Westhampton Beach Village Board Has To Make Call On 52-Unit Condo Application

The Westhampton Beach Village Board is weighing approval of a 52-unit condominium development on Rogers Avenue, though many neighbors are opposed to the plan.

Dubbed the Townes at Ketchaponack, the development would include 44 market-rate units plus eight affordable units — if approved as currently proposed — spread among 13 buildings built on the site of a former asphalt plant. Plans also call for a community center, pool and tennis court, plus a sewage treatment plant.

The Planning Board reviewed the plans for two years and then referred the matter to the Village Board to consider issuing a special exception permit, which is necessary for the project to move forward, and at the discretion of the Village Board.

The project has a total of 104 bedrooms, with an average of two bedrooms per unit. Eight of the condominiums would be three-bedroom units, 36 would be two bedrooms, and eight would be one-bedroom affordable housing units — though members of the Village Board questioned if that would be the best distribution of the bedrooms.

“They wanted us to really look at the density,” Mayor Maria Z. Moore said of the Planning Board. Some questions she identified included: Will it cause an overcrowding of the land? Is it an appropriate use of the land? And will it adversely affect the health, safety and convenience of the village?

One thought she had was to decrease the number of units while keeping the same number of bedrooms in the proposal. “They don’t have a right to have the 52 units,” Moore noted. “We have discretion, but we can’t be arbitrary about it.”

“We can’t just say 52 is too much,” Trustee Brian Tymann agreed.

Board members suggested some of the designated affordable units should be two-bedrooms units rather than single-bedroom units. However, Tymann said one-bedroom units may be better fits and more readily affordable for couples than two-bedroom units.

Moore pointed out that there is no consensus over proposed speed humps for traffic calming. Some neighbors came out to a meeting to oppose them. Tymann said he cares more about safety and reducing the ability to speed.

The Village Board is looking favorably on expanded outdoor dining, a measure that arose due to COVID-related restrictions on indoor dining and quickly became popular with restaurateurs and diners alike. It could become permanent in Westhampton Beach, with restaurants having to apply annually for village approval.

“Short of any issues that might have happened that I’m not aware of, I just don’t see any downside to it,” Tymann said. “It’s helped businesses, it’s helped make Main Street look and feel more vibrant. Everyone that I’ve talked to loves it.”

Restaurants will continue to be required to show proof of insurance to indemnify the village in case of an accident on a village right of way. Permanent barriers or obstructions will be prohibited, but something like a movable privacy screen would be permitted. Anything used for outdoor dining will need to be easily removed so snow removal can proceed in winter.

Other concerns were whether restaurants would put out more tables and chairs than their Suffolk County Department of Health Services certificates allow if they have tables both inside and outside.

“Once we’re sewered, a lot of these restrictions are not going to matter,” remarked Brad Hammond, the building and zoning administrator.

When the village’s sewer project is complete, restaurants will be able to increase their capacity, as far as the Department of Health Services is concerned.

The board will hold public hearings Thursday, May 5, to hear feedback on outdoor table and chair special exception permit applications from Ivy on Main, Dave’s Bun and Burger and Eckert’s Luncheonette. An additional hearing will consider outdoor music at Ivy on Main.