Surf Lodge In Montauk Agrees To Constraints And Upgrades To Get Concerts Back On Track

The owners of the Surf Lodge in Montauk have agreed to slash their occupancy limits, upgrade the popular restaurant and nightclub’s septics and fire safety equipment and end all their live music events by 8 p.m. in exchange for the settlement of town code violations.

The East Hampton Town Board on Tuesday evening authorized Town Attorney Michael Sendlenski to enter the settlement agreement in state court that requires the club’s owners to submit a new site plan for the property, showing any improvements made since 2008 and upgrading the septics and fire sprinkler system to meet codes.

The agreement will also cap the occupancy of the Surf Lodge at 395 at any one time, about 50 fewer people than the town has said its occupancy was previously, but more than 150 fewer people than the operators of the club claimed was legal.

Going forward, live music performances will be limited to two hours and must conclude by 8 p.m., an hour earlier than other live music venues must conclude shows. Live music will be allowed only five days a week between May 15 and September 15.

With the settlement in hand, the Surf Lodge should be able to show a clean record to the State Liquor Authority at a hearing next week on the status of its liquor license.

On Monday, Town Justice Steven Tekulsky dismissed on technicalities five noise violations and an overcrowding violation stemming from last summer’s festivities. Those violations—which it turns out were filled out improperly—had drawn the attention of the SLA and spurred a review of the club’s license.

At the first review hearing, last month, state officials noted that the Surf Lodge license did not list hosting live music as one of the venue’s uses—a technicality that caused the club to halt all live performances until the license can be amended.

That move set off a firestorm of protest from musicians who accused the Town Board of overreaching in their effort to calm revelry in Montauk and of using the state license review process to bully business owners.

The board denied having had any interaction with the SLA regarding liquor licenses, and on Tuesday evening scheduled a special board meeting to approve the settlement agreement so that the Surf Lodge could show the SLA reviewers that it is addressing past violations at a hearing already scheduled for next week.

“They were anxious to get this agreement to SLA,” Supervisor Larry Cantwell said of the agreement negotiated with the club’s ownership on Tuesday evening. “There was a hearing next week anyway, so they wanted to get this done with them prior to that to get the process moving as quickly as possible.”

The Surf Lodge operators canceled their concerts through the end of June, but have told customers they hope to be able to resume live shows in July or August if their liquor licenses are amended.

For the town, the settlement brings the Surf Lodge closer to the state that officials say they would like to see it operating under.

“Is it everything we have hoped to achieve, no, but I think under the circumstances, it’s a good settlement,” Mr. Cantwell said. “That property is going to be much more restricted now with this agreement.”

The Surf Lodge has alternately been one of the most popular and most infamous venues in Montauk in recent years, depending on who you ask.

As one of the first chic, high-end clubs to make the move to Montauk in 2008, it has been credited with sparking the rise of the “new Montauk” social scene, which has drawn throngs of young partiers from New York City on weekends, but has incensed longtime local residents.

The club has also amassed mountains of violations and fines over the years, for excessive noise, overcrowding and illegal alterations to the aging outdoor restaurant and motel, as well as drawing ire for trains of parked cars and queuing taxis lining streets in all directions.

As part of this week’s settlement, representatives of the club will submit a revised survey within 30 days and agree to site visits by town code inspectors to review the survey. They will then apply to the Town Planning Board for a new site plan within 60 days of the town inspections.

Included in that site plan will be designs for a new septic system that Mr. Cantwell said he hopes will be an advanced system capable of removing nitrogen from wastewater.