After yet another hour in front of the town planning board last week, all that stood between Hero Beach, Montauk’s westernmost resort, and its application to convert two units into a kitchen was a handful of words and two lawyers.
The complex application has actually been back and forth before the board for six years. Randy Parsons, the board’s lead member for the application, commented that “it’s a very nonconforming site” before reading off a list of problems.
“They’ve already added a tavern and bar without planning board approval; they’re using more than six times the wastewater flow allowed today, and they don’t meet the current parking standard,” he said. He suggested that Hero Beach might “play ball with us” to gain approval, with the result becoming a code enforcement nightmare.
“Right at this point, I can tell you I don’t think it meets the site plan standards, and I don’t think it meets the special permit standards for approval,” Mr. Parsons said.
But Ian Calder-Piedmonte, the board’s longest-serving member, disagreed. “It’s not a pre-existing nonconforming use,” he said. He had conferred with the East Hampton Town planner Eric Schantz, and concluded that wastewater flow wouldn’t be an issue. (“They’re slightly reducing the generated sanitary flow,” said Mr. Schantz.) Mr. Calder-Piedmonte focused instead on parking, and whether the kitchen would draw outsiders to the resort.
The way forward, he said, was to clarify the language in the covenant so that even should the ownership change, it couldn’t become, say, a nightclub.
Jon Krasner, an owner, wrote to the planning board on Aug. 2 that “The only suggestion that I have left is to have an amendment to our proposed covenant adding that food service would be limited to ‘overnight guests and their guests, hotel staff, hotel partners and their families and guests, etc.’ “
“We can do without the word, etcetera,” said Samuel Kramer, the board chairman.
Mr. Calder-Piedmonte agreed that the language was too vague. “What if you partner with a club?” he asked. “Please in good faith, try to come up with very tight language there.”
“Maybe we use the word ‘owners,’ or ‘shareholders’ “ instead of partners, suggested Mr. Kramer.
“How are we going to distinguish whether or not somebody that walks in from the public is a guest of a guest?” asked Louis Cortese.
“Enforceability is really always an issue with this and any covenant,” said Mr. Kramer, noting that the planning board has no control over that. “At the end of the day, if this applicant violates these covenants and restrictions, they’re going to have an ongoing battle with code enforcement, and it’s going to be seen in public by the overuse of the parking.”
“I hear Randy’s complaints,” Mr. Kramer continued, “but the truth is, we’ve gone through every machination of every issue here. The bottom line is, there was one issue left, and that was, how do we phrase the use of the property so we don’t have an issue with the parking? . . . I’m hopeful that the counsel for the applicant and our counsel can tie this up.”
“I think we are ready to change the language up a little bit,” said Tiffany Scarlato, an attorney representing Hero Beach. She offered to add to the covenant: “The kitchen room service and catering will only service overnight guests and their guests, hotel staff, hotel ownership, and their families and guests.”
Mr. Kramer polled the board members on that.
“That would get my vote,” said Mr. Calder-Piedmonte.
“I’m going to see what they come up with,” said Mr. Parsons, hedging.
Ms. Scarlato agreed to work with the attorney Nancy Marshall, the town’s adviser to the planning board, to finalize the language of the covenant, so it can be voted up or down at the board’s next meeting, on Wednesday. It appeared, however, that a majority of board members were finally ready to allow Hero Beach a “room-service kitchen.”
Mr. Krasner had the last word, perhaps to assuage any lingering concerns about Hero morphing into another Surf Lodge“We’re charging $1,300 a night at our hotel. If we have a ton of people there, making noise, keeping people up at night, we will not make $1,300 at that hotel,” he said. “It’s a high-end hotel — we want to have high-end guests.”
