It's a Dunne deal - Neighbors lift objections after Gayle agrees to smaller house

GAYLE Dunne, wife of debt-laden developer Sean Dunne, has settled a long-running and bitter planning dispute with neighbours in the upmarket US town of Greenwich,Connecticut.

Residents of the plush Belle Haven suburb were prepared to lodge an appeal against the redevelopment of a $2m house at 38 Bush Avenue.

But their application was withdrawn after a compromise was reached just hours before a zoning board hearing on Wednesday night.

Under the terms of the deal, the Dunnes have agreed to preserve a century-old maple tree that sits on the property line with neighbours and reduce the size of dirt piles on the plot.

A separate application by the Dunnes for an even bigger house, with a carport attached, has been withdrawn.

Retired IBM executive Richard Case, who lives next door, said the dispute was the biggest he had been involved in during his 30 years of living in Belle Haven.

"I've never been interested in having this thing protracted for three years of litigation through Connecticut superior courts, which was the next level after we got past this board," he said.

The ownership of the Bush Avenue property is hidden behind a trust operated by a lawyer, Thomas J Heagney. But the address is listed as Mrs Dunne's residence in company files lodged with the state.

Modifications

The Dunnes have agreed to scale back their plans for the property significantly. In return, residents have agreed to certain modifications to the original building permit that was granted last July.

There are modifications to planned chimney heights, roof lines and the garage that soften the profile of the house and reduce the visual impact of the changes being made.

The Dunnes first ran into difficulty with locals and town officials when demolition work on the Victorian-era house exceeded what they had been granted permission for.

Neighbours also objected to the size of their proposed house on the half-acre site.

Construction work resumed at the Bush Avenue property in recent weeks after months of delays. But neighbours were ready to fight the planning permission, until a deal was reached in negotiations.

It's not known if the Dunnes still plan on living in the Bush Avenue property once the renovations are complete.

Asked if Sean and Gayle Dunne would be welcome as neighbours, Mr Case said: "I will try to be accepting to anyone who comes."

Earlier this week, I revealed that the high-profile couple are also linked to a second property on Bote Road on the other side of town, where construction is well advanced on an even bigger mansion.

[This article appears in the Irish Independent 22nd April]

Revealed: Dunnes linked to second house in upmarket US town

DEVELOPER Sean Dunne and his wife Gayle have been linked to a second house in an upmarket US town, where they are already locked in battle with residents over redevelopment plans.

The high-profile couple are already embroiled in an ongoing conflict over permits for a $2m Victorian-era house on Bush Avenue in leafy Greenwich, Connecticut.

But the Irish Independent learned Mr Dunne visited a second property on the other side of town last week, where construction is under way on a bigger house than the one at the centre of the current controversy.

Like the property on Bush Avenue, the ownership of the house at 42 Bote Road in Stanwich is hidden behind a trust operated by Greenwich property lawyer Thomas J Heagney.

When contacted by the Irish Independent last night, Mr Heagney said he had "no comment at all" to make on whether or not he was acting on behalf of the Dunnes in respect of the property on Bote Road.

Land deeds on file at Greenwich Town Hall show the property at 42 Bote Rd was purchased by Thomas J Heagney, trustee, on January 20 this year for $825,000.

It was bought from Robert H Frazer, executor of the estate of his late cousin Jean Vogel.

The house was an 1820 sq ft, two-storey property with three bedrooms and two bathrooms built in 1952.

But applications for the property show the new owner has plans to turn it into a mansion three times that size.

The building permit values the work being done on the property at $720,000, and it allows for 11 rooms including six bathrooms with a total area of 5,676 sq ft. Construction on the project was well advanced when the Irish Independent visited the site this week.

One worker, who spoke on condition that he would not be identified, admitted he was working on both the Bote Road and Bush Avenue sites.

When asked if Mr Dunne had been on-site, he confirmed that the developer had been there (Bush) on Tuesday of last week.

