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Southampton Town plans to buy almost 11 acres in Southampton Village—where a housing development had been slated—for use as a park.
Beach Plum Meadows LLC has accepted an offer of $14 million for property located on Moses Lane in the village, a purchase that will be funded through the town’s Community Preservation Fund.
The village has not yet decided specifically how it will use the land, which is undeveloped. According to Southampton Village Mayor Mark Epley, one option is a community garden, although he said the soil is not ideal, and others are a tennis court or a playground. In any event, he said, the property will be used for active recreation. Once the land is purchased, plans will be drawn up as to what to do with it, the mayor said.
While the town will purchase the land, Southampton Village will cover the cost of any maintenance and construction, according to Southampton Town Supervisor Jay Schneiderman.
A 16-lot subdivision was planned for the Moses Lane property and had already received village approval earlier this year. The application for Beach Plum Meadows was first submitted in December 2013 as a 56-unit senior housing development—but the project required the creation of a planned development district at the site—and the Village Board denied that application, saying the site did not meet criteria for a multifamily residential district.
Then the applicants, Helen and Edward Corrigan, presented a scaled-back application, for the 16-lot subdivision, which went before the Planning Board and was better received by officials.
Mr. Schneiderman said the Corrigans most likely decided to scrap the subdivision and sell the property because their original plan for the senior housing development had been denied. According to Mr. Epley, it has been a long process for the landowners, but ultimately it was agreed that “the better plan for everybody was to preserve the property.”
The idea to use the CPF to purchase the land was first proposed by village officials who wanted to see the land preserved, according to Mr. Schneiderman. Whatever the village decides to do with the property, since the land will be purchased through town funds, it will be open to residents of the entire town, not just residents of the village.
The purchase is not final yet—a public hearing on the proposed acquisition is scheduled for October 13 at 1 p.m., in Southampton Town Hall.
on Sep 14, 2016