On Thursday, June 22, the Southampton Fire District presented a plan to the Planning Board for a firehouse to be constructed at 319 Upper Seven Ponds Road in Water Mill. This was the first time the Water Mill Citizens Advisory Committee and most of the residents in the area were made aware of the project.
This property was purchased in 2020 for $1.65 million. The proposal calls for a 4,620-square-foot (footprint), two-story stucco building that will be 35 feet tall in order to accommodate the equipment that will be kept on site. In addition, 40 parking spaces are planned.
Architects, environmental engineers, landscape architects and legal counsel have all been hired. Full-scale renderings have been presented to the Planning Board. In spite of that, most of the residents in the immediate area are unaware of this plan.
Everyone in the community has the utmost respect and support for the fire district/department. We all know how dedicated and committed our volunteer force is. Most of us have family and friends who are involved with the fire department. While all of us hope we never have to call the fire department for assistance, we are confident in the knowledge that if we do, we will be well served.
This is a far reaching and extensive plan that will greatly impact the community. Why was the community not informed? Why were the reasons for needing a full-scale firehouse in Water Mill not discussed and explained? Why was there no community outreach to find a suitable location in a commercially zoned area instead of a rural residential neighborhood?
Why choose a location where one access road to the highway has prohibitive weight restrictions and the other access route has a railroad crossing? Why pick a location that includes an environmentally sensitive wetlands area that we work so hard to protect? Why propose a structure that is so tall that it will most likely need variances from the Zoning Board of Appeals and tower over the surrounding residences, dramatically changing the character of the area?
Water Mill is very special. We have residents who years ago donated the property that houses our Community Club and Community House, where groups such as the Citizens Advisory Committee and the fire district hold their monthly meetings. The community just came together to work with the town on a beautiful park. We also came together to expose plans for a controversial sewage treatment plant.
If the goal of the new firehouse is to better serve the residents of this community then our concerns should be the fire district’s top priority.
Rachel Verno
Chair
Water Mill Citizens Advisory Committee