Yacht club proposed for Sterling Street in Greenport
Greenport property owner Paul Henry wants to build a two-story yacht club on Sterling Street — but before he submits an application for site plan approval, the Greenport Planning Board said it wants an idea of what the proposed building will look like and exactly how the property will be used.
During an application pre-submission conference at the village Planning Board’s Thursday work session, board members discussed their concern that the structure Mr. Henry hopes to build might infringe on residents’ views of Peconic Bay. The lot, which is 25 feet deep and faces the water, is owned by Osprey Zone LLC, a private holding company of which Mr. Henry is the principal. Osprey Zone also owns a marina on the property that currently rents boat storage space to eight tenants, Mr. Henry said.
“This is a very small piece of property and it’s separated from the other side of the street,” board member Lynn Atkinson-Loveless said. “It might seem very imposing and have a very big impact on that neighborhood in terms of changing what’s there.”
David Kapell, who retired as Greenport mayor in 2007 and continues in his real estate business, attended the meeting as an authorized agent for Osprey Zone. In a phone call, Mr. Kapell said the proposed yacht club would sit six feet back from Sterling Street. To maximize parking, the structure would be built eight feet off the ground, allowing cars to park underneath it, he said.
When board member Lynn Atkinson-Loveless said she was confused as to how the proposed yacht club would be used, Mr. Kapell told her he envisions having a restroom and shower facilities, storage space, an ice-making facility and marina office. The men said they’d also like to create a sort of common room for yacht club members on the building’s second floor — a place where people who store their boats at Osprey Zone’s marina can “congregate, socialize and relax,” Mr. Henry said. He added that he has no plans to operate a restaurant, construct a bar or serve alcohol in the building.
At the meeting’s conclusion, board members said they hoped Mr. Henry would present a thorough application for site plan approval.
“I think that we’ve made our points and what we hope to see on the application,” Ms. Atkinson-Loveless told him. “We don’t have it yet, so we’re trying to give you a sense of what our concerns are.”
Standing outside the firehouse after the meeting, Mr. Henry said he thought what the Planning Board told him and Mr. Kapell was “informative.”
“It gives us some homework,” he said. “I feel like we’re all on the same page.”
Editor’s Note: An earlier version of this story suggested Mr. Kappell was the principal on the project. He represented the project as an authorized agent.
