No Rennert Decision

"First of all," deadpanned Paul Houlihan, Southampton Town's chief building inspector, "I'd like to say how happy I am to be here tonight," as he settled down in front of the Zoning Board of Appeals last Thursday to explain why he had issued building permits for the gigantic estate Ira Rennert is building on Daniel's Lane in Sagaponack.

It was the last bit of levity that evening, as speaker after speaker stepped up to the podium to denounce the project for the second week in a row. Their testimony was often greeted by cheers and applause from members of the overflow crowd who watched the videotaped proceedings on a television in the hall.

When the Z.B.A. adjourned the hearing once again, until Sept. 17, after Anthony Tohill, Mr. Rennert's attorney, said he was not prepared to address the board, the crowd turned angry. Edward Rush, the Z.B.A.'s chairman, banged his gavel as people began calling for the immediate revocation of Mr. Rennert's building permits.

Working Every Day

When order was restored, Carol Taylor of Hedges Lane told the board that time was of the essence. Each day, trucks arrive at 6 a.m. and begin construction work on Mr. Rennert's "colossal monster," she said. "In two weeks, we'll be able to hold this meeting in the damn theater he's building, and everyone will have a seat!"

Earlier, the novelist Kurt Vonnegut said the Rennert project was the last straw in the development of the hamlet. "It will destroy Sagaponack for me, where I have lived and worked" for over 20 years, he said. "So I'll be leaving. I think I can easily be spared."

Mr. Houlihan's explanation that Mr. Rennert's plans met all code requirements was greeted skeptically by Joseph Zicherman of Hedges Lane, a member of the Sagaponack Homeowners Association, which has challenged the legality of the building permits.

Except For The Size. . .

"I don't think that anyone has built an extension to their closet that got approved in four months," he said. "If a mistake has been made, you have to own up to it."

Mr. Houlihan issued permits in April for Mr. Rennert's 66,000-square-foot mansion and a number of accessory buildings, including a 10,000-square-foot playhouse, a 5,600-square-foot mechanical building, and a 2,900-square-foot garden pavilion. The plans had been approved by the Town Architectural Review Board after being submitted in January. Plans for a 17,000-square-foot garage and a pair of 500-square-foot gatehouses have yet to be approved.

"With the exception of the overall size, the layout of the four wings is similar to the layout of expensive houses being built in the Town of Southampton," Mr. Houlihan said. At an Aug. 20 hearing, witnesses for the Homeowners Association charg ed that the project was more like a commercial resort or hotel than a house.

No Mystery

Although the main house has 25 bedrooms, the building inspector said there is no maximum specified, and the code's definition of "family" is sufficiently broad to allow the 17 bedrooms called for in that wing.

The remaining eight bedrooms are in the servants' wing, which can only be entered from the kitchen, he added.

Two bowling alleys, tennis and squash courts, and a basketball court in the playhouse do "not constitute a commercial use," Mr. Houlihan said, pointing out that other substantial houses have everything from fully equipped gyms to nine-hole golf courses. "This is the Hamptons," he said.

Construction Materials

Mr. Houlihan also charged that Mr. Rennert's opponents had exaggerated about the project. The garage would have 20 parking spaces, not the 110 claimed by some, he said.

Statements that an 8,800-square-foot "mystery" wing existed were untrue, he said: "I couldn't find that" on the plans.

The building inspector continued that the main house and its accessory structures met all required setbacks, height, and coverage limits for the 63-acre property.

'It will destroy Saga ponack for me. So I'll be leaving. I think I can easily be spared.'

Kurt Vonnegut

He also refuted charges that the construction materials - the house is to be built of masonry and steel with cast iron plumbing - were typical only of commercial projects. Many houses are made of concrete and steel, he said, "and that didn't stop me from issuing those permits."

Mr. Houlihan described his decision to grant Mr. Rennert's permits as "rational, reasonable, and consistent" with the Town Code and repeated that "with the exception of the size, the house is similar to any larger houses built yearly in the Town of Southampton."

"Unalterably Opposed"

John Shea of the Riverhead law firm Twomey, Latham, Shea & Kelley, who represents the Homeowners Association, argued that Mr. Houlihan had taken "a myopic view" of the application by taking it piece by piece and failing to see that its sheer mass was enough to call its legitimacy into question. But he did not counter any of Mr. Houlihan's points, saying, "We prefer to get together with our experts."

Speaking on behalf of the Sagaponack Citizens Advisory Committee, of which he is the co-chairman, John White said the committee was "unalterably opposed" to the project.

"We cannot understand the reasoning behind the Architectural Review Board's deeply flawed and completely unacceptable decision," which, he said, allowed a project that was "entirely out of character and totally inharmonious with its adjacent properties."

Incorporation?

Then, stressing that he was speaking for himself, Mr. White called for the abolishment of the A.R.B., accused the town of ignoring the Advisory Committee when it asked for help in establishing a historic district, and called for a limit on the size of houses on large agricultural lots.

"Like most of our requests, it fell on deaf ears," he said.

"Sagaponack is not for sale to the highest bidder for the ultimate trashing," he declared. "Hillary was right. It does take a village."

The Advisory Committee has broached the idea of incorporation in recent months.

Elise Quimby of the Bridgehampton Citizens Advisory Committee and Mia Grosjean and Valerie Justin of the Coalition of Neighborhoods for the Preservation of Sag Harbor said their organizations were opposed to the Rennert project.

Nonprofit Organization?

"Why are there so many people here tonight?" asked Ms. Justin. She answered her own question: "The reason is, this house is an affront to our values."

"It's not just a personal residence, it fits into his business practices," said Karen Radin. She argued that Mr. Rennert's Blue Turtles Corporation, which owns the property and an 11-acre field across Daniel's Lane, would "get a substantial tax advantage by using the property for business."

She also raised the possibility that the town would lose out if Blue Turtles transferred the property to a nonprofit foundation, removing it from the tax rolls.

Tom Abitabile of Parsonage Lane said the Z.B.A. should require Mr. Rennert to guarantee that Fair Field would not be turned over to a nonprofit organization for at least 50 years. "If this stipulation were put in place, I believe the trucks would leave tomorrow," he said.

On His Oath

Donald McLaughlin, an attorney who lives in Southampton, called on the Z.B.A. to issue a stop-work order and use its "investigative" ability to require Mr. Rennert or his architects to explain what the compound will be used for under oath.

"Plans don't come from vending machines," he said, adding that the client has to tell the architect what his needs are.

But Robert Marcincuk, the board's attorney, said it had no authority to do so.

"Have you ever built your dream only to find your home abutting a power plant that is larger than the one powering Southampton Hospital?" asked Nancy Behrman, who is building a house on Fairfield Pond Lane next to the Rennert property.

Others cited environmental concerns. Lee Foster of Main Street said the Rennert estate would use more electricity than is used by the rest of Sagaponack combined. Barbara French of Gibson Lane said the property would draw down the water supply and threaten other wells in the neighborhood.

Linda Bird Francke criticized the town for letting Mr. Rennert bury propane and heating fuel tanks and asked what safeguards were being taken to safeguard the water supply. Suzanne Reynolds of Daniel's Lane urged the board to require an environmental impact statement on the removal of so much topsoil.

Julia Douglas of Ocean Road in Bridgehampton called the Rennert application "truly a watershed" event.

"That's why we are here tonight," she said. "We are approaching the point of no return."

STEPHEN J. KOTZ