Hampton Bays Neighbors Oppose Subdividing Residential Lot

Hampton Bays residents asked the Southampton Town Planning Board to closely review an application to construct a second home on the corner of Squiretown Road and Peninsula Drive in Hampton Bays, insisting that the home that already exists is overcrowded and violates multiple sections of the town code.

During a public hearing last Thursday, November 13, Jim Delano told the Planning Board that he has complained about the existing home on the lot to town code enforcement for years, but the problems have never been addressed. If the lot is subdivided and a second home is built, as the pre-application proposes, Mr. Delano said, he does not believe the owner of the property, 288 Properties LLC, will follow the code.

“There’s an endless parade of vehicles,” Mr. Delano said. “If they were going to bulldoze the residence and put one house on the property, I’d be all for it. But it seems like they just want to put in another rental unit. We don’t need that.”

The pre-application calls for subdividing the 1-acre lot into two parcels that would measure about 20,000 and 23,000 square feet. The new home would be built on the larger parcel. The zoning in the neighborhood generally requires half-acre lots.

Residents who spoke were under the impression that the existing home was a two-family dwelling, but, according to town records, it is zoned as a single-family residence.

“I was told that it was a two-family home,” Mr. Delano said. “Had I known, we would’ve had code enforcement there every day for the past 10 years.”

A representative from code enforcement did not return a call seeking further information about the property.

“I am surprised to hear that it is [zoned] a single-family house,” Lorraine Esposito, a neighbor, said during the hearing. “I was under the impression that many families lived there. I’m very opposed to having another house built there.”

Planning Board chairman Dennis Finnerty said planning staff will research the current zoning and the schematics of the existing home and share their findings in the pre-application report, which he noted will take about a month to compile. In the meantime, residents have until November 23 to submit written comments about the plan.

A plan to construct a 10,953-square-foot building in East Quogue that would be used for medical offices and studio apartments was presented to the Planning Board at its afternoon session November 13 for the first time since 2006.

The plan to build on what is now vacant land at 423 Montauk Highway has been on hold for almost a decade for unknown reasons. However, the applicant, Hampton Valley Associates, a Stamford, Connecticut-based firm, is submitting the same application, which called for 7,110 square feet of medical office space, five studio apartments and 57 parking spaces on the 1.3-acre lot.

The five studio apartments on the second floor of the building would be 599 square feet each and would be dedicated to affordable housing, according to town planner Clare Vail.

“The community and attitude has changed a lot in the last half-decade,” Philip Keith, a member of the Planning Board, said during the afternoon discussion.

The board requested a fresh site plan application and noted that it wished to schedule another public hearing on the proposed project, but has not yet set a date.