Admiral's Cove

KEY FACTSAddress/Location

Atlantic Avenue, on Harts Cove

SC Tax map #

200-890-4-1

Size

8.276 acres

Current zoning

A-1 Residence

Historic District Status

In the East Moriches Historic District 

   and Transition Zone

Nearby wetlands

On the bay and immediately north

School District

East Moriches

Brookhaven log #

2008-009-PS

Application

For preliminary subdivision approval

Proposed use

7 single-family residences

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To see a list of all the documents on this project,

or to download any for viewing, printing or saving, click here.

Click image to enlarge                          

A home once stood on this site, but, according to reports, it was lost to a fire many years ago.  The brick pillars by its drive way remain.  Over the years, the property has filled in with trees so that it is almost entirely covered with a deciduous canopy.  Some of the trees have succumbed to disease or wind, but many remain tall and healthy.

Just north of this site, the Town has identified wetlands as shown on an aerial it prepared.  There are also wetlands along the shore of the bay.

The current owners have held this property since 1973, and have floated various proposals for it.  In 2008 they filed for approval of a 7 house subdivision, as shown in their '08 application and FEAF and subdivision plan.  After some back and forth with the Town's Planning Division, their 7-house yield map filed in '09 was accepted.  It has been revised since, but the current yield map shows that 7 houses would be built on the site as of right.

Early on in the process, the County advised by letter that the proposal was one for local determination.

The nearby wetlands have brought about significant changes in the planned subdivision.  As proposed, 7 residences would be clustered on mostly smaller lots (4 about 1/2 acre and 3 about 1 acre) on the south side of the site.  The northern portions--2.72 acres or 33 percent of the site--would be preserved as open space and given to the Town.  In addition, a non-disturbance buffer along Harts Cove was proposed.

The developer applied to the State Department of Environmental Conservation for approvals on the plan.  This resulted in greater preservation due to the fresh water wetlands.

Brookhaven's Historic District Advisory Committee reviewed the proposal in November 2012.  It recommended that an interior road not more than 28' wide, preservation of the brick entrance columns, restoration of the privet hedge along the front, and flag lots rather than a cul-de-sac to save more trees.

The owners spoke at EMPOA's meeting on the East Moriches Waterfront in April 2009, and for a while kept EMPOA up to date on many of the developments.

Revised plans were filed in February and October 2010, June, November and December 2012, June 2013 and finally in July 2013. It was a long haul for the developer.  

On September 9, 2013, the Planning Board heard the owners' application, and gave preliminary approval to the subdivision subject to conditions.

Subdivisionis a two-step process.  Two years after the preliminary approval, the owners applied for final approval.  The Planning Board heard that application on June 6, 2016, and gave it final approval subject to conditions.  

The approved plan permits homes to be built on 7 lots on the south two-thirds of the property; 3 will be waterfront lots.

• The northern one-third of the lot must be dedicated to the Town as open space.

• The waterfront lots will have a non-disturbance area within 250 feet of the shore.

• Access to all lots, including one on Atlantic Avenue, will be from a cul-de-sac between the lots and the open space to be dedicated.  

• Street lights are to be as approved by the Historic District Advisory Committee.  

• The privet hedge that still remains from the days a private home stood on the property is to be restored.

Except for the open space to be dedicated and the non-disturbance area on the bay, no provision was made for preservation or protection of trees now on the property.

Some Issues--some now moot

This is a significant and sensitive site.  It has 328 feet of shoreline.  It is just south of wetlands that is protected as open space.  It now offers a pleasing vista on Atlantic Avenue as one goes south past the preserved marsh with the mass of deciduous trees in the background.  It contributes to the rural character of our area.  Were funds available, it would be a candidate for preservation.

It is unusual for a developer to agree to give up 1/3 of a site.  That mitigates to a degree the loss to the community of this site in its now natural state.  Nonetheless, there are still a number of issues to consider.

• The site is right on Harts Cove and very low in elevation.  The test borings show that ground water is at sea level under the site.  Seven homes are to be built with underground septic installations, according to the proposed plan, with the surface 6 to 11 feet above sea level.  (There were no test borings close to these locations.)   The County Health Services Department has reportedly said that it is okay for sewage installations to be 2 feet above ground water.  But is it okay given the usual degree of treatment?  Recent evidence is that our household sewage is polluting the bays.  Should the Town insist on better treatment given this sites elevation and its being right on Harts Cove?

• A sidewalk along Atlantic Avenue is proposed.  It will not connect to any other sidewalk.  The sidewalk on Atlantic Avenue is near the Montauk Highway and on the other side of the street.  To the north of the Admirals Cove site is protected marsh; installing sidewalk there would not seem environmentally sound.  To the south of the site is a house with no sidewalk, Montauk Avenue, another house with no sidewalk, and then a lot of marsh.  So what's the point of putting sidewalk in front of Admirals Cove?  Where will those who might use it go?  While sidewalks surely have their place, is this it?

• The site is heavily treed.  Some trees are in poor condition, but others are healthy.  There should be an effort to protect large, healthy trees.  To do this, they would first have to be identified and put on a survey.  Is clear cutting the portion of the site to be developed right?

• The red brick entrance markers that stand on either side of the entrance to the previous residence have been a fixture on Atlantic Avenue for many years.  Should they be retained and placed on either side of the new entrance?