Questions For Sag Harbor Village Board On Development Proposals At Tuesday's Meeting

The recent proposal by Adam Potter to create a major affordable housing and commercial development in the heart of the village was not on Tuesday’s Sag Harbor Village Board agenda.

But that didn’t stop dozens of people from attending to voice trepidation about the impacts major developments, including the expected plans for a new Bay Street Theater and rumors of a parking garage on the gas ball lot, could have on the village.

Kathryn Levy, who joined three others last week in writing an open letter calling for a transparent and comprehensive review of the proposals, said an open forum was needed to allow residents to voice their concerns.

Levy said in the 30 years she had lived in the village, she had never seen the level of “bitterness and division I’ve seen in the last year and a half since the Bay Street proposal was put forth.”

“I think this meeting today makes it clear that we need a large public forum with more than three minutes each to speak about these proposals, she added, as she was interrupted by applause.

The crowd at Tuesday’s meeting was so large that many attendees were forced to sit on the floor.

Levy also called on the board to post on social media when major applications are filed and allow interested parties to review them without filling out Freedom of Information Law requests “so we can have a transparent, honest, trusting debate about it.”

Although Mayor Jim Larocca told the crowd that the board could not entertain questions about Potter’s proposal, which has been filed under the name of one of his partners, Conifer Realty LLC, that didn’t stop Sarah Kautz of Preservation Long Island, who pointedly asked if the village would be “willing to sacrifice designated landmark properties in the historic district” to make way for affordable housing.

She was apparently referring to the possibility that three buildings listed as “contributing” to the historic district would be razed if Potter’s plan, in its current form, were approved.

“You are asking questions that are completely appropriate for the board when this application is taken up,” replied Larocca, who pointed out that the Conifer Realty plan had not yet been formally accepted for review. “What you cannot do is jump to a conclusion that any of these possibilities is sure to happen.”

Another speaker, who did not identify himself, had questions about the lottery process and wanted to know if residents who built affordable housing could choose their own tenants. Village Attorney Elizabeth Vail said it was premature to discuss the issue because the village had yet to set up the necessary agreements with East Hampton and Southampton towns to oversee the housing program.

Larocca, in turn, urged people to trust the process. “What we have set up after a year of very difficult work is a platform for considering every one of these matters in trying to bring about affordable housing,” he said.

Although most raised concerns about the developments being proposed for Sag Harbor itself, Bryony Freij of East End YIMBY urged residents to support the Community Housing Fund legislation that will be on the ballot in both East Hampton and Southampton towns this year. The measure would collect a half-percent tax on most real estate sales and earmark the revenue for various housing programs.