A Zoning Board Of Appeals Member Seeks Variances From The Board He Sits On

An application for a subdivision that’s before the Southampton Village Zoning Board of Appeals is seeking 23 variances, and some residents say the owner—a member of the ZBA—is using the application as a way to, in essence, change the current zoning of the property.

James Zuhusky is seeking to convert his property at 550 and 554 Hill Street into three building lots, with plans for three homes and two guest houses. The two parcels cover 2.8 acres and currently contain two houses as well as Despatch Self Storage, which Mr. Zuhusky owns.

Despatch, which is still being operated as a storage facility, is considered an industrial use. The parcels, however, are in a residential zone. The side-by-side existing lots straddle the line between a 1-acre residential zone and a 3-acre residential zone. Although the industrial use is nonconforming with current zoning, the storage facility was grandfathered in, since it predated zoning.

Mr. Zuhusky is proposing to create one half-acre lot and a pair of lots that would be about 1.1 acres each. A variance from the ZBA would be required, because the properties are in two separate zoning districts.

Gil Flanagan, the attorney representing Mr. Zahusky, told members of the ZBA—minus Mr. Zuhusky, who was not in attendance and has, as expected, recused himself from discussion of the application—that the village’s Planning Board spent a couple of years reviewing the application in accordance with the State Environmental Quality Review Act and determined that there would be no adverse impact if the application is approved. He also said that granting the application would be beneficial to the neighborhood.

Jeff Bragman, an East Hampton-based attorney representing neighbors who oppose Mr. Zuhusky’s plans, said the application is seeking even more variances than the applicant is admitting to.

“The issue was raised about how many variances are required to create these new lots,” Mr. Bragman told the board. “I’ve gone over the attorney’s application, and he’s listed 10.”

But that’s far from the truth, according to Mr. Bragman, who said the applicant is seeking at least 23 variances that he said would completely ignore the zoning on the site, as if it never existed.

Some of the variances Mr. Bragman noted were taking a required setback of 60 feet in the 1-acre residential zone and proposing only 40 feet. He also said in the 3-acre residential zone, the minimum setback for an accessory building is 90 feet, but the applicant is proposing only 50 feet.

Mr. Bragman said that, in the opinion of his clients, the application does not protect the character of the neighborhood.

The ZBA decided to leave the public hearing open for written comment until its next meeting on Thursday, August 24, at Village Hall.