On Aug. 9, the Plandome Board of Zoning Appeals welcomed residents of neighboring Plandome Manor to their rehearing ordered by the Supreme Court of New York to debate the issue of the reconstruction of Plandome Country Club's First Tee facility. The Supreme Court ordered this hearing because the BZA voted on the Club's variance without receiving approval from the Nassau County Planning Commission. In late January of this year, Plandome Country Club received a variance and a building permit for this construction, which is in direct view of five homes on Circle Drive. Unfortunately, these Circle Drive homeowners were not made aware of the building of this "factory-like" structure. As a result, these residents are now actively involved in expressing their discontent with this building.

Attorney Higgins began by apologizing on behalf of the country club, who never intended to upset their neighbors. However, he also emphasized that the caddy house was simply modernized and slightly expanded. "We met all the legal criteria," he said. According to Higgins, if the board were to reverse their decision, "they would be served with a very costly lawsuit." He went on to say that since Circle Drive residents are not property owners in the village of Plandome, "we don't believe they have standing."

Although all Plandome residents within 500 feet of the country club's property was notified, Plandome Manor residents, who live in the only houses directly in view of the building, were not included in this group. Chairman of the Plandome Board of Zoning Appeals, A. Werner Pleus stated, "on our side, we tried to be good neighbors." He provided evidence for this by saying that a legal notice announcing the new structure was placed in the Manhasset Press. According to residents, this notice was misleading for it failed to mention the building's height or the fact that it was being built so close to the residential property line. With that, residents assumed the size of the building would, for the most part, remained unchanged. Another step the village of Plandome took was to convey notice to the clerk of Plandome Manor. At that point, it was the job of the Board of Plandome Manor to make this fact known to their residents, which they failed to do. It was noted that if this had been done, the present dilemma Circle Drive residents face could have been avoided. If the board had informed residents, they would have diligently attended meetings and voiced their concerns, which would have surely brought about a more constructive solution to this current problem. Ms. Hoban, member of the BZA, expressed her belief that these residents, after seeing the notice in the Press, should have come to Plandome's meetings, regardless of notice from their village officials.

Representing five homeowners on Circle Drive was William A. DiConza, who, in reference to the indifferent attitude of the village of Plandome Manor, lamented, "we are going in alone." Complete with a large poster board which clearly outlined pertinent sections of the Plandome village code in question, DiConza presented his case to the board. His argument was based upon the fact that, as stated in the village code, "non-conforming buildings are not allowed to be enlarged." It was then made clear that the overall increase in the structure was an astonishing 128 percent. "There is no need for a building of the magnitude to accomplish what they sought to accomplish," DiConza said in regards to the Club's project. With the amount of property owned by the Club, which is approximately 100 acres, the attorney questioned why this structure could not have been built elsewhere in order to eliminate it being directly in view of Plandome Manor residents.

One piece of information that was lacking from the presentation of this case was the exact distance this structure is from the nearest Plandome Manor home. Although DiConza, along with Circle Drive residents, estimated the approximate distance, BZA officials wanted proper measurements in order to make an informed decision. Plandome Village Attorney, John Ritter, asked whether or not members felt they could make good estimations, which they all affirmed.

Attorney DiConza added that the architect "did not install windows as depicted by the plan." Architect Frank Capone retorted with his professional opinion, which was that the proposed installation of windows, "broke up the whole scale of elevation."

Three pictures, which were taken from one Plandome Manor resident's property line, were introduced as telling evidence by Mr. DiConza. The first illustrated the pre-existing caddy house as viewed from Plandome Manor. The others showed what Mr. DiConza referred to as a "visual blight," the building in construction from early fall to spring of this year.

The five affected residents, who were present at the meeting, spoke passionately on the inconveniences they must endure because of this newly built structure. One of the main problems that was outlined was the building's appearance. One resident felt that this building, being dark gray and lacking windows, is unpleasant because it does not resemble a home. Another resident added that thirty residents on Circle Drive must walk past this nonconforming structure on their daily trip to the train station. Another problem addressed was the noise being produced by the building's exhaust fan. A Circle Drive homeowner in attendance was curious as to whether or not an environmental survey took into account this noise. It was agreed upon that the building is presently "noisier than ever before," with its exhaust fan facing homes. To the dismay of the Circle Drive residents, the chairman answered that the board did not explore any environmental impacts. Ms. Hoban said that this fan is only operational in hot weather and would not bother residents year round. "You had better move that exhaust fan," said Mr. Miller, another member of the BZA, to Architect Capone. This seemed like the obvious solution to the noise problem. After hearing these complaints, one member of the board responded, "this board's view is to be as neighborly as possible in all things."

When the Circle Drive residents realized that this "monstrosity" was being built in late March, they immediately approached the country club with their grievances. After they did, according to one resident, "the building went up in record time." While construction was taking place illegally on evenings and Sunday mornings, angered residents informed the police department as well as Plandome's Village Clerk. In addressing the illegal building times, Higgins said, "It's difficult to respond to that." Equipped with copies of the building's plan, which they were given access to by the Plandome Village Office, Circle Drive homeowners were made aware of the size of the building, which concerned them. They expressed their sentiments to the manager of the Plandome Country Club, making it clear they were dissatisfied with the size as well as the appearance of the building. The homeowners of Circle Drive also suggested that to best "soften the look of the building from the South and East sides," tall evergreens should be planted. In response to their concerns, the Club assured residents that plantings would soon border the structure. Presently, however, this area has instead been paved, void of these promised plantings.

After the hearing was closed, the board went into deliberations on whether or not the variances requested by the club with respect to the construction of the caddy house should be granted. It resulted in a unanimous vote in favor of the variance. After the meeting, DiConza stated, "once the decision is formally filed, we will commence litigation to have the decision overturned because the Club failed to meet the standard required by law to enlarge a nonconforming building."