At the May and June Board of Trustees meetings, the main topics of discussion were the Southampton Center for the Arts, including a pavilion to be sited at 27 Job’s Lane, the public hearing on the new zoning under the Village Center Master Plan, and recommendations from the US Department of Agriculture regarding the deer problem in the Village and surrounding area.
As the renovation of the 25 Job’s Lane site will take a minimum of two years, a proposal from the Rockwell Group was considered and approved which will create a tented 80 foot diameter performance facility on the northwest corner of the site. The design will allow a stage for performances, seating for over 250, plus an ice rink during the wint3er. The budget is anticipated to be $650,000 to $975,000, all to come from private funds. It is hoped that this temporary facility will help define the future use of the 25 Job’s Lane site, which will be the home of the Southampton Center for the Arts.
The Southampton Center for the Arts Founders Committee announced in early July the selection of an architectural firm (Machado & Silvetti) to renovate/redesign the existing site. Several presentations were scheduled by the Founders Committee for mid-July. It is important to note that it has been indicated that as part of this redevelopment the 25 Job’s Lane site will be shifting from primarily a museum use to a performance use.
Discussion continued regarding the zoning changes under the Village Center Master Plan. The
Association has worked closely with the Planning Commission on refining the zoning code. To ensure the goal of retaining the small town feel of the Village, we requested several changes to the recommendations: retain smaller building sizes (with an exception for a grocery store); keep the maximum building height at 35 feet/ 2 ½ stories; regulated the size of hotel/residential uses to keep them in appropriate scale; closely regulate materials being used on new buildings and prohibit nightclubs and swimming pools in the business district. We are hopeful that these points
will be added.
Lastly, Martin Lowney from the Wildlife Service spoke on controlling the deer population. A deer will typically spend its entire life within 1 square mile. The Service recommends no more than 10 deer per square mile. The current estimate for the Village is 40. The best solution is a controlled hunting
program on larger tracks or passage ways which the deer are known to frequent. The Village will review the information.
