“I have a 40-year history with the town,” Denise Savarese said the day before she was appointed as the new chairwoman of the East Hampton Town Zoning Board of Appeals. “Ninety-nine percent of that time, I’ve been with the Z.B.A. Many people have said to me that I broke the glass ceiling. I’m looking forward to this.”
In November, Roy Dalene, who had been the board’s chairman since 2021, announced his resignation, making way for Ms. Savarese to assume the top spot. For Supervisor Kathee Burke-Gonzalez, experience mattered.
“Denise Savarese brings decades of institutional knowledge, professionalism, and steady judgment to this role,” she said in a statement. “From her early work with the town trustees to her many years supporting and serving on the Z.B.A., Denise has a deep understanding of town government and how this board functions. Her experience as vice chair and her long history of public service make her the right choice to lead the Z.B.A.”
For many years, Ms. Savarese was the secretary of the Z.B.A. She retired from that role in 2019, right before Covid, and two years later was contacted by the supervisor, who asked her to join the board.
“I went on the board as a member, a year or two later became vice chair, and now they’re asking me to be the chair,” Ms. Savarese said. “I’m honored by that appointment and very grateful for the confidence they’ve placed in me.”
Residents apply to the town’s zoning board for a variance if their properties are restricted dimensionally. Perhaps a parcel is oddly shaped, and a setback affects plans for a pool, shed, or house expansion. The zoning board hears the reasoning behind the residents’ needs and attempts to balance them with the town code.
In recent years, however, the board has become increasingly busy as development has grown outsized, with limited liability corporations and hedge funds buying houses and seeking to maximize their investments. Because the Z.B.A. is responsible for approving natural resources special permits, which serve as a chief environmental protection tool of the town, the board is often an important line of defense in the battle between such development and the town’s environmental resources.
For example, natural resources special permits are required when clearing, excavating, or building is going to occur within 150 feet of a freshwater or tidal wetland, bluffs, beaches, or dunes, or a septic or fuel tank is going to be placed within 200 feet of these features. Such a permit is also required when any activity is happening within a floodplain or waterway subject to high-speed flooding.
“We have the N.R.S.P.s for a reason. We’re trying to protect the environment, which in turn protects all of our property values,” Ms. Savarese said. “I feel the board plays an important part in balancing property rights and environmental protection. The town code and state laws provide the framework for that balance. I want to make sure public hearings continue to be focused and transparent, so applicants and the public don’t just understand our decisions but understand how we arrive at them.”
“In my view, the guy that’s trying to get his swimming pool and patio deck is just as important as some other big application that’s out there,” she added.
Ms. Savarese was sworn in by Michael Hansen, the new town clerk, at Tuesday’s town board organizational meeting.
