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Jane Lauder proposes to subdivide her flag lot in Wainscott to allow five homes fronting the beach. The proposed three lots are shown with a broken white line, while the overall lot is outlined in red in this preliminary map, which will be amended to address concerns that lot lines would be too close to the dunes. GOOGLE MAPS
Jane Lauder, daughter of businessman and philanthropist Ronald Lauder, is looking to subdivide her 36-acre Wainscott property to build three oceanfront estates.
Located on Town Line Road, the property is a flag lot, and the proposed subdivision calls for 28 acres to be preserved as farmland. The three remaining, clustered lots would range from 3.25 to 4 acres apiece. One lot already has a main house and a second house connected with an underground wine cellar. A second lot is likely to have a main house and a guest house, and the third lot will have only one house on it, according to East Hampton Town Senior Planner JoAnne Pahwul.
Two separate residences are generally not allowed on one lot in East Hampton, but because Ms. Lauder is proposing a density lower than the six lots a regular subdivision would allow, she can effectively transfer extra units.
The subdivision application was filed around 2013. The East Hampton Town Planning Board held a public hearing in mid-November at which no one from the public spoke, but two letters of opposition had been submitted earlier. One was from the Town Trustees, who asked that the building areas be pushed back from the bluff line. The proposed subdivision “is not conducive to long-term stabilization of the dunes and likely to lead to the property owner requesting a rock revetment in the future,” the Trustees said.
The second letter was submitted by Yves Andre Istel and Kathleen Begala, who reside at the southern end of Town Line and immediately to the west of Ms. Lauder’s property. They asked the Town Board and the Department of Land Management to consider the parcel for acquisition. Should that fail to happen, they asked for more buffering at the border of their property.
Following the hearing, the Planning Board agreed to send a letter of recommendation to the Town Board on potentially acquiring two of the proposed building lots for preservation. Board members also asked Ms. Lauder to revise the subdivision’s map to address the Trustees’ concerns; however, they said that buffering on the westerly lot was not required.
Ms. Lauder also needs to submit a statement that notifies farmers within 500 feet of the property about the proposed subdivision.
Carey London on Jan 11, 2016