Westhampton Beach Planning Board To Require Detailed Impact Study For Proposed Housing Development

The Westhampton Beach Village Planning Board on Thursday, January 9, voted to issue a positive declaration for the development of a housing complex on Rogers Avenue, a decision that will mean a more intense review of the project.

The State Environmental Quality Review Act requires all local government entities to submit an environmental impact assessment before beginning construction on a new project. The governing body must identify and mitigate the significant environmental impacts of the activity it is proposing or permitting.

The proposed development, which would be built on the north side of Rogers Avenue, would consist of 52 units in 13 buildings, with a private community center, pool and tennis court, as well as an on-site sewage treatment plant.

“There has been a lot of community concern, and I understand that the Planning Board has determined that a more in-depth review is required — and I think that’s appropriate in terms of the concerns expressed by the residents in the area,” said Mayor Maria Moore.

Residents have expressed concern about the potential for intensified traffic on Rogers Avenue, which is relatively quiet right now.

“The village did propose the property [for a public purchase, using the Community Preservation Fund] a few years ago, and they declined — they did not think it was an environmentally sensitive area to preserve,” the mayor noted.

The Planning Board has identified two potentially large impacts on the village — in terms of traffic and community character. In determining that more information would need to be collected before moving forward in the application process, the board mentioned the need for a traffic study in particular.

Village Planning Board Chairman David Reilly said the applicant, Rogers Associates LLC, will have to prepare a scoping document, defining what will have to be included in the environmental impact statement, as a next step. After the statement is deemed adequate and a public hearing is held, a final environmental impact statement that includes responses to all public comments obtained during the public hearing will be submitted.

Mr. Reilly reassured people in the audience that the project would be subject to a great deal of further review.

After the discussion of the Rogers Avenue development, the conversation turned to a hotel proposed for the southwest corner of Main Street and Mitchell Road, where a dilapidated building that used to house a bank has long sat vacant. The applicant, Westhampton Inn LLC., is proposing a two-story, 10-room hotel with a covered front entry and rear porte-cochere on the nearly 1-acre parcel.

“A hotel is very much needed, and it’ll be a terrific anchor for Main Street, so we’re looking forward to it — we’re glad to receive the plans,” said Mayor Moore.