To paraphrase James Carville’s famous advice to then-presidential candidate Bill Clinton, when it comes to discussing the application for Toilsome Farm Restaurant and Brewery in East Hampton Village, “It’s the noise, stupid.”
A roughly 10,000-square-foot building with 61 parking spots is proposed at 17 Toilsome Lane. Roughly half of it would be dedicated to the restaurant and an extensive bar area, including seating for 60 outside and 69 indoors. About a quarter of the building would be for a brewery (including a silo) and another quarter for a kitchen.
“We don’t want sound spilling into any of the neighbors’ properties,” said Robert Caruso, chairman of the village’s design review board at its Oct. 21 meeting. “We want them to be happy.”
Mill Hill Realty, represented by its attorney, Alex Balsam, was there to discuss the application, which has been controversial since it was first unveiled over four years ago and was once the subject of a lawsuit.
Mr. Balsam listed a number of changes made to the building, including a modified metal roof (Sherwin Williams Classic Bronze) exterior board and batten siding (Sherwin Williams Iron Ore) and Alaskan yellow cedar shingles.
Two-thirds of the lighting that was initially proposed has been removed, while plantings in the setback between the brewery and the residential property next door were increased. A sound attenuation wall, an outcome of an acoustic study done by SoundSense, was added.
While the board seemed pleased with the look and layout of the building on the 1.6-acre parcel, neighbors had other concerns.
They’ve expressed worry about placing the brewery at a hairpin turn on a well-trafficked road with no sidewalks but have made the most noise about the, well, noise, that could come from an outdoor speaker system.
More specifically, Michael Aaron, who lives next door to the proposed brewery, worries that the 10 special event permits allotted to the businesses annually could be used to circumvent noise and occupancy restrictions throughout the busy summer season, creating an untenable situation.
There’s tons of precedent for his concern.
It’s not difficult on the South Fork to find problematic restaurants in residential areas: Rita Cantina in the Springs neighborhood of Maidstone Park has long angered neighbors. In East Hampton Village, even the potential for the private club Zero Bond to open at the Hedges Inn in 2024 led to legislation passed specifically to protect neighbors.
Mr. Balsam said the brewery would install a sound system so that the maximum decibel level reaching property lines would be 55 decibels, a level he described as “generous.” “Sixty-five would be more normal and considered background noise.”
SoundSense tested levels at Mr. Aaron’s pool, putting green, and back patio to suggest mitigation measures.
The system would include many small speakers, instead of just a few large speakers, and would be designed with cutoffs. “It would be locked. It’s not like the managers or business owners could go in and change it,” said Mr. Balsam.
Mr. Caruso gave some mixed signals.
On the one hand, he seemed to downplay potential issues. “When you listen to the critics, they make it sound like there’s a giant stadium there,” he argued. “It’s not rock concert stuff.” He also indicated he was fine with leaving it to lawyers to add covenants and restrictions, and to village enforcement officers to handle any issues.
Further minimizing the potential problem, he said he has never been to a restaurant from Montauk to Southampton where they have speakers either inside or outside the restaurant. “I go to every restaurant in the village and on the East End and I’ve never heard screaming and yelling and loud music from any of them.”
Even Mr. Balsam pushed back on that assertion, “I know I have definitely been to restaurants in town that have outdoor speakers,” he admitted.
On the other, Mr. Caruso said, “I would eliminate all speakers on the outside,” and urged the brewery to only hire, “Normal, civilized groups” with “No screaming or yelling.”
Kathryn Davis, a board member, was a steady voice for neighbors. “I share the neighbors’ concern because I live in the neighborhood. Even if I didn’t, I would still share concerns about noise.” She asked if Mr. Aaron would be able to hear the music from his pool area.
“The answer is no,” said Mr. Balsam.
Michael Walsh, an attorney for Mr. Aaron, listed some continuing issues. Occupancy levels have to be set and firm, he said. “I would suggest it does make a difference whether the ultimate occupancy of this site is 250 persons, 200 persons, or 120 people.” And, he added, an undefined 2,200-foot-square area on the property should not be allowed to fill up with people.
Agreeing with Mr. Caruso, he said speakers should only be inside. “It’s the first time I heard there’s going to be outdoor speakers. Once you put speakers outside, either as a special event or if you put them on a wall, it changes the whole scenario. Even SoundSense realizes that there’s going to be no controls for outdoor music.”
Indeed, in its own report, SoundSense wrote, “If live music is going to be a part of operation plans for the brewery, an additional acoustic study may be needed to ensure that additional mitigation can be designed.”
Finally, special events. So far, Mr. Balsam has shown little willingness to budge on the proposed brewery’s right to host 10 per year. If that is going to be the case, Mr. Walsh said more information is needed about where they would be held on the property.
A letter was submitted to the board by Georgia de Havenon with concerns about the removal of a large sycamore maple, to be replaced with 35 non-native arborvitae. Her worry was echoed at the meeting by Janet Dayton, another neighbor who said, “Right now a lovely village tree is in the middle of the proposed driveway, the exit driveway. What happens to that tree?”
The board agreed the plans were complete enough to allow review by the village’s consulting engineer and the Suffolk County Planning Commission. Board members indicated that once the application was deemed complete, it would be scheduled for a public hearing.
