A proposal by owners of the former Rick’s Crabby Cowboy Cafe in Montauk to quadruple the occupancy of an outdoor bar area on the East Lake Drive property got some pushback at a recent East Hampton Town Planning Board meeting.
The owners of the 4.59-acre parcel on Lake Montauk were before the planning board on Dec. 3 looking to both expand the bar and make other changes.
The board debated the number of uses on the property, whether the owner was compelled to upgrade an aging septic system, and how a larger bar area would affect occupancy and parking limits.
Four pre-existing uses are recognized: a resort, a marina, a restaurant, and a single-family residence.
Once home to Rick’s Crabby Cowboy Cafe, the parcel sold in April 2021 for $13.9 million, changed hands again after a failed development scheme, and then, just before Memorial Day
The official cause of that fire was undetermined.
An outdoor bar currently covered by a 30-by-30-foot awning (900 square feet), can fit roughly 150 standing people, said Jennifer Fowkes, a planning board member. The applicant, 435 E Lake Dr L.L.C. is proposing a new 60-by-60-foot awning (3,600 square feet) creating an area that could fit up to 600 people.
In addition, the owners wish to install a new pool and padel courts, while the burned down restaurant is being rebuilt “in place, in kind.”
“The narrative submitted provided little to no information on the proposed uses,” Sarah Lewis, a principal planner for the town, told the board. “It appears that the existing and proposed uses include transient motel, recreational marina, single family residence, and restaurant.”
“The applicant should clarify if the proposed outdoor bar is an accessory to the restaurant,” she said. “It is also unclear if the proposed new structures are to be used by motel patrons or if these facilities will be open to the public.”
The pool, technically, does not need a variance, but it’s barely over 100 feet from the lake and 100 feet are required. However, a natural resources special permit would need to be secured from the zoning board of appeals before it could be installed.
“The pool is located in potentially the most damaging location to Lake Montauk,” said Ms. Lewis.
Like the pool, the proposed padel courts just meet the setback requirements. They’ll be 50 feet off East Lake Drive and surrounded by an eight-foot chain-link fence. Ms. Lewis only said, “The applicant should explain why this layout is ideal.”
The sanitary system that serves the restaurant, which was originally built in 1959, is pre-existing nonconforming, and only 30 feet from the lake, where 200 feet is now required. “The building permit to reconstruct the burned down restaurant indicates that the existing septic is to remain,” she told the board.
Louis Cortese, a board member, pointed out that the parcel is already hundreds of gallons above its maximum sanitary load and argued that the applicant should install a new I/A system, especially considering its location within the town’s Harbor Protection Overlay District.
The plan was also not compliant with the Americans With Disabilties Act and lighting and landscaping plans had yet to be submitted. “The number of pre-existing uses on the property is already over what would be permitted and the applicant should provide an explanation of how the site will operate,” Ms. Lewis said in conclusion.
“We view this application as being relatively innocuous,” said Brian Matthews, the lawyer speaking for the developer. “We’re not adding any additional uses, only accessory structures. The pool and padel courts are not uses under town code.”
While he acknowledged that the applicant was “looking to double the size of the tent area” he said the “bar structure itself” was just an accessory service area to the existing restaurant. “It’s not the introduction of a new use to the property,” he said. The applicant was not seeking to increase seating in the restaurant, which is currently set at 75.
Tina Vavilis LaGarenne, the town’s planning director, was wary.
“If you double the size of the bar and it’s not a service area where only servers are going to get drinks; if it’s about fitting more people, even if it’s not a new use, which I’m not conceding, it’s certainly an expansion of an existing use, and increasing the capacity of that has septic and parking implications,” she said.
“The expectation is that the operation of the property is going to be exactly the way it is right now,” said Mr. Matthews.
Mr. Cortese said the outdoor bar and padel courts constituted additional uses and would require a multiple business complex special permit, sparking a discussion about whether the expanded resort amenities would be open to the public.
“These are not additional uses regardless of who comes onto the property to use them,” Mr. Matthews said.
“As far as I know on this site, the bar has always been used as a separate use. The restaurant closes down and then there’s a big bar scene that happens afterwards and people come just for the bar,” said Mr. Cortese.
Ms. Fowkes questioned the capacity of the tent and wondered if it would affect seating at the restaurant. Mr. Matthews added that town code does not regulate outdoor capacity and that there would be no additional seats.
“Every bar and restaurant in New York State has a seating capacity that’s based on your septic and your parking and a building capacity that is a fire marshal number,” he said. “The town code does not regulate outdoor capacity.”
“I think the big issues are the septic system, and the special permit that they’ll have to get because there are more than four uses,” said Mr. Cortese.
“I’m in agreement with Lou,” Reed Jones, a board member, said. “I consider myself very business friendly, but quite frankly, I think you’re trying to do too much here.”
“I agree with the septic issue,” said Ave Warren, another board member. “I will be a little more open-minded about the additional uses. I am interested to see what the narrative is about the pool and the padel courts. It’s been there for a long time. It has had multiple uses for as long as I can remember.”
“It’s been there a long time and it has a long history of problems,” Mr. Cortese said.
