Responding to a spate of applications before the East Hampton Village Zoning Board of Appeals involving outsized accessory structures that some homeowners have labeled garages, the East Hampton Village Board introduced an amendment to its code last Thursday that would tighten the definition of a garage to a structure designed or used for, and accessible to, motor vehicles.

The board also voted unanimously for new restrictions on parking in the business district and on noise generated by construction and landscaping activity. The subject of lengthy hearings, which drew heavy commentary from merchants and those in the trades, restrictions on both were tightened, although not to the degree originally proposed.

Garages are the only accessory structures that can be larger than 250 square feet. Their definition was brought into play in January, when the owner of 174 Further Lane sought permission from the zoning board of appeals to construct a 3,600-square-foot accessory building that would have a squash court, a pool house, an unenclosed walk-through corridor, and multiple storage areas, in addition to room for three cars. The zoning board denied the request and has looked skeptically on other applications in which a purported garage would have multiple rooms and uses.

The proposed amendment to the code acknowledges that many garages in the village have “evolved” into living areas. A previous amendment had narrowed the definition  to preclude the commercial use of garages on residential property. Some residents apparently interpreted that as permitting recreation rooms, studios, or game rooms in garages. The proposed amendment would rule that out, while allowing storage of bicycles, outdoor furniture, and yard equipment. With no public comment, the hearing was closed.

As for construction and landscaping noise, the board, which had proposed a 9 a.m. start on weekdays between June 1 and Sept. 15, agreed to the demand that the start time remain at 7 a.m. Such work will have to end by 6 p.m. on weekdays, though, instead of 8 p.m. Construction will be permitted between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. on Saturdays, and is prohibited on Sunday during the same months. Homeowners or tenants will be allowed to do construction and repair between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m. on weekdays, and between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. on weekends during the same dates. The board also prohibited the use of radios and other amplified equipment by commercial construction crews.

Commercial use of gas or diesel-powered lawn equipment, such as leaf blowers, lawnmowers, and trimmers, will be limited to the hours between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. on weekdays and 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. on Saturdays during the period from June 1 to the second Friday in December. It will be prohibited on Sundays and federal holidays during those dates.

Previously, commercial use of this equipment was permitted between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m. on weekdays between May 1 and Nov. 30. The end of restrictions was changed to coincide with the conclusion of the village’s leaf pickup service. The village itself, as well as the Maidstone Club, are exempted from the restrictions.

As for restrictions in the Robert G. Reutershan and Barns Schenck parking lots, a two-hour limit will remain in effect between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. from May 1 through Dec. 31. A two-hour limit will be applied on Fridays, Saturdays, and federal holidays between Jan. 1 and April 30, as many merchants had asked. Parking will be limited to one hour between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. from May 1 through Dec. 31 in the lot behind the Chase Bank on Main Street, although bank employees will be exempt from the restriction.

 The laws will take effect upon filing with the State Department of State. Becky Molinaro, the village administrator, said in an email that would take two to three weeks.

When Grace Lightcap attended a Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy conference in February, it revved up her mama bear instincts. Ms. Lightcap, whose 20-year-old son, Terence Lightcap, has Duchenne muscular dystrophy, realized that aside from her monthly donations to the advocacy group, she has not done anything lately on a larger scale to raise money for research into the disease.

She decided to hold a community yard sale on Memorial Day weekend to raise money to help speed approval for therapies that could help her son and others with Duchenne.

Terence was diagnosed with the disease when he was 7. He no longer walks, but is able to get around on a motorized scooter. The family has lots of support in Montauk: More than 60 family members live in the hamlet. Some of them have run marathons or participated in other events in his name to raise money for research.

Terence’s mother, who is the Montauk School’s district clerk, attended the February conference with her sister Julia Stavola.

There are several ongoing trials of medications that could help Terence, but they can take three to five years and are sometimes abandoned in the middle, according to one of his doctors. The Parent Project believes the federal Food and Drug Administration could be more responsive to the experiences and preferences of Duchenne families.

“We will not rest until the F.D.A. has all of the tools it needs to accelerate its review of Duchenne therapies so effective treatments can be delivered to our children,” said Pat Furlong, the founding president of the Parent Project, who has lost two sons to the disease and is the driving force behind the group.

