Southampton Village Holds First Public Hearings On Proposed House Height Limits, Off-Street Parking Regulations

A first round of public hearings was last week on two proposed local laws, both of which received support and opposition from those who commented to the Southampton Village Board.

One law would limit the height of new homes based on lot size, and the other would set new requirements for off-street parking. Both are part of an effort to curb the number of large homes, with as many as nine bedrooms, being built on smaller properties, overburdening septic systems, crowding parking on residential streets, and creating other problems.

The legislation on height limits for homes would impose new height restrictions: for lots of less than 20,000 square feet, or about a half acre, structures could be no more than 30 feet tall; for lots between about a half acre and 1 acre, houses could not be taller than 33 feet; and for lots of 1 acre or more, the maximum height would be 35 feet, which is the current overall maximum height for homes in the village.

The maximum height for flat-roofed houses would be 7 feet less than for pitched-roofed homes, and again would be based on lot size.

The off-street parking regulations would change what kinds of rooms are acceptable as bedrooms and require a minimum off-street parking area for each home, including front-yard parking.

While many residents supported the proposals at the Village Board’s meeting last Thursday, July 9, builders and a member of the Village Zoning Board of Appeals argued that the height restrictions would be a violation of a property owner’s right to do whatever he or she pleases on a property.

“This is not a tweak—this is draconian,” said a fuming Gerry Ferrara, a member of the ZBA, as he pounded the speaker podium. “All it’s going to do is make the people that already have, richer, and those who don’t have, poorer.

“I’m very passionate about property rights,” he added. “They’re God-given. I wish I had more support in this audience.”

Village Board member Nancy McGann was quick to defend herself and the rest of the board.

“I believe in property rights—I certainly believe in property rights,” she countered. “It’s all about balance, Gerry.”

Michael White of Georgica Builders criticized the village for taking recommendations from the Southampton Association, a local organization, when drafting the proposed laws. He agreed with Mr. Ferrara that no one—including local governments and civic organizations—should tell a person what to do with their property.

“It’s a little disgusting that somebody can sit here and tell me what I’m going to build in my house,” said Mr. White, who lives on Pulaski Street. “Your property rights should stop at your property line. If they’re going to make a law like that, I’ll make a two-level basement.”

Others, however, said the village was overdue for such regulations.

Resident Geoffrey Hull, speaking in favor of both laws, said he believed they would complement one another, which was the intention of the Village Board in introducing them at the same time.

“The real issue is, the houses are too big. If the houses weren’t too big, there wouldn’t be a parking problem. So why don’t we limit the size of the houses?” asked Mr. Hull, who lives on Leland Lane. “If you bring down the height, and you bring down the massing, and you bring down the size, the parking will be okay.”

Edward Simioni, a member of the Village Planning Commission—saying he was speaking as a resident of White Street and not on behalf of the commission—offered a suggested that was met with much support from the audience: “Maybe, by keeping it simple, we can propose something with parking spaces related to the height of a house instead.”

Village officials kept both public hearings open, although Mayor Epley said he would like to have the laws approved by the end of the summer.

Also on Tuesday night, officials presented the first law aimed at amending the village zoning code to restrict the heights of elevated homes in Federal Emergency Management Agency flood zones.

The changes would apply to homes required to be elevated because they are in flood zones. They are based on the angles in which a person standing at the edge of the property would be able to see the top of the proposed house. Under the new code, homes would not be able to exceed a 33-degree angle from the base flood elevation line, as determined by FEMA.

A public hearing on that proposed law will take place Thursday, August 13, at 6 p.m. at Village Hall.

Village Attorney Richard DePetris said that it was important for the village to approve the law next month, as a moratorium on new home construction that was imposed while the code changes were being considered expires August 15.

“We need to move forward with something, so, hopefully, we can have something in place by our August 13 meeting,” Mr. DePetris said.