Here is a summary of what happened at the public hearing on May 23. All board members and consultants were present except Brian Brady.
After 16 sign applications — a sure sign the summer season has arrived — it was smooth sailing through the rest of the meeting.
The next public hearing will be on June 13 at 7 p.m. at .
Applications Within an Historic District:
1. - Vincent Camuto, 16 Gin Lane: surrounding part of the property. Adjourned by applicant.
2. Marianne Lafiteau, 240 Hill Street: build a 575-square-foot one-story addition. No one was present to represent the application. Adjourned due to lack of representation.
3. FKA Claverack LLC, 129 Halsey Neck Lane: build a 518-square-foot addition to the guest cottage. Will Schulz, local architect, presented the design. This is the historic “” property built for Mr. and Mrs. Thomas H. Barber in 1892. The guest house is a lovely miniature version of the house, just like Samuel Parrish’s mother’s house on First Neck Lane. The addition proposes to add a wing to its north side, to match the existing wing on the south side, making its composition even more like the main house and completing its symmetry. The ARB members had no issues. Adjourned for written decision.
4. John Howard, 218 Pond Lane: reconstruct two-story guest house and construct two two-car garages. Sorry folks. I was not made aware of this application when I last visited the and learned of it for the first time at the public hearing Monday night. The guest house was deemed a non-contributing structure, which also suffered from a fire a while back started by a battery charger, of all things. The proposed guest cottage will be built to match the existing historic home built about 120 years ago, slightly larger (less than 100 square feet) than the previous guest house, and relocated about 15 feet away from where it used to be. Board member Hamilton Hoge and historic consultant Zach Studenroth would like to visit the site in order to observe the impact of three structures replacing one on the lot. Adjourned.
Applications outside of an Historic District:
1. Andre Barnowski, 199 Halsey Neck Lane: change exterior finish from stucco to shingles. No one was present to represent the application. Adjourned due to lack of representation.
2. Tom & Sandra Luss, 200 Little Plains Road: build a covered front port, an attached garage and an addition above the garage. The architect made the presentation. I submitted some photos of other houses near this house with similar features for the ARB members' reference. The ARB members believe the design of the garage addition needs improvement and that the front entry door should be centered. Adjourned.
3. JGFIII Family Realty LLC, 280 North Sea Road: build a 3,053-square-foot house with a 642-square-foot attached garage. John Bennett and the architect presented the application. The issues raised at the last meeting were addressed: the divided light pattern of the windows were coordinated, and trim and soffit details were added. The chimney material is not noted, and Hoge recommended the modification of the porch roof slopes. He also noticed that one particular side of the house was practically barren of windows. Adjourned.
4. John Murtha & Charlie Buck, 191 Hampton Road: build 292-square-foot screened porch addition. John Murtha presented the application. The proposed screened porch will be on the back, not visible from the street. The house is not considered contributing and was built in 1915. Approved.
5. Elizabeth Battle, 76 Pierpont Street: driveway gates. Approved.
6. Heather McCallion, 160 Elm Street: build one- and two-story additions, convert garage to pool house and build accessory shed. The architect, Debbi Kropf, presented the application. There were no board concerns and in fact many members seemed pleased the house will not be demolished but renovated instead. Oh Happy Day! Approved.
(See the preview of this application in )
7. Madeleine James, 209 Little Plains Road: build a 368-square-foot pool house. This home is on the northwest corner of Little Plains and Post Lane. The pool house was inspired by a trip the owners took to Kyoto, will be small, clad in cedar and surrounded by a low wood platform. It will not be visible from the street. Approved.
8. Ian Schrager, 550 Meadow Lane: driveway gates. While the owner would prefer solid gates, and many existing examples were shown, and it was pointed out that transparent gates are not mandated by code but only a stated preference by the ARB, solid gates were still objected to by the board members. A transparent design was presented with gates made of teak, supports clad in stucco and with bronze house numerals. The gate posts will not have lamps. Approved.
Informal Review:
1. , 579 Hill Street: confirmation of the structure as a contributing resource within Southampton Village. This owner is trying to change the use of her property to allow for a legal bed-and-breakfast and the zoning board of appeals has asked for verification that her house is historic. The ARB and their counsel explained that all she needs is a copy of the Society for the Preservation of Long Island Antiquities form from the building department to prove that.
