Dan's Papers - September 21, 2007 - SAGAPONACK LIMITS HOUSES TO 12,000 SQ. FT.

When Ira Rennert proposed building his oceanfront house in Sagaponack ten years ago, there was no problem with the building department. The zoning laws said that you could not build a house smaller than 750 square feet. One smaller than that size would lead to unhealthy living conditions.

Rennert unrolled the plans. His house would be larger than 750 square feet. So it was okay.

As construction began on the house, it became apparent to the general public that it would be one of the three largest homes in the country. People in Southampton began to wonder if a house that size, for just he and his wife, was really something that ought to be allowed. It would have 29 bedrooms, a pool house, a beach house, a tennis house, a greenhouse, a garage house, a theatre and a game house. And all together it would come in at about 111,000 square feet. And it would cost about $70 million to build. It was true that the man who dies with the most toys wins. But this was, some said, a very disturbingly large amount of toys when people were starving in Africa, Asia and other places.

As a result of this, it was decided to make a limit on the allowable size of residences in Southampton. The biggest one allowed would be 20,000 square feet. Of course, the Rennert house had already been approved, so it would do no good with his project. The horse, well the GIANT horse, was already out of the barn.

This must have been a great comfort to Mr. Rennert. Unlike in the race to see who could build the world's tallest building, there would be no further contest for the biggest house here in the Hamptons. Rennert had won.

In 2006, the hamlet of Sagaponack voted to disengage itself from the jurisdiction of Southampton Town and become an independent incorporated village. They held a mayoralty race after all the paperwork was filed and approved. One candidate ran on the platform that he would never put in separate zoning for Sagaponack but would abide by Southampton zoning. The other candidate said he would have an independent zoning board. The first candidate won.

After the inauguration, the first candidate, now the mayor, said he'd changed its mind. There WOULD be a Sagaponack zoning board. And it would make Sagaponack zoning rules.

But if some billionaires thought that the 20,000 square foot limit might be lifted so they could once again have a shot at the Biggest House competition, they were sorely disappointed.

This Monday, the new zoning laws will go into effect. And they include the controversial law that no residential home from now on can be larger than 12,000 square feet.

I was recently in the Sagg Store and overheard one person ask another - didn't they leave off a zero?

No, it is not 120,000. It is 12,000. This is just four times the size of the Dan's Papers building on the Montauk Highway. And about five times the size of my house in East Hampton. What a thrill!

Rennert may have won. But the race for second place is now within reach for just about everybody who wants to play the big house game. How close to exactly 12,000 square feet can you get? The person who can build something 11,999.999 wins. Well, the Silver. Rennert's got the Gold.