“She is an amazing woman,” Ms. Lightcap said, and she inspired her to do more. When a friend mentioned that Joan Lycke was no longer running an annual Memorial Day weekend yard sale to benefit a scholarship fund in her own daughter’s name, Ms. Lightcap asked and received Ms. Lycke’s blessing to take it over.

Now she is looking for donations to make it a success. Those who wish to donate can contact her at the Montauk School or at 327-4248 to arrange for drop-off or pickup.

The yard sale, scheduled for May 24, will include a 50/50 raffle and a refreshment table that should be tantalizing.

Ed Lightcap, Terence’s father, is a longtime chef at Rowdy Hall in East Hampton.

“It is with a heavy heart and deep regret to inform you all that this year, 2014, Pantigo Farm Co. will no longer be operating.”

Thus began a Facebook post by Sam Lester, who has been operating a small farm and farm stand on a two-acre parcel at the junction of Pantigo and Skimhampton Roads. Known for fresh produce and preserves such as blackberry and beach plum jams, the farm stand will be no more.

“A staple of East Hampton since 1877 will soon be gone for good,” he wrote, referring to the fact that the property, which belonged to Mr. Lester’s father and on which a house was built by a Lester antecedent in 1877, was just sold. Mr. Lester has no idea what it will be used for, but he assumes that the idyllic location won’t be used for farming. The historic spot, part of what was once known as Lesterville and which still has Lester-owned properties neighboring it, was historically the midpoint in the Montauk-to-Bridgehampton cattle drive, he said.

Mr. Lester, who spent summers from the age of 5 till he went away to college manning a family farm stand, tried for the past two years working with the town and Peconic Land Trust to carve out a way to continue to farm there and earn enough revenue to purchase it from his father. It was not to be. He said last week that he was “bitter” that people who profess to believe in local farming did not help his cause.

In his post he thanked his customers for their support, adding that, “When you put your heart and soul into every jar that comes out of the kitchen and everything that’s coming out of the fields . . . your positive feedback has meant the world to me.”

He has been working to get his jellies and jams into local stores and has some interest, but no commitments yet.

This week, after preparing to take a break from farming, he was looking at a new spot to farm. Having reached out to several older farmers around town, “we put our heads together” and someone came up with a small parcel of land that he may be able to farm this summer, with road frontage where he could sell his produce and canned fruits. “After going through what I’ve been through,” he said. “This is a great note to start a new season with, and I couldn’t be happier.”

The Save Second House committee, a brand-new arm of the Montauk Historical Society, has four members and some big ideas for restoring the run-down building, which houses a museum.

The committee includes Honora Herlihy as its chairwoman, Nora Franzetti as secretary and treasurer, Lawrence Cooke, who has been working to establish an Indian Museum on the north side of the property, and Kathryn Nadeau, who replaced Elizabeth White last month as president of the historical society.

Members are planning a slew of fund-raisers, starting May 10 with a dog walk around Fort Pond and play time on the museum’s grounds from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The Animal Rescue Fund’s mobile adoption van will be on site, as will professional dog trainers offering training tools. There will also be vendors, raffles, food and doggie treats, and a Manly Man Milk Bone-eating contest.

Although a museum, Second House is better known for the craft fairs it holds there each summer. It was one of the first three houses built in Montauk in the late 1700s, all of which were lost to fire. First House burned down in 1798 and was rebuilt, only to burn down again in 1909 and never be rebuilt. Third House, which is now part of a Suffolk County park, was rebuilt in 1806. Second House was rebuilt in 1797.

The three houses were used by the cattle keepers and shepherds who cared for the herds that were driven “on Montauk” to graze during the months of May through November. It took about six hours for their owners, residents of East Hampton, to herd the animals out east.

The keeper’s job at Second House was to keep cows out of the sheep pasture and make sure the sheep did not stray east into cattle lands, according to Peg Winski’s 1997 book, “Montauk, an Anecdotal History.” Ms. Winski, who has since died, was a member of the historical society and a teacher at the Montauk School for many years.

In October 1990, the staff of Victoria magazine (a now-defunct publication “dedicated to all things lacey, flowery, and beautiful”) spruced the place up for a photo shoot, which, while flowery and beautiful, had its historical character removed for cosmetic reasons that some historians were not too happy about.

Since then the museum has stayed low key. One winter it housed a raccoon that wreaked havoc on the interior.

