Southampton Builder Wins Case Against Village Architectural Review Board

A Southampton builder believes he is one step closer to winning a lawsuit against Southampton Village and its Board of Historic Preservation and Architectural Review, filed after the village would not approve his application to build a house.

Michael White, president and founder of Georgica Builders, said the court has decided that a proposed 25-foot front-yard setback was, in fact, allowed by the village code, and that the ARB did not have the jurisdiction to modify zoning restrictions. “The judge ruled that they don’t have any arbitrary powers of changing things for no reason,” was Mr. White’s interpretation of the ruling, which he said was handed down on April 27.

Filed by Mr. White in November 2015, the lawsuit alleged that the ARB’s decision to deny his plan to construct a 2,979-square-foot, two-story, single-family home at 81 Wooley Street had been “arbitrary, capricious, illegal and contrary to established law.”

Attempts to contact members of the ARB were not immediately successful.

While Mr. White’s claims may point to a victory, village officials maintain that no written decision has been handed down by the court. The next court hearing on the lawsuit is scheduled for July 6, at State Supreme Court in Riverhead.

In the ARB’s original denial, dated August 24, 2015, they said Mr. White’s application was incomplete, but he insisted that he had done everything the board had asked, submitting all the necessary documents and making all of the adjustments that the board requested.

Mr. White said he plans to return to the ARB on Monday, June 6, to present his plans again.

He also said he plans to try to get appointed to a seat on the ARB, and said he thinks he will be a good fit, given the knowledge he has of the rules. “I wasn’t singled out—they do this to everyone,” he said. “I’ve been doing this for 20 years, and every year they try to take more of your rights.”

Of new members of the board, Mr. White said, “They don’t follow the code and they don’t follow the law. When it comes to dimensional regulations, that’s up to the building inspector to determine, not for the ARB. They’re strictly a ‘beauty contest’ board—they have nothing to do with zoning.”

Angry over his battles with the village, last summer, Mr. White painted red, white and blue stars and stripes on the front of the brown house after his application for the new house was scrutinized by both board members and residents. He said he painted it as a demonstration of his belief in a landowner’s right to do whatever he pleases with his property. The paint scheme remains in place.