New house’s big basement under scrutiny

“It is a single family residential home,” builder Edward Ernst insisted (above) in response to public scrutiny of plans to increase living area of the O’Shea house on Proposed Road (below) to nearly 12,000 square feet.

The finishing of a 3,450-square-foot basement with four showersand a batting cage evoked almost as much public comment as a newreal estate sign law and a causeway wetlands project at Friday’spublic hearings of the Town Board.

The newly constructed house of Sean O’Shea at 5 Proposed Road inShorewood was built at just under 8,500 square feet of living area,the threshold that triggers the need for a special permit from theTown Board. But now the owner wants to finish the house’s largebasement with a sitting room, wine cellar, sauna, exercise room,batting cage, multi-fixture bathroom and more to bring the totalliving space of the house to 11,648 square feet, excluding a largeunfinished attic.

The board did not act on the application Friday, and, atTuesday’s work session, board members discussed ways to limit waterusage at the house. As with other special permits, the board mayissue conditions of approval but must grant the permit unless theplans run afoul of the town code.

PLANNERS RAISE CONCERNS

The town Planning Board, which reviews special permit projectsprior to a Town Board vote, recommended approval of the O’Sheaspecial permit. But Planning Board Chairman Paul Mobius said atFriday’s hearing, “Everybody was concerned that the project wasongoing before approval, something that should be addressed. ThePlanning Board report noted that partition walls, rough plumbingand electrical lines had already been installed in the basementwhen board members inspected the house.

“The bathroom with its multiple fixtures is a concern as it willhave the potential to use a large amount of water in this nearshoreproperty, the planners wrote. The bathroom depicted on the houseplan filed in Town Hall does not resemble a typical residentialbathroom – it is approximately 23 by 18 feet, with four showerstalls, four toilets and four sinks.

O’Shea Contractor Edward Ernst addressed the preparations forfinishing the basement. He said that the electrical lines serveother parts of the house but acknowledged the rough plumbing andwall work, saying that he got an O.K. from the Building Departmentbefore proceeding with it. He said that the rough walls were neededfor upstairs duct work and added that if the project isn’t approvedthe plumbing lines will be capped off.

The basement includes four showers and four toilets, he said,because there was “no room for a pool cabana outside. The O’Sheasreceived a wetlands permit to install a swimming pool within 100feet of tidal wetlands from the Town Board in July 2009.

McMANSION PLANNED ALL ALONG?

Mr. Ernst stood at the Town Board podium but was in the hot seatfrom the outset of the public comment session.

Joann Piccozzi, who serves on the town Zoning Board, asked fromthe audience, “When you built the house, you put all the roughplumbing underneath the concrete and you didn’t ask the town forpermission. Isn’t that a little crazy?

The plumbing was installed “for future use because it would beimpossible to do later, Mr. Ernst responded.

“You don’t put all that money into something and expect not tofinish the basement, Ms. Piccozzi replied.

Don Kornumpf asked what work had been done to finish the attic.Only a couple of lightbulbs, Mr. Ernst responded. But finishing theattic is easily done, said Patricia Shillingburg, another ZoningBoard member. “Yes, Mr. Ernst acknowledged.

Public comment went on in this vein, with audience membersquestioning whether the special permit process had beenintentionally circumvented by completing the project in stages.

Bob Cacciola asserted that the rough plumbing and other work incontemplation of permit approval was in violation of the code.”Send the inspector in, he said, “I say punish these people fairlyfor their violations.

Mr. Ernst reiterated that he checked with the BuildingDepartment before doing the basement work.

BOARD LOOKS TO FUTURE USE

Councilman Ed Brown asked about the total number of bathrooms inthe house – six upstairs plus the four proposed for the basement.”The board of health might not have an issue on that but we can,Mr. Brown said. Suffolk County requires septic expansion whenbedrooms, not bathrooms, are added to a house. The water useassociated with large houses is an issue the Town Board hasconsidered in other special permit projects.

Although Councilman Peter Reich acknowledged that the town coulddo little to mitigate the development stresses of an already builthouse, Town Supervisor Jim Dougherty called for some form ofmitigation.

Mr. Ernst did not accommodate the suggestion, saying that thesame number of people live in the house whether the basement isfinished or not. “It is a single family residential home, hesaid.

“There’s a potential for many more people to use the house,Councilwoman Chris Lewis responded.

The owner “might have the proper intent but how about the nextperson coming in, Mr. Brown said.

Mr. Ernst replied, “I don’t expect them to ever sell thishouse.

“Unfortunately, my life experience has taught me that there’salways a day before and a day after, Ms. Lewis commented.

Mr. Ernst agreed to list the energy conservation featuresinstalled and planned for the house but offered no new mitigationmeasures.

The rules for large houses may soon change. The Town Board set apublic hearing for February 19 on a code change to includebasements, finished or not, in the tally of living area subject toa special permit.