The Southampton Village Planning Board on June 17 denied a request by Shippy’s owner John Betts to waive a public hearing on site plan approval related to renovations and expansions to the first and second floor of the restaurant on the south end of Windmill Lane.
Betts and architect Lisa Zaloga had made their case for waiving the public hearing at the June 3 meeting, saying that they had placed ads in The Southampton Press for several weeks alerting the public to the proposed project. The ads included a short description of the proposed changes and highlighted blueprint drawings showing where those changes would take place, including a QR code that directs to a Google form seeking guidance and suggestions.
The form stated those suggestions would be shared with the Southampton Village Planning Board, Zoning Board of Appeals and Architectural Review Board. It also offered free breakfast or lunch for two for “10 lucky signers” of the form.
The site plan, which already has been approved by the ZBA and ARB, was submitted to the Planning Board in May, and Zaloga and Betts said they were asking for the board to waive the mandatory public hearing because they were eager to finish the expansion work before the busiest part of the summer season.
Planning Board Chairman Mark London explained why the board chose to deny the request.
“I did some homework on this, and it’s very unusual to waive a public hearing,” he said at the June 17 meeting, adding that the only time it’s typically done is when it involves “internal village matters.”
“So I don’t think it’s advisable to waive the public hearing for this,” he said, “even though everyone knows what’s going on there.”
He also said the board did not want to create a precedent of waiving a public hearing for similar applications.
London said the board would schedule the hearing for July 15, and he understood the urgency for the business during the busy summer season. “We want to be as helpful as we can, but still adhere to the process,” he said.
Zaloga, who was at the meeting, accepted the decision but said, “John will be disappointed,” after it was handed down.
Cailin Riley on Jun 26, 2024