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Design board approves shutters and hardware for Main Street home, leaves porch spindles under review
Summary
The East Hampton Village Design Review Board approved a shutter color change and alternative shutter hardware for 137 Main Street but held the request to change front‑porch spindles open for further review and amended the prior certificate to allow either the approved railing or no railing on the front porch.
Andrew Goldstein, counsel for the owners of 137 Main Street, asked the board to approve a handful of post‑approval tweaks to a large Main Street renovation, including changing the shutter color from green to blue and using substitute shutter hardware where the original fasteners could not be replicated.
"They would prefer blue," Goldstein said when describing the proposed change in shutter color. He argued requiring owners to fabricate original‑style hardware would be burdensome for a turn‑of‑the‑century house and urged the board to be flexible in light of the overall restoration. The board agreed to approve the shutter color change and the alternate hardware.
Board members split, however, on a request to alter the front‑porch spindles (balusters). Some members said the proposed turned spindles would look "busy" and were less accurate for the house's period. One board member said they "prefer what we originally approved," urging a simpler look for the Main Street elevation. Chair Robert Caruso said the board should not be unreasonable but stressed adherence to the village guidelines.
To accommodate both positions, the board amended the earlier certificate of appropriateness to give the applicant an option: construct the railing the board had previously approved or, alternatively, install no front porch railing. The board left the spindle change itself open for further review so applicants can either use the originally approved railing or return with revised spindle proposals.
The board recorded the amendment and a conditional approval for shutters and hardware by roll call. The hearing on the spindle detail will resume at a later date when the applicant supplies additional supporting material or alternatives.
What happens next: The applicant may proceed with the shutter color and hardware as approved; the board will revisit the porch spindle design if the owners request a change to the railing in a future submission.