[First published in the Irish Independent April 18th 2011]

DUNNES TAPED LEAVING CONTROVERSIAL US HOUSE

Indebted developer Sean Dunne and his wife Gayle have been captured on camera leaving the site of a US property at the centre of a bitter planning dispute. Work has resumed in recent weeks on the $2m Victorian-era house on Bush Avenue in the plush enclave of Belle Haven in Greenwich, Connecticut. Local zoning officials infuriated local residents by lifting a stop-work order on March 29^th, allowing building work to proceed under the original permit for the site. Neighbors have now lodged an appeal against that decision. It will be heard on April 29^th.

The local newspaper for the area, Greenwich Time, has posted a video on its website at the weekend, showing the couple leaving the construction site on Bush Avenue last Friday. “You’re trespassing,” Sean Dunne says to the reporter, as he walks from the site with his wife Gayle. The reporter replies that he had been given permission by a neighbor to view the project from their property.  The Dunnes then drive off together in a silver Lexus SUV parked nearby, as a construction worker appeals with the reporter not to film his image.

A lawyer representing local residents, Jim Fulton, told the newspaper that the town had “turned a deaf ear” to their concerns.  The paper reports the property’s owner struck a deal with zoning officials indemnifying them from potential lawsuits in return for the required permits. “I don’t think that’s right,” said Mr Fulton, “I don’t think it’s appropriate to ask for such indemnifications in return for issuing zoning approvals or lifting stop-work orders.”  

The second and third floors of the structure have been built in the past few weeks, and neighbors are furious that work was being allowed while their appeal was still pending. But David Studley, zoning enforcement officer with Greenwich Town Council told me that he was allowing work because he feared the building could be in peril if he didn’t.

“They are not in violation of zoning,” he said, “Just because some people are unhappy with what’s going on there doesn’t mean that it’s in violation. If I put a stay on the work, in my opinion, the building is in such a condition that it would damage the property.”

Local residents are unhappy about the size of the house being built on the half-acre site, and recently they presented the trustee and architect for the site with an outline of the parameters of what would be an acceptable compromise to them.

It’s not known if the Dunnes still plan to live at the property, which is listed as Gayle Dunne’s residence on two company files lodged with the Connecticut State Department. The ownership of the house is hidden behind a trust operated by respected Greenwich lawyer Thomas J Heagney, whose name appears on the deeds.

[View the full video of them leaving the site: http://www.greenwichtime.com/local/article/Town-gives-green-light-to-Irish-emigre-s-home-1329482.php]

Dunnes flee $8m mansion amid row with locals over new home

The $8m dollar mansion on Field Point Road rented by the Dunnes

INDEBTED developer Sean Dunne and his wife Gayle have left the $8m (€5.8m) US mansion they were living in amid increasing hostility from neighbours over plans to rebuild a house nearby.

An estate agent and local residents have confirmed the Dunnes moved out of the property in the exclusive Belle Haven enclave in Greenwich, Connecticut The upmarket area is home to singer Diana Ross and a number of hedge-fund billionaires.

The secretive couple had been renting a plush mansion on Field Point Road for $17,500 (€12,600) a month while work was being carried out on a $2m (€1.5m) house, which was expected to become their family home, on nearby Bush Avenue.

However, it has now emerged they moved out in recent weeks as a spat with neighbours over plans for the Bush Avenue property became increasingly fractious.

It is unclear where they have relocated to, but locals in Greenwich say they had not been seen in the area for some time.

The revelation came after lawyers representing local residents got a renewed legal order last week prohibiting further work on the Victorian-era home.

Locals have claimed the Dunnes breached planning regulations after the property was substantially demolished last year. Sean Dunne (56), who regularly commutes between the US and Ireland on business, has denied any link to the Bush Avenue property.

However, it was registered as 36-year-old Gayle Dunne's home address in filings for two real estate companies she now owns. A lawyer representing Mrs Dunne is acting as the property's trustee.