Those who visit the craft fairs sometimes wander to the back of the building to see the heirloom garden in bloom with lavender, hollyhock, sage, and other flowers and herbs. In season, roses and ivy tumble over the shingled building and faded arbor that wears a crown of rose thorns. The museum is open in summer on weekends, though many visitors are unaware of it. Schoolchildren studying local history often visit the site.

Members of the new committee want to rejuvenate and restore Second House’s roof, windows, slashes, and toilets, and to repair its shingles, some of which are patched. It will take a lot of money, which means they are looking at a long-term commitment. But they are ready to bring life back to the place, and will hold outdoor movies and other fund-raising events there this summer.

They would very much like to have the museum added to the National Register of Historic Places, which could mean grant money might be available for its restoration. Ms. Nadeau is sorting through the requirements now.

It is not necessary to bring a dog to join the first fund-raiser on May 10, which will start and end at the museum and circle Fort Pond. There is a $20 donation fee requested. More information can be found at savesecondhouse@ gmail.com.

The Montauk Fire Department is looking for people willing to train as volunteer emergency medical technicians for its ambulance squad. An informational meeting will be held at the firehouse on Wednesday at 7 p.m. to explain what the position requires and how much training is needed for certification.

The ambulance squad answers up to 700 calls each year, with at least one every day, and has only 20 E.M.T.s, not enough to cover the hamlet, especially in summer when the population swells with seasonal visitors, said Alan Burke, the captain of the department’s emergency service unit.

The fire department has paid paramedics, who are the first responders and usually respond within 10 minutes of a call to stabilize patients until an E.M.T. arrives on the scene to take over and accompany the patient to Southampton Hospital. Volunteer firemen or another E.M.T. can drive the ambulance.

Mr. Burke said that being a good neighbor means more than lending a helping hand or doing small favors now and then. Residents, he said, should take a moment to reflect on the people, especially family members, that might at some time have chest pains, difficulty breathing, or trip in the dark and fall down stairs and need the emergency service unit’s help. They are on duty 24 hours every day, and work without asking for pay or even a thank you, Mr. Burke said.

The basic requirements are simple: Volunteers must be 18 years or older, in good physical health, and of sound moral character. But there are also some givens, Mr. Burke said, such as being a caring, community-minded team player, one that enjoys a challenge, and loves to learn and acquire new skills.

“Nothing beats the fulfillment that comes from doing an important job while helping out in your own community,” Mr. Burke said.

After the informational meeting those who want to sign on could be riding on ambulance calls to observe throughout the summer, starting July 1. Schooling for the emergency service program begins in September.

Serve Sag Harbor, a new nonprofit organized to tackle problems in the village, has a plan to tame traffic by narrowing the roadways with the help of sidewalk landscaping and large planters.

In a proposal made to the village board on Tuesday evening after several months of working with consultants, the group zeroed in on 7 of 19 intersections it had identified as problematic. The idea is to restripe the asphalt, add crosswalks, widen the sidewalks with greenery and curb extensions, and, along the perimeter of the sidewalks, add planters — or whalers’ barrels, as Michael King, a principal at Nielson/Nygaard Consulting Services, described them.

The movable planters, which are used in cities such as New York and Phoenix, as well as Amityville and New Cassel on Long Island, would help create a barricade for pedestrians.

Susan Meade, the president of Serve Sag Harbor, said the group will work with the village board to decide on four intersections to tackle as part of a pilot project in time for June or July.

Three of the intersections are on Main Street, where the speed limit is 25 miles per hour, though drivers rarely adhere to it. “We want to slow Main Street down particularly because that’s where a lot of the speeding is happening,” Ms. Meade said.

“It’s a straightaway. It induces you to just go,” said Mr. King, an architect with 20 years experience designing streets and street networks, including the first Safe Routes to School program in the country. 

At the intersection with Union Street by the John Jermain Memorial Library and with Garden Street near the Custom House, sidewalks would be extended at the corners of both side streets. Crosswalks would be installed across from the entrance to the library on Main Street across Jefferson Street.

At Glover Street, near the Cove Deli, the no parking area would be extended. “We would tighten up corners so drivers can’t whip around so quickly,” Mr. King said.

