Letters

As a full-time Sag Harbor resident and parent of children in Sag Harbor Elementary School, I am strongly in favor of the Marsden purchase with Community Preservation Fund revenue.

This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to preserve land within the village, directly adjacent to the school, for safe school and community use. The land purchase will prevent the development of five luxury weekend homes with swimming pools, septic systems, and pesticide-treated, heavily irrigated lawns.

The school has accommodated all the initial issues that opponents were so vehemently against. They have committed to natural turf, an innovative irrigation system using captured rainwater, compliance with dark sky regulations, and significant screening with indigenous plantings. Even with these concessions, the neighbors do not wish to have a field next to their properties, which they purchased next to a school.

How do we get beyond this impasse? Our elected officials need to step up and work on an equitable solution. It is my understanding that a certain Town Council member worked tirelessly with neighbors who opposed the John Steinbeck home purchase. He committed no less than five weekend meetings, in their homes, hashing out details and creating compromise. The purchase was then fast-tracked through a Town Council vote.

Why has that same passion and courtesy not been given to advocates of the Marsden purchase? The Marsden purchase may not be as glamorous or have the support of the well-heeled elite, but this use of CPF funds will be more impactful for our local community for generations to come.

The school has shown its commitment to being a good neighbor. My hope is that with the Town Council’s help, the neighbors will be as committed to being good neighbors to the school, the children and the Sag Harbor community.

Erik Batt

Sag Harbor