The East Hampton Town Architectural Review Board granted a rare height variance to Bobby Flay, the celebrity chef and cookbook author, for a 7,405-square-foot barn he plans to reconstruct on his Stony Hill Road property in Amagansett.
While code dictates a 32-foot maximum height for a gabled roof, Mr. Flay’s barn will be 35 feet. Mr. Flay purchased the property, which is adjacent to another he owns, in 2020 and removed an existing house. It was in front of the A.R.B. not only because it would exceed the height restriction, but also because it is across the street from an agricultural overlay district.
Larry Kane, the builder for the project, told the board that Mr. Flay had found a Dutch barn, built in 1790, that had been salvaged from Palatine Bridge, N.Y. The barn had been dismantled and moved to Montana to be fumigated and restored. “It’s not just a refurbished barn, it’s the complete structure of the barn,” he said. It will be brought back now to New York and reconstructed on the property.
“Unless you’re right at the driveway, it’s not easy to see into this wooded lot,” said Frank Guittard, the vice chairman of the A.R.B., at the board’s June 27 meeting. A couple of times during Mr. Guittard’s presentation of the project, he noted that the house was at the end of a relatively untraveled road and off the beaten path. Further, he told the board that a large natural berm would block the view of the property from the agricultural overlay district. The new barn is at least 300 feet from Stony Hill Road.
The code allows for the extra height to be contemplated by the A.R.B. if certain conditions are met: If the lot size is over 60,000 square feet (that’s about 1.3 acres; Mr. Flay’s property is more than twice that size) and if the structure meets double setbacks at the side and rear yards, ensuring that the pyramid law isn’t violated. Aside from meeting those conditions, Mr. Flay’s application was perhaps helped by his ownership of an adjacent lot.
Despite its proximity to the agricultural overlay district and an additional scenic easement running along its southern property line, bordering Stony Hill Road (Mr. Kane promised it wouldn’t be touched), the A.R.B. took little issue with the proposed structure, which will also include a porch, patios, a spa, and driveway. “We don’t have to cut down a tree,” said Mr. Kane.
The barn will be made of two separate “volumes” clad in white cypress, which will gray over time, and the roof would be red cedar shingles. The chimneys and stonework will be made of Pennsylvania wall stone. An entire wall will be glass.
“I think the volume is a nice addition,” said Kathleen Cunningham, a member of the A.R.B. “I think it enhances the agricultural overlay district. If we are going to make an exception for the 35 feet, it would be for a building of this sort. I applaud the effort, time, and resources that you’re putting into restoring something.”
Mr. Guittard agreed. “There is a lot of glazing facing the street, if this were in a different location, facing an agricultural field, we may be having a different discussion.”
The board received assurances from Mr. Kane that as part of a covenant the lot would not be further subdivided, and that the lighting would be dark-sky compliant. The board voted unanimously to grant the height exception.
“We’re granting an exception to the height, which is unusual,” said Ms. Cunningham. “We’ve only done it one other time since I’ve been on this board.”