A local real estate agent confirmed that the Dunnes had moved and that the mansion they had been renting was now on the market with an asking price of $8m.

Publicity

Neighbours said the Dunnes were rumoured to be looking at properties in Stanwich, another town in Connecticut.

The move by the Dunnes to Greenwich last year raised eyebrows as Mr Dunne is dealing with NAMA and also has substantial debts with non-NAMA banks. They quickly became embroiled in controversy, attracting negative publicity in the local press when locals complained about alleged planning infractions.

One neighbour, who didn't want to be named, said that locals were "united" in their opposition to the building work. Work on the property was initially halted last October. Efforts to have it "weather-proofed" in recent weeks were also objected to by locals and a further "stop work" order was granted by planning authorities. Mrs Dunne's lawyer, Thomas Heagney, told a public meeting last week that negotiations to resolve the dispute had begun.

Mrs Dunne, a former socialite and gossip columnist, revealed in legal papers earlier this year that she had moved to the US to become a property developer and had been scouting out a potential land deal in Chicago.

Details of her change in career emerged after she sued a New York immigration lawyer who she alleged swindled her out of $500,000 (€365,000). The court papers did not reveal how Mrs Dunne was funding her foray into the US real estate market.

A statement issued on her behalf said her home and finances were not a matter of public interest. It added Mrs Dunne had no debts with any institutions covered by the bank guarantee nor was she the subject of any NAMA loans.

- Shane Phelan and Vincent Murphy

[This article originally appeared in the Irish Independent of Friday March 4th 2011]

Gayle Dunne's 11th hour bid for deal with US neighbours over $2m property

GAYLE Dunne, wife of heavily indebted builder Sean Dunne, has made a last-ditch bid to save her controversial plan to redevelop a €1.5m home in the US.

A lawyer representing Mrs Dunne, a former gossip columnist, has extended an olive branch to residents opposed to the redevelopment of the property in the exclusive Belle Haven enclave of Greenwich, Connecticut.

The residents, whose objections led to work being halted last October, were invited to enter negotiations just hours before the project was due to be discussed at a public planning hearing on Wednesday night.

Mrs Dunne's lawyer Thomas Heagney, who acts as a trustee for the property, 38 Bush Avenue, succeeded in an application to have the hearing postponed.

He told the Greenwich planning and zoning appeals board he had discussed the matter with the neighbours' attorney.

The Dunnes moved to the upmarket area last year and have been renting a mansion while the Bush Avenue property is being redeveloped.

Mr Dunne had been regularly commuting between the US and Ireland, where he retains substantial business interests.

The developer, who is dealing with NAMA and also has large debts with non-NAMA banks, has denied being the owner of the Bush Avenue property.

However, his wife, who has refused to comment on her links to the property, has listed it as her home address in filings for two real-estate companies that she now runs.

Neither Gayle (36) nor Sean Dunne (56) were present at the brief hearing.

Plans to remodel the Victorian-era property have been in limbo for the past four months after local planning inspectors ordered work to stop.

They intervened after locals complained that demolition exceeded what had been permitted.

Objections

A number of residents who turned up for the hearing had also intended to voice their objections that the house being planned was too big for the site.

Speaking after he left the meeting, Mr Heagney said it was "premature" to talk about what kind of deal he was seeking to reach with the residents.

"We encourage the discussions and we'll be talking to their representatives," he said.

Richard Case, a retired IBM executive who lives next door to 38 Bush Avenue, said negotiations between the two sides had not yet begun.

"What I understand is that there was a phone call to start that process this afternoon," he told the Irish Independent.

He said his basic objection was that the planned house was far too big for the site.

Another resident, Bonnie Copp, said the property should adhere to the same building restrictions as others in the area and that if construction was limited to certain hours of the day and the size was more appropriate, then people would not object.

- Vincent Murphy in Greenwich, Connecticut

This article appears in today's issue of the Irish Independent