Southampton Village Residents Oppose Relief From New Building Moratorium

Southampton Village residents had the opportunity to weigh in on two proposed homes for Gin Lane and Murray Place, for which each applicant is seeking an exemption from the village’s new moratorium on homes taller than 35 feet—and residents were not happy about them.

While the new house at 450 Gin Lane, in the historic district, would be 8,543 square feet with a gable roof 54 feet above sea level, the new house at 320 Murray Place—not in the historic district—would be 16,829 square feet, with a flat roof 44 feet above sea level. The moratorium, approved on October 9 by village officials, puts a temporary stop to any building permits being issued for houses more than 35 feet high, even if they have already been reviewed by a planning or architectural board. Intended to allow officials time to evaluate height restrictions in light of Federal Emergency Management Agency regulations that often require homes to be built above grade to avoid flooding, the moratorium could last up to six months.

Currently, the village has a 35-foot maximum on height for new construction, but several recent applications have sought to exceed that limit, based on the fact that FEMA requires new construction in a flood plain to be elevated to mitigate flooding. As a result, some proposed homes would be taller than the village limit when measured from ground level.

With the moratorium in effect, review boards are not allowed to approve new building or alteration applications for homes that would be higher than 35 feet with an altered flood line, or 27 feet for a flat-pitched house. The building inspector is not authorized to grant any further building permits for such homes.

Residents who spoke at the Village Board meeting last week stressed to officials that because it is only one month into the moratorium, the applications for both 450 Gin Lane and 320 Murray Place should be denied so officials can do just what the moratorium called for—take some time to consider the FEMA regulations when it comes to applications for houses.

“Stick tight to your moratorium, because it was put in place to take time to make proper adjustments,” Southampton resident Susan Stevenson said.

Lisa Sullivan, who spoke on behalf of her father, John, who lives next to the proposed Murray Place house, said that not only would the flat-roofed, contemporary design of the house be out of character for the neighborhood, it would tower over others.

“People used to think my father’s house was very large,” Ms. Sullivan said. “This house is going to have a very large impact.”

But John Bennett, the Southampton attorney representing both Gin Lane applicant Bruce Grossman and Murray Place applicant Mitchell Jacobson, said each of his clients has received support from neighbors, contrary to what Ms. Stevenson and Ms. Sullivan said. He also said that if each applicant did not receive an exemption, they would be out hundreds of thousands of dollars—even millions—from purchasing their properties and paying to perfect their designs.

According to Mr. Bennett, in addition to purchasing the Murray Place property for $26 million, Mr. Mitchell has invested more than $400,000 in changing various aspects of his proposed home, and adding landscaping, to comply with requests made by the Village Board of Historic Preservation and Architectural Review. Mr. Grossman also spent more than $400,000 in design fees in addition to purchasing the Gin Lane property for $18 million.

“I think you have in front of you probably a poster child for an exemption. It’s hard to find a more deserving application,” Mr. Bennett said of the Murray Place application. “I really don’t know what else we can ask the applicant to do.”

The Village Board decided to keep the public hearing open for the Gin Lane application, as the board had received new documents to review, and closed the hearing on the Murray Place application. Southampton Village Mayor Mark Epley told Mr. Bennett and Mr. Mitchell that a decision might be made at the next meeting, set to take place Tuesday, November 25.

“The next meeting, be prepared to come back again,” Mr. Epley said.

In the meantime, the village did grant its first exemption to the moratorium for a house at 22 Gin Lane, which would stand just 2 feet above the 35-foot limit. There was no opposition from residents.