North Sea Residents Fear Proposed Subdivision Will Harm Environment

For Katherine Hildreth Graham, the Long Spring Farms property in North Sea is rich in family history.

The farm, and the rustic house that sits on it, was passed down in her family for generations. She remembers spending time with family, playing in the open fields, and riding horses at the property.

In recent weeks, Ms. Graham has been sifting through old photographs of the property, some of which had been in her family since 1912. One black and white photograph shows her grandmother Priscilla Hildreth Graham sitting on a porch admiring the outdoors, wearing a short, curly hairstyle and a floral dress, her hands folded in her lap. Another photograph, this one in color, shows Priscilla Hildreth Graham atop a horse, laughing alongside her daughter—and Ms. Graham’s mother—Hope Graham.

Ms. Graham’s family sold the beloved property in the background of many of the photographs, located at 437 North Sea Mecox Road in North Sea, about 40 years ago to Carol Mayo. The Mayos were family friends, so Ms. Graham was a frequent visitor—she said she basically grew up on the property and kept a horse at the barn there. Then last year, the Mayo family sold the property to a company called Kamicutico LLC for $9.3 million, according to town records.

Although the farm is no longer in her family’s hands, Ms. Graham stood in front of the Southampton Town Planning Board on Thursday, September 14, with passion in her voice as she pleaded with officials to make sure the developer that wants to subdivide the property doesn’t destroy the environment.

“If [the developer] subdivides and builds 15 lots, it’s going to destroy the wildlife on the property,” Ms. Graham said. “I just don’t understand what is going to happen to the lives of all of these animals. They aren’t going to have anywhere to go.”

She is concerned that the developer—which is proposing to subdivide the 21.7-acre property into somewhere between 11 and 14 lots and incorporate some open space—will destroy the farm’s ecosystem, which she says is home to deer, turkeys and other animals. Ms. Graham, who now lives in a house that borders the farm, also noted that around the property lies the lady slipper flower—a plant in the orchid family that is often found in wetlands that resembles a woman’s slipper.

Some species of the lady slipper, such as the ram’s head lady slipper and the small yellow lady slipper, have rare plant status, a designation by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. It was not clear what specific species of lady slipper is on the property.

David Gilmartin Jr., a partner with the law firm Farrell Fritz in Water Mill, who is representing Kamicutico, said during the meeting that three plans and yield maps were submitted as part of the pre-application process. The maps vary in the number of lots and the percentage of open space.

Mr. Gilmartin noted that in one of the plans the open space on the property connects with a 62-acre Suffolk County preserve to the west.

Other neighbors of the Long Spring Farms property shared Ms. Graham’s concerns about the environment.

Standing at the lectern in Town Hall, Barbara Calabro of North Sea Mecox Road said the developer has a “total disregard for the ecology.”

She specifically pointed to the wetlands, noting that almost exactly one year ago the developer was smacked with a stop-work order from the town for filling in wetlands, dredging in wetlands and modifying the site of wetlands. At the time, the developer was filling in a pond without the proper permits. Neighbor Carol Cahill told The Press last year that crews continued the work one day after the stop-work order was issued.

Carol Morse of North Main Street—about a mile south of the farm—agreed with Ms. Calabro.

“In good faith, if you have a stop-work order, you should stop work,” Ms. Morse said.

She stressed that she doesn’t have a problem with the subdivision. She is taking issue with the developer’s apparent lack of following directions.

Bruce Anderson, the president of Suffolk Environmental Consulting Inc., a Bridgehampton-based environmental services firm, which was hired by the developer, said there are no current violations on the property.

Planning Board Chairman Dennis Finnerty said during the meeting that the wetlands and other ecological issues brought up will be part of the review. The public hearing was left open for a 30-day written comment period.

Ms. Graham said it’s her hope that the developer and the Planning Board recognize the ecological and historic significance of the property when moving forward with the pre-application.

The worst thing that can happen, according to Ms. Graham, is for the wetlands—on what was once her family’s property—to be destroyed.

“What is happening is heartbreaking to me,” she said.