At the Main and John Street intersection, a small roundabout is proposed. “I want to get drivers as they’re coming into town . . . to slow down to 20 miles per hour. Hopefully, they can keep that speed going through town,” Mr. King said. Sidewalks and corners at the intersection would be widened with greenery.

Other intersections targeted in the proposal are Jermain Avenue at Oakland Avenue, Suffolk Street, Madison Street, and by the Pierson Middle High School and Sag Harbor Elementary School.

An oval treatment would be installed in the middle of Jermain, just before Oakland Avenue, to slow traffic.

Jermain Avenue at the intersection of Suffolk Street would be completely redesigned. The proposal is “almost to plant a garden” so that drivers have to go around it. Mr. King suggested testing out how drivers navigate around such a space by tracing it out with the barrels. Four crosswalks would also be installed around the intersection.

At the intersection near Pierson High School where Atlantic Avenue and Clinton Street meet Jermain Avenue, the roadway would be narrowed and several new crosswalks would be added.

James Frazier, the first assistant chief of the Sag Harbor Fire Department, said he was concerned about whether the barrels would block fire hydrants and if firetrucks and ambulances would be able to maneuver around them. Mayor Brian Gilbride asked him to work with Serve Sag Harbor to ensure they would not be a problem.

Ken O’Donnell, a village board member, asked Ms. Meade and Mr. King if they had prioritized any of the intersections. The area by the library and the schools should have the priority, though they are two big projects, they said. “If you are going to choose four, maybe two big ones and two small ones,” he advised the board. However, roadwork at by the library should be postponed until the library expansion is complete, he said.

Ms. Meade said Serve Sag Harbor will deliver its report, including measured drawings, to the board once it is finalized in the coming weeks. In the meantime, “If it’s okay with you, I want to start raising money for pots. We’ll have a pot party,” she said, eliciting some laughter from the board and the audience.

“I think we’ll all work together to get some pilot projects started. I agree with you, it would be nice to get started before the summer,” the mayor said.

The Montauk Library has released its operating budget proposal for 2014-15. At $774,198, the total is slightly higher than last year. If approved, taxpayers will pay $24.27 (up from $22.93) per $1,000 of assessed property value, roughly $121 for an average house.

The bulk of the library’s revenue comes from property taxes and such fees as fines, copy and computer charges, and grants, estimated at $19,603.

“When you consider the price of buying books, subscribing to magazines or watching movies, your Montauk Library is a wonderful value,” the library says in its current newsletter.

Also on the ballot in upcoming voting are two candidates for the library board, both of whom are incumbents and are running unopposed. Board members serve five-year terms.

The two are Linda Barnds and Joan Lycke. Ms. Barnds, who filled in last year when another director retired, said in the newsletter that she has watched the library grow from a little house on the south side of the highway to where it is now. She said the library had been an integral part of her life and she is now able to give it more time.

Joan Lycke, a library trustee since 1989, is the president of the seven-member board. “I have been a part of the amazing growth of the library and will chair the committee to celebrate its 35th anniversary,” she said in the newsletter.

The polls will be open at the library on April 26 from 2 to 8 p.m. Voters must be residents of Montauk who are registered to vote.

Pets and their people friends will be welcomed Saturday, May 3, from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. for a 40th anniversary party for the Animal Rescue Fund of the Hamptons at 90 Daniel’s Hole Road. A highlight of the event will be a dog agility and obedience competition. Those bringing animals have been reminded to keep their dogs on leashes and cats in appropriate carriers.

Representative Tim Bishop, Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele Jr., Suffolk Legislator Jay Schneiderman, East Hampton Town Supervisor Larry Cantwell, Southampton Town Supervisor Anna Throne-Holst, East Hampton Village Mayor Paul F. Rickenbach Jr., and Southampton Village Mayor Mark Epley are expected to attend and present proclamations recognizing ARF’s four decades rescuing and finding homes for dogs and cats.

Also planned are games and contests, free micro-chipping and rabies shots for pets, and live music by Sandy Rapp, a singer-songwriter. Refreshments will include cake, coffee, watermelon, and pizza. ARF’s staff veterinarian, Sarah Alward, will be available to answer pet health questions. A brief annual meeting for ARF members will follow.

Donations of antique objects dating from the 1880s through 1920 are being sought by a committee working to establish a farm museum at the former Lester farm at North Main and Cedar Streets in East Hampton, which is owned by East Hampton Town.

