State Supreme Court Justice Denies Injunction That Halted Construction On Meadow Lane In Southampton

A State Supreme Court justice has denied an injunction filed by Southampton Village residents contesting the height of an approved home to be built at 40 Meadow Lane. That means that construction of the house will be allowed to begin immediately.

In the decision, issued on October 29, Justice Joseph A. Santorelli says an article 78 filed by neighbors Thompson and Caroline Dean of 20 Meadow Lane and Linda Hackett of 62 Meadow Lane is being denied because it fails to prove they will be harmed in any way by the construction of the 53-foot-high home on the beach. The justice also maintains that the proposed home is compatible with current village standards incorporating Federal Emergency Management Agency flood regulations into village height restrictions. Justice Santorelli also points out that both the Deans’ and Ms. Hackett’s homes were constructed using the same FEMA elevation starting points, in addition to the village’s 35-foot maximum, that they are contesting.

On Thursday afternoon, Southampton-based attorney John Bennett, who is representing the owners of 40 Meadow Lane, said he was happy to see the law upheld in this case, saying it is obvious that the Village Board of Historic Preservation and Architectural Review and Jon Foster, the building inspector, followed village codes.

“I am glad to see that the judge did see what we have been saying all along, which is that everything my client did was legal,” Mr. Bennett said. “Everything was proper and was within his rights. It is heartening to see that the judge has ruled contrary to two neighbors, and a bunch of drive-by neighbors, that the ARB and the building inspectors did their jobs.”

Anthony Guardino of Farrell Fritz, the Hauppauge-based attorney for the neighbors, did not return calls seeking comment this week.

The application, filed by EAM 40 Meadow Lane LLC, is to build a seven-bedroom, 9.5-bathroom house that would rise to 53 feet above sea level and 49 feet above grade—a full 14 feet above the village’s standards—in part because it will be elevated to meet increased FEMA flood height requirements. The house, which will be surrounded by shrubbery and trees, will have a zinc roof and glass paneling on all four sides.

The home’s design was approved by the ARB on September 22 in a 3-1 vote, with Hamilton Hoge dissenting and Christine Redding absent. In its written decision, the board said although it recognized the concerns of the neighbors, they failed to prove that the house design was not consistent with the historic district.