Southampton Village Board Changes Code To Allow For Food Pantries

The Southampton Village Board unanimously approved a resolution on Tuesday night that will ultimately allow a special exception use giving Heart of the Hamptons permission to operate a stand-alone food pantry within the village.

It was a victory for the longtime organization. Heart of the Hamptons was officially established as a nonprofit organization in 2003, but has been providing assistance to families in need in Southampton for more than 40 years, offering food and other support.

For the past two years, the organization has had its eye on the former village ambulance barn at 44 Meetinghouse Lane. The board has been supportive of the organization’s desire to move into that space and also has a long-term lease with the organization to operate out of the barn, an arrangement that Mayor Jesse Warren pointed out was made by the prior administration but which he supports.

After discovering that the village code did not contain a designation for a stand-alone food pantry in residential zones, the board drafted a local law that would allow for it.

But several neighbors have opposed the plan, saying they don’t object to a food pantry in the village, but do not want it operating in that neighborhood, a residential area.

After the board adopted the local law for the first time, back in September 2021, neighbors filed a lawsuit claiming that the board members had not done their due diligence in commissioning an environmental impact study and planning analysis prior to adopting the law, as required under the State Environmental Quality Review Act.

Rather than get tied up in a court battle that could have dragged on for a long period of time over what members saw as a technicality, the board was advised to rescind the law, conduct the study, and try again — which they did.

John Ellsworth of Nelson, Pope and Voorhis, the consultants that conducted the study, was at the meeting Tuesday night to present the findings. He said amending the code to allow the pantry to operate in the village “would not entail significant environmental impacts,” and went so far as to suggest that a negative declaration be adopted, meaning a more comprehensive environmental study would not be required.

Southampton Village Attorney Ken Gray also pointed out that the board had sent the local law to the Suffolk County Planning Commission, and that it sent a letter back saying it was “not interested” in taking up the issue, leaving it up to the local determination.

The study did list several other locations within the village that would be suitable for use as a center of operations for the food pantry, including the organization’s desired location of the ambulance barn, as well as the Southampton Elementary School, the First Presbyterian Church, Southampton Town Hall, the parking lot at the Southampton train station, and an open space parcel at the northeast corner of Wickapogue and Old Town roads.

There was, as expected, robust participation during the public comment portion of the hearing, with several people coming out to express either opposition or support of the law and the organization’s plan to operate in the village, specifically at the old ambulance barn.

Toward the end of the meeting, Village Board member Joe McLoughlin made a point of asking Gray to clarify that, while much of the commentary was focused on the relative merits or drawbacks of the old ambulance barn as the location, the passage of the law did not necessarily pertain to that exact issue.

“This public discussion has more to do with the code than the location,” he said. “I do believe this board should encourage and expand the scope to allow these venues in addition to the current location to make sure we’re not singling out any one location.”

Board member Roy Stevenson weighed in on that issue as well, pointing out that the law does not require Heart of the Hamptons to occupy that space. “We’re not approving the application for Meetinghouse Lane,” he said. “We’re just setting up the mechanism that will allow an application to be brought.”

Despite that explanation, several members of the public accused the board of favoring the ambulance barn location.

Former Village Board Kimberly Allen accused the board of being “choppy and sketchy” in terms of doing its due diligence in amending the code, and described the process as a “charade.” She added that she submitted Freedom of Information Law requests to analyze all the documentation related to the process, but because she was initially denied and then had to submit an appeal, she did not have those documents in her hands until 5:30 p.m. on Monday night, just 24 hours before the meeting.

Jim McFarlane, a former Village Board member who has been one of the most vocal opponents, said the site was “not even minimally acceptable” for a food pantry, and said the update to the code was a “sham law.” He also derided Nelson, Pope and Voorhis during his impassioned diatribe.

“If I was looking for a planning company to obfuscate the real elements with verbiage, Nelson, Pope and Voorhis comes at the top of the ladder,” he said. “Thanks, you bleep artists.”

While there was plenty of opposition expressed, there was also an outpouring of support at the hearing.

Mike Lieberman is the co-chair of the Village Planning Commission but specified that he was commenting at the meeting not in that capacity but as someone who lives close to the former ambulance barn. He also is the chief of the village’s volunteer ocean rescue squad. He expressed his support for allowing Heart of the Hamptons to operate out of the former ambulance barn, and added that he hoped there would be a way in the future for the squad to share space with the organization there.

Father Patrick Edwards of St. John’s Episcopal Church, who is on the board of trustees of Heart of the Hamptons, and the Reverend Sarah Bigwood of the First Presbyterian Church also expressed their support. Bigwood said that “our village zoning code should reflect our values and commitment to compassion and care, and a food pantry is part of that safety net.”

Molly Bishop, the executive director of Heart of the Hamptons, spoke about what the organization has done over the years for residents in the village and greater Southampton Town, pointing out the they operate the only food pantry within the larger Southampton community, providing nearly $1 million in food support annually.

In response to a question about why the organization was being “kicked out” of the church, Bishop clarified that Basilica of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary Roman Catholic Church, where the pantry has operated for several years, has asked the organization to find a new home but has told her the pantry can stay as long as it needs to. The church needs the space to conduct its own charitable operations and services that have expanded over the years.

“I’m truly disheartened by the fear mongering of people trying to block this,” she said.

Sean Hattrick, who is also on the board of trustees of Heart of the Hamptons, echoed those sentiments, saying that the organization’s mission is to be a good neighbor, something it has demonstrated in the years it has operated out of Sacred Hearts.

At the conclusion of the meeting, the board addressed some of the concerns and complaints brought by opponents. Deputy Mayor Gina Arresta pointed out that the facility at 44 Meetinghouse Lane was built “many years ago” with a certain vision in mind. “The purpose was to serve the community, and that building has always done that,” she said.

Warren pushed back against claims that the board did not conduct the process that led to the new law properly. “Everything was conducted in accordance with state law,” he said. “No one was denied anything. It was done appropriately.”

Attorney Linda Riley pointed out that the organization would still need to go before the Planning Board before getting site plan approval to move into 44 Meetinghouse Lane, adding that any plans to do exterior changes to the building would likely also require Heart of the Hamptons to go before the village Architectural Review Board, as well.

Warren thanked her for pointing that out, adding that opposing neighbors could take their concerns to those boards at that time.

“It’s been a very long process, and we’re happy to get behind this,” Warren said in conclusion. “It’s the job of the Board of Trustees to make decisions on what is best for the village.”

Attorney Anton Borovina, who has been representing the neighbors opposed to the plan, said they intended, once again, to file suit against the village.