of easements portrayed in the survey, there were even more easements on the property that were not depicted and should be clarified.

Her main issue seemed to be the proposed additional 50-foot scenic easement, which overlapped a private “visual easement” that provided Mr. Ingrao a view to the Montauk Lighthouse.

In a sentence that only a lawyer could love, she wondered about the jurisdiction of the Z.B.A. “I don’t know if the Z.B.A. has the authority to approve, as a condition of approval, to require an easement burdening a property that’s already burdened by an easement that you’re not aware of the language that it provides,” she said.

Ed Johann, a board member, asked about the private easements, and what they entailed.

The lawyer representing 404 Old Montauk Highway, Wayne Berlin, said none of the private easements superseded those imposed by the town. Nonetheless, “Jameson’s client wants the ability to go in and clear trees on our property so he can maintain a view.”

“There is no clearing of any trees on that easement,” said Mr. Dalene, clarifying the board’s position.

“We’re happy to show all the easements on the survey,” said Mr. Warren. “It’s kind of interesting that the neighbor who used the area for construction staging is complaining about the fill and the clearing. This was all kind of a surprise to us as of today.” He said topographical surveys would be forthcoming, he hoped within a month.

The board voted to close the public hearing but left the record open for the submission of the surveys.

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