The application to install a pool and hot tub at the historic Huntting Inn, parts of which date to 1699, has been in front of the East Hampton Village Zoning Board of Appeals in one form or another for more than three years. The process has been marked by adjournments, at the request of the Houston-based hospitality corporation, and strong neighborhood opposition. Tomorrow, it is expected, the owner, Tilman Fertitta, wíll make a new appeal to the board.
On Aug. 1, the company’s attorney, Martha Reichert, submitted a memorandum of law that adds another 25 pages to a Z.B.A. file that already numbered nearly 500 pages. In it, she argued that the requested swimming pool and patio are accessory structures to the inn and therefore permitted by village code. “Village code is entirely inapplicable to the instant application,” she argued, urging the board to grant the application.
Not skipping a beat, Frank Morgan, a neighbor who lives next to the inn and is himself a lawyer, wrote a six-page point-by-point rebuttal. “In layman’s terms, it is a sales document,” he said of Ms. Reichert’s memorandum.
“There is absolutely nothing in the record to demonstrate what value would be obtained by granting this variance,” Mr. Morgan wrote. “One might guess a pool and hot tub will allow the inn to charge more money for rooms by offering this amenity. Does that outweigh the detriment to the safety and welfare of the neighborhood, the quiet enjoyment of residential properties, and preservation of home values? Unless greed is a deciding factor, I would think not. This board is under no obligation to act to increase the profits of applicant at the expense of village residents.”
Tomorrow’s meeting will be held at 11 a.m. on the second floor of the Emergency Services Building at 1 Cedar Street.
