Clear Sailing Before Southampton Town Planning Board for Hayground School Classroom Building

It was clear sailing for the Hayground School’s new arts and science classroom building, which was the subject of a public hearing before the Southampton Town Planning Board on Thursday, September 12.

The new 5,980-square-foot, two-story building, with a first floor partially below grade, has been a work in progress. Engineer Joe Lombardo of the Raynor Group said the school had received approval for a similar building back in 2018 but had not completed the work.

The building will include a rooftop garden and solar panels as well as a subterranean library and a below-grade amphitheater on the south side of the building.

Besides solar panels, the building will have a modern sanitary system instead of a conventional septic system, a geo-thermal heating system and chargers for electric vehicles.

Board members praised the building for its green qualities, although the board’s vice chairman, Dennis Finnerty, said it was difficult for him to “wrap my head around” the notion of a library being constructed in what he described as “a bunker.”

But the architect for the project, David Berridge, said having the library underground would allow for more display space, because there would be no need for windows. The space would be energy-efficient as well, he said.

The only people who spoke at the hearing were neighbors Robert Novak and Alexis Lasser, who live across Butter Lane from the Hayground campus. They had nothing but good things to say about the school, but they said they were concerned about parking along Butter Lane due to a number of new uses cropping up over the years, including gyms that attract large weekend crowds.

“When we leave our house on Saturday, we are stuck in traffic,” Novak said of the difficulty in making it south to the Long Island Rail Road underpass because there are so many cars parked along the road.

Board member Tom Neely urged the couple, as well as the school, to discuss possible parking fixes with the town engineer, Tom Houghton.

The board closed the hearing and approved the school’s site-plan application.

Bridgehampton Horse Farm

A controversial proposal to transform what is currently an open, 30-acre field at the corner of Lumber Lane and Scuttle Hole Road in Bridgehampton into a horse farm was adjourned until September 26 to allow planners to digest a letter filed by Wayne Bruyn, the attorney for the farm, addressing a laundry list of concerns raised by neighbors and other Bridgehampton residents.

The farm, which is listed under the application North Edge Stables II, is being proposed by Gabi Morris, the director of residential development for Edgewood Properties Inc., started by her father, Jack Morris, a billionaire investor.

The comments being reviewed will be incorporated into a pre-submission conference report that will outline the board’s concerns about the project before a formal site-plan application can be filed.