Southampton Town Postpones Hearing On The Hills

The final public hearing on a proposed luxury golf course development targeting nearly 600 acres in East Quogue, originally scheduled for this week, was postponed until mid-November—after next month’s Southampton Town elections—because the applicant failed to properly notify the community about the meeting.

It was the responsibility of Arizona-based Discovery Land Company, the developers behind the The Hills at Southampton, to post signs and mail notices to neighbors at least 14 days before the hearing, originally scheduled at a special meeting set for this Thursday, October 19, at East Quogue Elementary School. But a letter sent to Town Board members on Monday from the developer’s attorneys revealed that they had failed to properly advertise the hearing on time.

That meant a delay in both the public hearing and a vote on the project’s findings statement. The result: A vote on Discovery’s proposed planned development district will not be held until after Election Day.

Due to the oversight, the Town Board lacks jurisdiction to hold the hearing, according to a letter sent to the town on Monday by Wayne Bruyn, an attorney with O’Shea, Marcincuk & Bruyn LLP in Southampton, the law firm representing Discovery Land Company.

“The applicant apologizes for any inconveniences and respectfully requests that the Town Board reschedule the public hearing on the application at a time and place convenient to the parties,” Mr. Bruyn wrote in the letter. He did not immediately return a call seeking further comment.

The special meeting was ultimately rescheduled on Monday, November 13, at 6 p.m., according to a notice sent out by the town on Tuesday afternoon. During next month’s special meeting, the Town Board is expected to hold a public hearing on the proposed PDD for The Hills and also accept a findings statement for the project, which would signal the end of the review process mandated by the State Environmental Quality Review Act.

The focus of the hearing was to be the town’s now-defunct PDD law as Discovery Land Company, which filed its application prior to the Town Board’s elimination of the law, needs the approval of the zoning change to construct 118 homes and an 18-hole golf course along Spinney Road in East Quogue. Specifically, the developer needs the support of four of five Town Board members to move forward with its development.

Town Councilwoman Julie Lofstad of Hampton Bays broke her silence last month on the application by announcing that she would not support the findings statement, prompting Supervisor Jay Schneiderman to table the resolution. While the findings statement most likely would have earned approval if brought for a vote last month as it requires only the support of three board members, observers immediately began speculating if the announcement by Ms. Lofstad—a Democrat who is up for reelection in November—also signals that she would vote against the PDD itself. Her ballot could very well be the swing vote on the PDD application as Town Councilman John Bouvier also announced that he would not support the findings statement.

When reached on Monday, Ms. Lofstad said she was disappointed to hear that the hearing would be postponed. She also had a message for the developers who some think are purposely delaying the vote in the hope that Ms. Lofstad does not earn reelection next month: “If this project is their deciding factor, I think they should know where I stand.”

She later added: “That was part of the reason why I said something. People deserve to know how you feel—especially when there is an election coming up.”

Mr. Schneiderman said he was disappointed the developer didn’t post notices—the town had provided the company with signs to post on the property at the end of September—as that pushed the final PDD vote until after the November 7 elections.

“They are saying it was just an error, but the effect of this error pushes the public hearing past the election,” said Mr. Schneiderman, who previously stated that he didn’t want the application to be an election issue. “Could that have been their strategy? I don’t think they would have admitted it. But you have a very skilled attorney, Wayne Bruyn—you wouldn’t expect that mistake.”

Robert DeLuca, president of Group for the East End, who echoed Mr. Schneiderman, was more direct when asked about the developer’s motivation.

“It’s pretty clear this is an intentional decision by Discovery Land Company,” Mr. DeLuca said. “This throws the town’s whole agenda off schedule.”

Mark Hissey, vice president of Discovery Land Company, could not be reached for comment.

Others who oppose the project—including Richard Amper, executive director of Long Island Pine Barrens Society—said the developer’s failure to post notice suggests that the PDD does not have enough support on the board.

“If they were going to win, you’d bet they would have showed up,” Mr. Amper said. “They can keep pushing off the inevitable for as long as they want. But the bottom line is that Discovery Land knows it lost this fight.”