Homeowners Debate Whether Town Should Adopt Meadowlark Lane

Residents with homes on a private road in Bridgehampton are debating whether it should become town-owned or stay private—a dilemma faced by hundreds of homeowners townwide.

Meadowlark Lane is one of 577 unimproved private roads in Southampton Town that total about 113 miles. The conditions of many of these privately held roads have worsened thanks to tough winters and outright neglect. Yet town officials are reluctant to take over ownership until the roads are repaved and meet safety standards, saying the town cannot assume the expense.

There is no homeowners’ association to manage Meadowlark Lane, so it has not been fully maintained since its creation in 1967, according to Carl Benincasa, the assistant town attorney. In theory, the town could accept the road into the highway system, but the improvements need to be made first, he said.

“We’re dealing with patchwork—the place looks like it has acne,” said Irving Shafran, one of the homeowners who would like the town to adopt Meadowlark Lane, at a Town Board meeting on September 29. “The place is a total mess. ...The drainage is nonexistent. You have mosquito-breeding ponds every single time it rains.”

North Sea resident John Watson, chair of the town’s ad hoc unimproved roads committee, said it has become difficult for year-round residents to live on private roads without snowplowing, grading, pothole filling or other maintenance.

“There was a time when these unimproved roads were just summer colonies—and the residents enjoyed that,” Mr. Watson said. “However, the fabric of Southampton has changed. Many full-time, hardworking, retired and voting year-round residents make their homes on non-town-owned roads. ... Many roads have potholes—and personal properties flood.”

Under town law, 51 percent of the homeowners on the road must be in favor of undertaking the expense to bring a road up to snuff so it can be adopted into the town’s highway system. “It really comes down to if you can get a majority of the residents to vote,” Supervisor Jay Schneiderman explained at the meeting.

However, not all the residents favor opening the road to the public. Currently, there is a sign that reads “Private Road, No Thru Traffic,” which some say prevents accidents.

“I really would not like to see this become a public road,” said one of them, Stephen Trokel. “I’m perfectly willing to write a check to maintain it and support it, but I’d like to see that sign saying this is a private road. I think it enhances safety, it enhances privacy, and I also think it enhances the aesthetics.”

Mr. Shafran also said he was concerned about safety, however. “The place is like the Wild West since it is a private street,” he said. “A kid is going to get killed because they’ve over-planted the corners. We’re going to have an accident.”

Some homeowners tried in 2009 to get the road adopted into the town system, and that discussion was recently revived when an “irrevocable offer of dedication” was discovered that reserves the town’s right to adopt the road without the homeowners’ approval. However, board members said that they would not be comfortable setting a precedent for other roads where the homeowners might not be able to pay for repairs.

Town Board members advised the homeowners at the meeting to see what the majority of those living on Meadowlark Lane would prefer—having it become a town road or creating a homeowners’ association to maintain the road themselves using dues collected by the association.

However, with more than 570 private roads that serve more than 4,400 homes—roughly 18 percent of the town’s population—the issue will not end at Meadowlark Lane.