Southampton Town Deems The Hills Environmental Impact Study Incomplete For The Second Time

The Southampton Town Board on Tuesday deemed the revised environmental review for a proposed luxury golf course development in East Quogue, called The Hills at Southampton, “incomplete” for the second time.

The initial draft environmental impact study, or DEIS, was first deemed incomplete in February when reports submitted by AKRF Inc. and A. Martin Petrovic—two private firms hired by the town to assist with reviewing the massive document—outlined several omissions that needed to be addressed for the application to move forward.

In order for Arizona-based Discovery Land Company to advance its plans—which call for the construction of 95 single-family homes, 13 clubhouse cabins and 10 clubhouse condominiums, along with an 18-hole golf course, just off Spinney Road—the Town Board must first approve the DEIS. The document is required by state environmental policy and evaluates the potential ramifications that a development could have on the surrounding area.

Once the DEIS is approved, the Town Board could then proceed with approving a planned development district, a zoning mechanism that allows increased density in exchange for perceived community benefits, if it so desires.

According to A. Martin Petrovic’s report on the revised 378-page DEIS, dated May 23, Discovery Land addressed “most of the issues raised in the initial review” the second time around, “but several areas have not [been] addressed and are labeled incomplete.”

The parts of the document that remain incomplete include the expansion of a groundwater monitoring program to include protocol to test the effectiveness of rain gardens on the property, which the developer has not yet done; clarification on the types of pesticides to be applied on the golf course; clarification on whether fertilizer will be used to grow grass on the course; and other matters pertaining to irrigation.

Town Planning and Development Administrator Kyle Collins said last week that Discovery Land substantially addressed many of the issues raised during the first review, but is not quite there yet in terms of providing enough information “to have a productive public comment on the DEIS.”

“It’s did they address the issue adequately in order to get not only public comment, but comment from involved agencies?” Mr. Collins said. “Does it surprise me that they didn’t get everything right the second time? No.”

After reviewing A. Martin Petrovic’s report himself, Southampton Town Supervisor Jay Schneiderman said he does not believe the DEIS is far from being deemed complete.

“I think it shouldn’t take them more than a few weeks to respond to the remaining questions,” Mr. Schneiderman said. “There’s not a lot that’s missing here.”

Mark Hissey, a vice president of Discovery Land, said last week that he would not be surprised if the Town Board opted to deem the revised document incomplete. He added, though, that his firm is willing to do whatever the town requires of it in order to get the DEIS pushed over the finish line.

“This is about the biggest application that [has] come down the road for them, so it can get a bit confusing, since the document is so huge,” Mr. Hissey said. “I completely understand that they have to make sure everything is right.

“I want the review of this to be as thorough as possible—whatever the town wants,” he continued.