The group is also seeking volunteers who would staff the museum during open hours once a week, on Saturdays.

The Sherrill house and farm, another North Main Street historic site, which the farm museum committee had hoped to see preserved, is reportedly set to be sold to a private buyer by a bank that gained ownership of the property.

East Hampton Town officials had discussed using the town’s preservation fund to preserve the property, either through an outright purchase or by obtaining easements protecting its historic facade and farmland.

Prudence Carabine, an East Hampton resident who has been a prime mover behind both farm preservation efforts, said yesterday that she is still hopeful that some agreement to protect the Sherrill farm, which dates to 1792, will be worked out.

Loida Lewis, the widow of America’s first African-American billionaire, appeared Friday at a meeting of the East Hampton Village Zoning Board of Appeals  to request permits and variances for a construction project at her 165 Lily Pond Lane property.

She hopes to reconstruct and expand a lawfully pre-existing one-story cottage as an addition to the main house, connected at the second-story level and including a basement. Also sought is the continued existence of a 650-square-foot game room with half-bath that was converted from a garage, and 400 square feet of decking and stairs on its north side. The applicant would also like to replace a wooden retaining wall around a swimming pool with a new one of brick.

The zoning board would have to grant a coastal erosion hazard permit, a special permit, and area variances before the project can proceed.

Ms. Lewis’s late husband, Reginald Lewis, was the chief executive officer of Beatrice Foods International. The couple and their two children previously lived at Broadview, the 1916 mansion at the Bell Estate in Amagansett. It was destroyed by fire in 1991. Soon after, they bought the Lily Pond Lane house, which Ms. Lewis told the board they had wanted for several years. Mr. Lewis died in 1993.

John Courtney, an attorney who represents the East Hampton Town Trustees, is also representing Ms. Lewis in her application. The trustees are involved in litigation with some nearby property owners over boundary lines, but the improvements Ms. Lewis seeks to make, Mr. Courtney said, are on her property and not subject to trustee jurisdiction.

“I’m viewing this as a first step,” he told the board. “You’re going to want to know more about how we’re going to be constructing the addition.”

Considering the application’s three components separately, the board did not object to the in-place replacement of the wooden retaining wall. At over 600 square feet, however, the game room’s gross floor area is more than double the maximum allowed for accessory structures other than garages. Mr. Courtney acknowledged that the applicant had not applied for the necessary permit to change the use of the structure.

“The square footage pre-exists,” he told the board.

“There is no square-foot limit for garages, and there is for other buildings,” Linda Riley, the village attorney, pointed out.

The third and “most troublesome” question, said Frank Newbold, the board’s chairman, is the addition to the main house. “Initial impressions are, it’s very large,” he said. “Yes, it is a pre-existing cottage, but the existing cottage is one story, does not have a full basement.” The board, he said, would need a lot more information.

All the proposed improvements, Mr. Newbold noted, are seaward of the coastal erosion hazard line. “Our concerns are having such a large expansion so close to what is a sensitive dune area, how the construction is going to be done. There’s nothing in your architect’s rendering showing the depth of the basement, how it would be constructed.”

Mr. Courtney then introduced the architect, John David Rose. “Keep in mind that it is an existing footprint that we’re reusing, although we are pouring a new foundation,” Mr. Rose said. “The work would be happening from the landward side.”

The family, Mr. Rose said, “has a lot of grandchildren on the way. Currently, if family are staying in this space, they have to go outside to go to bed.” Connecting the buildings, he said, would eliminate that problem. “We’ve tried very hard to reduce the scope of this second-floor addition.”

Mr. Newbold said the board would want to see the protocol for construction and have the building inspector review it, “as we have done with other oceanfront applications.”

At that point, Ms. Lewis approached the dais. She said that she and her late husband had considered leaving the area after losing Broadview, “but we loved East Hampton.” She said the purchase of the Lily Pond Lane house was a “dream come true” for them.

“Twenty years later, I have three grandchildren, two daughters, and my youngest daughter is pregnant.”

She said that to her, Mr. Rose’s plans “looked so enticing, because now it’s one whole,” but that she had been advised the zoning board would have to approve. “And so, with great humility,” she asked that the plan, “with your modification, be approved.”

Mr. Newbold said the hearing would be held open until the board’s meeting of May 23.