At the March 12th meeting of the village trustees, the Southampton Association sponsored a presentation by planner Lisa Liquori regarding parking regulations in residential areas. The building of larger homes is driving up the need for increased residential parking. Many homes on ½ acre and smaller lots now contain 6 to 8 bedrooms, requiring 5 to 7 parking spaces according to our code. As the properties are often developed with detached garages, pools and pool houses, on-site parking is ignored. This is leading to both safety and aesthetic issues, as multiple cars permanently park on the road. Lisa made several recommendations, but noted that the code has been both inconsistently applied and manipulated to enable overdevelopment, particularly by spec builders. The mayor and the trustees agreed to have the issue studied by the Planning Commission.
The FEMA Flood zone building moratorium was discussed and eventually extended for 4 months as the Planning Commission continued to debate specific changes to the code. We are disappointed that applicants were universally granted exemptions to the moratorium, typically without consideration to the privacy of neighbors and excessive height which the moratorium was meant to prevent. The village is continuing to move forward with the creation of a sewage district, which will likely be a 5 year project. The trustees also approved the Village budget and salaries for members of the various boards ($6K for the chair, $4K for members.)
At both the village and town board meetings, there was much discussion of the proposed Tuckahoe shopping center. It was disclosed that there was no firm agreement that it would be a King Kullen, which makes the traffic and safety study potentially irrelevant. In addition to the safety concerns, we are most troubled by the precedent of granting a zoning variance on County Road 39. Within a short time period, many property owners could seek the same relief, and the highway would be developed into a long stretch of big box retailers. This ignores every independent study completed by the town over the past 40 years, all of which have recommended maintaining the road as a pass-through to the various east-end villages. We strongly oppose the project at this location, near the sites of numerous tragic accidents.
Subsequent to month end, the Association submitted a 6 point zoning plan (attached) to the Trustees to remedy the overbuilding and on-street parking affecting many neighborhoods. We urge all members and residents to attend the upcoming trustees meetings on June 11th at 6 p.m. and June 23rd at 5 p.m. to express your support. You can e-mail the trustees at mayorsoffice@southamptonvillage.org. Also, village elections will take place on Friday, June 19th, with Mayor Epley, Trustee McGann and Trustee Hattrrick all running unopposed. Be sure to vote!
Finally, please mark your calendar for our Saturday, June 27th cocktail reception. Invitations will be going out soon. Last year, Bruce and Maria Bockmann hosted a beautiful evening at Four Fountains. This year will be just as special as we gather at Les Poiriers, the home of Bill and Anna Mann. Best regards for a happy start to summer.
May 29, 2015
