Town rebuffs plea to fast track replacement for landmark house in Shorewood
The Town Board on Friday declined to speed up the review process for Rich Hogan’s application to build a new house to replace the landmark Artemas Ward shingle-style cottage that was partially demolished in January, 2009 because some of the abandoned structure was rotted and beyond repair.
Mr. Hogan’s lawyer Bill Fleming of East Hampton told the board that he had not realized the town had changed its code a few years ago to require a special permit for houses larger than 6,000 square feet. The proposed house exceeds that limit by about 1,5000 square feet including a detached garage with living quarters. Mr. Fleming said he had thought the limit was higher — it used to be 8,000 square feet — so he and Mr. Hogan had expected to need only a building permit in order to begin construction.
The new house will incorporate some of the preserved architectural elements of the old structure, including its “watchtower,” and will contain somewhat less livable area because it will have no bedrooms on its third floor.
There’s a timing problem, said Mr. Hogan — making a polite but persistent pitch to the board himself — because his deed carries a restriction that effectively prohibits construction during the summer season beginning June 15. Without fast-tracking the application, the board’s normal timetable would not allow for a permit until June at the earliest because of the legally required public hearing and the usual advisory reviews by the Conservation Advisory Council and the Planning Board.
He said a lot of local contractors had been lined up for the job and they would have to wait until September to begin work if the Town Board did not advance the normal review process for his application for a special permit.
While the Planning Board meeting schedule might have worked if the review process were fast-tracked, the CAC’s does not. Board members explained they could not force the CAC to schedule a special meeting to consider the application and that, because questions typically arise during the review process, it would be unlikely the Town Board would issue a permit in a minimal time frame anyway.
Councilman Peter Reich told Mr. Hogan that it would set a problematic precedent for the board to fast-track his application. Councilman Ed Brown urged him to approach his neighbors in the Shorewood subdivision to request their permission to allow some construction work during the summer season.
The board’s normal procedure would be to review the application at its Tuesday work session on May 1 and vote at its next regular meeting on May 18 to schedule a public hearing at its June 8 session. If there are no issues, it would typically vote to authorize a permit at the next regular meeting after that, June 29.
