HPOC, neighbors oppose Chequit pool and patio plan

Opposition to James and Linda Eklund’s application for variances to clear the way for a pool and patio behind the Chequit Inn and relocation of the Inn’s Summer Cottage surfaced last month as the Zoning Board of Appeals opened its hearing on the case on October 26. Containment of noise from people using the proposed pool and patio area was the biggest worry for some neighbors, according to the minutes of the hearing.

In addition to six speakers who opposed or raised questions about the application, 19 people wrote letters of opposition, among them the Shelter Island Heights Property Owners Corporation, Henry Goodhue, Kathleen Gerard and Rebecca Northey. Chairman Douglas Matz said that the main concern expressed in the letters was noise.

Board Member Philip DiOrio agreed. He said “just about every letter in opposition from neighbors mentions the noise concern.” He suggested that the proposal be modified to address that issue. The board agreed to hold the hearing open until last night, Wednesday, November 16, when Mr. Eklund was expected to return with information from an acoustical engineer.

Mr. Eklund told the board he wanted to be a good neighbor and was willing to compromise. He called the neighbors’ concerns reasonable, agreed they should be addressed and understood the Zoning Board would impose conditions if it granted the required variances.

The plan requires setback variances — one for the patio, one for the pool and one for moving the cottage back on the lot — because their proposed locations will not meet the 40-foot frontyard setback requirement. A “special permit” also is needed for the expansion of a pre-existing, non-conforming business use, the Chequit, in a residential zone.

Lois Cohen, one of the opponents present at the hearing, told the board that most people wanted the board to deny the variance, not impose conditions on the proposed pool.
Bridg Hunt, speaking on behalf of Heights Property Owners Corporation General Manager Julie Ben-Susan, said HPOC opposed the application because of its noise potential. He said noise, like water, is difficult to confine. Noise might vary in intensity but it would be continuous, he said. HPOC also argued that the application was incomplete because topography and elevation plans had not been submitted. Mr. Hunt said the Eklunds needed to submit better drawings so an informed decision could be made.

Chairman Matz agreed that, without more detailed plans, it was difficult to adequately review the application. Board member DiOrio said he wanted to see a list of conditions that would make the plan more palatable to neighbors.

Chairman Matz asked how the noise issue could be addressed and urged that the hearing be left open so the Eklunds could offer suggestions for dealing with it.

Janet Carlson said the board should consider what putting constraints on the business would do to the Chequit, the Heights and the neighborhood. She said that she remembered when the Chequit was a “gin mill” open until 4 a.m. She said that if the business couldn’t keep up with changing times it would become a gin mill again. “Be very careful with what you wish for,” Ms. Carlson told opponents, according to the meeting minutes.

Ten letters were submitted in support of the application, including the Shelter Island Fire Department, Angelo Piccozzi of J.W. Piccozzi, Inc., Kathryn O’Hagan, James Rando and David Larsen of Keller Williams Village Square Realty.

Mr. and Ms. Eklund of the Chequit spoke in defense of the plans.

Ms. Eklund said that installing a pool was necessary to keep up with the demands of visitors. The hotel has lost many potential customers because it does not have a pool, she said.

Mr. Eklund said he had been in contact with an acoustic engineer from a company called Sound Sense, and board member William Johnston III suggested that the engineer be contacted to review the project.

Chairman Matz suggested that the engineer could address the board and provide both the board and the neighborhood a level of comfort that any noise from the pool and patio could be contained.