Historic home inspires Dering Harbor spec house

After a year of scrutiny and another spirited public hearing, the Village of Dering Harbor Architectural Review Board gave a provisional nod to an up-island company for a new plan to build a spec house here.

“You’ve gone from a D student to an A student in a year,” ARB member Mickey Kostow told the partners and architects of 1 Dering Woods Lane LLC at Village Hall on Saturday, March 19.

The LLC was represented by attorneys Joel Sunshine and Brian Feinstein, their architect, Joe Scarlota, and draftsman, Sean Bird. Mr. Kostow, Rob Ferris, Heather Brownlie and John Colby were present for the board; Mr. Colby acted as chairman for the meeting.

About a dozen residents attended, creating a lively atmosphere that prompted numerous requests for quiet from the stenographer hired by the Village.

The LLC has a few more hoops to jump through; the board passed a resolution that requested drawings of the locations and landscaping plans for any exterior mechanical systems; exterior machinery decibel levels; an artist’s rendering of the front and side facades, and samples of windows, shutters, brick and stone proposed for use in the construction.

The next meeting is scheduled for April 16.

Meantime, the board will seek clarification from Village Building Inspector Al Daniels about a question posed from the audience by Robert Ruttenberg, a member of the Village Planning Board, relating to the height of the building. The proposed house is 38 feet 5 inches at the roofline; the code limits the height of a structure to 35 feet. Mr. Bird said the plan fits the code’s definition of ‘height’ as the mid-point between the top plate of the second floor and the ridgeline.

The LLC developed the new design for the 3.3 acre parcel after earlier plans revised over the months of meetings last year were rejected by the ARB.

“We did try to convince you folks a year ago that we are cooperative people,” Mr. Sunshine said. “I’m proud to say that I think today’s presentation will show that we are cooperative people.”

Mr. Scarlotta said they were inspired by a Reporter “Flashback” photograph of a house Adolph Schwarzmann built in the 1890s that stood in Dering Harbor until the 1960s. At Saturday’s meeting, Mr. Sunshine displayed an enlarged photo and an architectural rendering of the Schwarzmann house, which he said, “evidently was quite liked by everybody.”

Stephanie Deustch, a close neighbor to the proposed house, wondered why the plan did not include a widow’s walk and collonade that, she said, contributed greatly to the beauty of the Schwarzmann residence. Those features, Mr. Sunshine said, capitalized on the home’s views. “We’d love to have a waterview. But it would be silly to have this facing the woods.”

Ms. Deutsch, who with her husband, Eric, was critical of the LLC’s earlier proposals, and whose own home overlooks the woods, said, “The woods are very beautiful and I can tell you people will want to sit out there waterview or not.”

Neighbor Karen Kelsey, seeking assurance that only quality building materials would be used, asked if the ARB would request the project’s price per square foot. Mr. Kostow, an architect, said the ARB had to concern itself with exterior issues only and that such a figure was not a good proxy for judging overall exterior quality as it would include choices for interior finishes.

“The plans are very specific about the materials,” he assured her.

Neighbors also offered encouragement, even suggesting additions. Patrick Parcells advocated for a third bay for the two-car garage, and Ms. Deustch for a bathroom in the poolhouse. The plan calls for pool users to access a bathroom in the basement of the main house via an exterior stair.

Mr. Sunshine said his team was wary of elements that might make the place seem a “party house,” a concern that surfaced again Saturday when Ms. Deutsch wondered at the need for four means of egress to the largely unfinished basement. “That feels like it leaves room for the basement to be rented out or bedrooms built and bathrooms built,” she said.

Mr. Sunshine said the basement interior and exterior stairways and emergency access windows. “I don’t think anyone is renting a room in Dering Harbor to go through a ladder window, “ he said.

“Stranger things have happened, “ Ms. Deustch shot back.

Ms. Deutsch revisited Ms. Kelsey’s point about the quality of materials being used, citing copper gutters and mahogany decking as sought-after hallmarks in high-value homes.

“I personally believe that your buyer, who is going to be a multi-million dollar buyer and we’ve all been buyers in this village so we speak from experience, is going to appreciate … these things,” she said.

Eric Deutsch said the extension of the main stairway to the unfinished third floor suggested an intention to expand the proposed home’s 5,400 square feet of living space. The architect said the LLC did not plan to sell the house with a finished third floor and

Mr. Colby said that a future owner would have to request permission for expansion.

As they developed a resolution, ARB members offered comments. Mr. Ferris said a bathroom in the poolhouse would be more pratical than having guests go to the main house basement and asked if the view of the garage from the street could be improved. He suggested a hose bib at the garage and sought assurances that HVAC equipment will not be placed in the front yard.

Mr. Kostow praised the LLC’s work, and said nothing in the submission that would prevent him from approving it.  “You’ve made our job a lot easier.”

And he clarified that the ARB cannot require copper gutters and mahogany decking.

“We’ve approved other applications from people in the village that do have aluminum gutters and cedar decks and vinyl clad windows, “ he said. “We can’t hold one person to a higher standard than what we’ve accepted from others.”

Ms. Brownlie thanked the company.  “This is definitely an improvement from your last submittal.” To the list of items sought by the board she added specifications about pool fencing, gates and latches.

Mr. Colby adjourned the meeting on a somber note.

“Shelter Island lost an historical house in October with the demolition of the 18th century Thomas Dering house, which was a former clubhouse of Gardiner’s Bay Country Club,” he said, referring to 55 Cobbett’s Lane, where a permit was issued to raze a structure determined to be too expensive to salvage. “I’m just shocked that it happened.”