Some Homestead Avenue residents are up in arms over a proposal to subdivide a 2-acre wooded parcel on the residential Quiogue street into four buildable lots—claiming that it would negatively impact the character of the neighborhood.
Westhampton developer Armond Sposato, who purchased the property last year, is seeking to split the lot into four 20,000-square-foot lots—two bordering the street and two flag lots.
His agent, Peter Simmons, made the case before the Southampton Town Planning Board last week that the smaller lots would fit in with character of the neighborhood, which has an average lot size of roughly 25,000-square-feet.
But Eugene Floyd and his wife, Barbara Weber-Floyd, whose home sits adjacent to the lot in question, staunchly disagreed. They said that the plan would require that the trees be cleared from the 2 acres, which would strip them and their neighbors of the privacy and natural view they have enjoyed for years.
“I will be looking out my backyard into four large houses,” Ms. Weber-Floyd told the board.
She and her husband also challenged Mr. Simmons’s claim that the lots would fit with the surrounding area. The four lots across the street are each an acre, while her lot and the lot next to hers are roughly three-quarters of an acre, according to town records.
Last year, Mr. Sposato acquired a demolition permit to tear down the dilapidated home that sat vacant on the property for years, Mr. Simmons said.
The developer then applied and received approval to build a roughly 2,800-square-foot, two-story home with an attached two-car garage on the southeast corner of the lot. Construction on that home is currently under way. He submitted the subdivision application early this year.
Mr. Simmons explained that once the first home sells, the developer will draw up plans to build homes on the remaining three lots, should the town grant the necessary approvals.
In addition to the necessary Planning Board approvals, the developer also needs a variance from the Zoning Board of Appeals in order to build the 15-foot flag lot driveway. The code requires that it be 20 feet wide.
While addressing the board, Mr. Simmons pointed out that there are roughly a dozen flag lots, most smaller than a half-acre, and added that the Planning Board recently approved the subdivision of a property across the street from Mr. Sposato’s land.
“What he’s doing is certainly in the character of the neighborhood, and he’s going to add four nice new houses there,” Mr. Simmons said, of his client.
Planning Board members pointed out that the intent of the Town Code is to require at least 30,000 square feet per flag lot in the R-20 zoning district, where Mr. Sposato’s property lies. However, the minimum square footage that the board could impose is 20,000.
Ms. Weber-Floyd said she was comforted slightly when the board members said they could require that the developer install a buffer between his properties and neighboring lots. But she made it clear that she and her husband weren’t alone in their opposition to the plan.
On Tuesday, she said they had circulated a petition among neighbors, which she had planned to submit to the board.
“Every single homeowner on Homestead Avenue is upset about this subdivision,” she said. “Every single one.”
on Apr 15, 2014