ALTAMONT — Local golf enthusiasts won’t be hanging out in a tent next summer at the Orchard Creek Golf Course.

The zoning board last Wednesday unanimously approved an amendment to Orchard Creek’s special-use permit to construct a 60-by-120-foot pavilion.

The pavilion will replace the 30-by-45-foot tent, currently next to the clubhouse, and could hold a maximum of 250 people.

Daniel Abbruzzee, one of Orchard Creek’s owners, told the board that the pavilion will rarely have more than 144 people, which is the maximum number of people who can play the 6,553-yard, 18-hole golf course. The pavilion is so large, he said, to store golf carts in the winter.

The club’s 65 golf carts are currently stored at the Altamont fairgrounds during the off season.
"It will mirror the clubhouse and look very attractive," Abbruzzee told the zoning board. "We are going to put bathrooms in"We just have to wait for Altamont to give us water."

The golf course is located outside of the village limits. Altamont currently has a moratorium on granting new water outside its boundaries. A new village well is expected to be on line in February.

The open, free-standing pavilion will not be heated but will have lighting. Abbruzzee said the pavilion will primarily be used for barbecues and golf outings in the warmer months and as storage in the winter ones.

Abbruzzee also asked to add 60 new parking spaces in order to alleviate parking congestion at peak times.

Lighting outside of the pavilion will not be necessary, according to the board, pending a review by the town’s chief building inspector and zoning administrator, Donald Cropsey, who could not attend last Wednesdays meeting.
"If I don’t need those lights, that’s perfectly fine with me," Abbruzzee said.

Neighbors’ worries

Glen and Ann Barker of 4066 Becker Road, whose home is adjacent to the golf course, raised some concerns to the zoning board about noise and lighting and the size of the pavilion.
"Originally, the Abruzzee brothers came over and turned the lights away from our home; they were very accommodating"If you can get along without additional lights, that would be wonderful," Barker told board members.
"Hopefully, the 144 will be the number and not the 250," Barker said of the pavilion’s maximum capacity.

Barker said his property line is 100 feet away from Orchard Creek, and his home is about 100 yards away from the site.
"Most of our golf outings start around 10 a.m. and they’re having dinner by 3 o’clock," Abbruzzee said of his normal hours of operation. "Our main business are events and golf outings."

He also said the majority of the outings are during the week, not on weekends.

Abbruzzee told board members that Orchard Creek’s standard hours of operation will remain the same with the new pavilion.

Last summer a band played at an Orchard Creek event and the Barkers asked if live entertainment would become more frequent once a large pavilion was added.
"We can hear them in the summer," Barker said. "If it’s going to be once or twice or three times, not a problem." But, Barker added, with people still driving home after 10 p.m., he didn’t want it to be a regular occurrence.
"Our concerns right now are more with the potential of problems in future," Barker said about Abbruzzee selling the golf course and having new owners come in with a 250-capacity pavilion.
"What we’ve had in the past hasn’t been a problem," Barker concluded.

Abbruzzee, hinting that he may be interested in selling Orchard Creek in a few years, said that he rarely has live entertainment and that he would work with the Barkers.
"Typically, if we are going to change anything, the brothers and I would talk to Glen first," Abbruzzee told the zoning board and added, "We’ve only had a few bands in the past seven years."

Abbruzzee also said that last summer the band playing was directly facing the Barkers’ home. With the new pavilion, he said, any live entertainment would be facing the wooded area across the street and not the Barkers’ home.
"I do think that, with this pavilion, they won’t hear it as much because of the direction," Abbruzzee said.

Zoning board chairman, Peter Barber, suggested that Abbruzzee let the town know ahead of time and get some kind of permit when there is live entertainment. This, Barber said, would allow the town to notify surrounding neighbors and alert people of the event.

Abbruzzee agreed to give a one-month notification.