Ann Hotung’s desire to sell her historic Suffolk Street residence was not good enough cause for the Sag Harbor Village Zoning Board of Appeals to grant her an application for a variance to allow a swimming pool on her lot.

Hotung, who owns 9 Suffolk Street, came to the board hoping to gain a variance that would allow her to build a swimming pool within 10-feet of the side lot line where 15-feet is required.

According to David Meeves, representing Hotung at the hearing, she needs the variance in order to gain approval from the Suffolk County Health Department for a new septic system planned in concert with the swimming pool.

Meeves said the pool was necessary to sell the residence, which while once valued at $3 million has been reduced to just under $2 million and has been listed with local realtors with nary a single offer on the property.

Immediately, zoning board members appeared skeptical.

“I don’t like the argument,” said board member Anton Hagen. “It is hellacious as far as I am concerned.”

Hagen suggested the property owner look at reducing the price of the house if in fact a sale is so necessary.

“You are asking us to approve a variance so you can maximize the price of the house,” he said.

Board chairwoman Gayle Pickering added she was concerned about the impact on the neighbors if they allowed the pool to be built.

“Pools generate noise,” she said.

Board member Michael Bromberg also took issue with the application.

“The hardship you are presenting is a house in Sag Harbor isn’t marketable unless it has either a swimming pool or if you can sell the variance for a swimming pool when you sell the house,” he said. “I don’t think that is the kind of hardship we are here to deal with.”

Neighbor Duncan Haile came out strongly against the application, noting ongoing issues he has had with Hotung and the fact the pool would be literally 15-feet from his kitchen window. The application was voted down unanimously.

In other ZBA news, Brad Penuel and Andressa Costa were granted a variance for their 51 Harrison Street home in order to add a 358-square-foot expansion. T & K Redwood Associates were also given a variance to construct a new residence at their 64 Redwood Road home. Both applications will formally receive their determinations at next month’s December 20 meeting of the Sag Harbor ZBA.

Usually, this time of year, the Ship Ashore Marina boat yard is a dusty expanse that curves along a few hundred feet of Sag Harbor Cove.  While boats tend to come in and out of the water at regular intervals, they’re either stored in a massive shed on the property or tied up to the dock near the shallow shore.

Hurricane Irene has changed all that.

“They’re packed like sardines!” one boat-owner exclaimed as he walked through the yard.

According Gayle Pickering, whose husband Rick owns Ship Ashore Marina, boat crews worked at a pace of about one boat every 20 minutes ultimately managing to pull precisely 60 boats to land on Thursday, bringing the total of land-bound vessels to roughly 250.  (The marina has five to six full-time employees, in addition to another four people—including the Pickerings’ teenage son, Adrian—who have been helping the crew for the last couple of days.)

Walking past a veritable peninsula of ground boats propped up by steel holdings and wooden pilings, Pickering explained that the row of boats stretched back five, in some cases six rows.  “A lot of the boats in the back came out of the water on Wednesday,” she said, referencing two navy-blue Hinckley Picnic boats.  Those the types of boats with insurance policies that mandate mariners to pull them ashore at the first hint of a storm like Irene, Pickering explained.

While some boats were picked up by boat owners who will store the vessels elsewhere, “some people won’t take their boats out of the water,” she added with a shrug.  As for sailboats, Pickering said those will have to ride the storm immersed in waves because “we simply didn’t have the staff to take down the sailboat masts in time.”