More details requested before ZBA okays pool at La Maison Blanche

Neighbors are worried about noise if a proposed pool is built at La Maison Blanche inn on Stearns Point Road but they wanted owner John Sieni to know that they’re not necessarily opposed to his plan.

They told the Zoning Board of Appeals at a December 14 public hearing that they hadn’t seen any plans for the pool and they wanted assurances that it won’t disturb the peaceful neighborhood once it is built.

Attorney David Gilmartin Jr., representing a group of neighbors, said the site plan in the application the ZBA was considering “falls short” of what’s needed to analyze whether the project would have a negative impact.

The application also fails to speak to the general suitability of the project, safety issues, the health and welfare of the area and the possible effect on property values, Mr. Gilmartin said. “My clients aren’t necessarily opposed to it,” Mr. Gilmartin said, but they need a lot more information. The board should ask for more information so it can render a decision “that will stand,” the attorney said.

ZBA members gave no indication of their positions on the application. They agreed to continue to receive written correspondence relating to the application through January 18.

“You’ve done a great job with that property,” ZBA Chairman Doug Matz told Mr. Sieni, but he expressed concerns that Mr. Sieni and his restaurant partner Alistair McLean would not always be there and that a subsequent proprietor might not be so responsible.

Without being specific, Mr. Matz said Shelter Island already had a hotel that was disturbing its neighbors and “that’s what drives us.” He later declined to specify which hotel he was referring to. He said he wanted to be able to assure neighbors that La Maison Blanche, under any future management, would always be a good neighbor.

Neighbor Lisa Raymond said she and her husband don’t have air conditioning at their house and rely on being able to open windows in the summer to let in cool air.

“Can I buy you an air conditioner?” Mr. Sieni quipped, drawing laughs from the handful of attendees at the hearing.

Of particular concern to the neighbors was the issue of whether the patio surrounding the pool would be open to gatherings of people after the pool closed at dusk.

Asked by ZBA member Phil DiOrio if he’d be willing to limit patio use after pool hours, Mr. Sieni deflected the question, pointing out that a deck around the property where guests congregate is only three feet from the proposed pool deck.

“I would hate to have the noise creep,” Mr. DiOrio said.

Building permit administrator Mary Wilson insisted that she didn’t consider the application an expansion of a non-conforming use in the residential area — an issue on which she clashed with Town Attorney Laury Dowd at a Town Board meeting recently.

But Mr. Gilmartin took exception to her interpretation.

“How could it not be?” the attorney asked. He maintained that there’s a substantial amount of case law upholding his view that a pool installation would represent an intensification of use on the property.

Unlike Linda and James Eklund’s application for a pool at the Chequit Inn, Mr. Sieni needs no area variances. He said he had been surprised to learn that he needed a special permit for the pool from the ZBA.

Also at last week’s session, the ZBA granted setback variances that allow Blake and Chad Pike to keep their veranda, poolhouse and patio at 1 Bluff Avenue. The Pikes won approval from the ZBA in 2007 to expand a non-conforming house and put in a pool without providing an updated survey.

Problems arose when it became clear that more variances were needed to accommodate the project. But to turn the Pikes down would have cost them money for relocating the structures and resulted in more disturbance for the neighbors, ZBA members had agreed at their December 7 work session.