Government

There will be more opportunities for East Hampton Town residents to transform their food scraps into healthy soil this year, thanks to East Hampton Compost. The loose collaboration between ReWild Long Island and the town is in its second year.

The East Hampton Town Board voted last Thursday to approve the purchase of a .46-acre property at 6 Oyster Shores Road near Three Mile Harbor in East Hampton using $1.4 million from the community preservation fund.

The town-owned Montauk Skatepark was recognized last month with a platinum Engineering Excellence Award from the American Council of Engineering Companies of New York.

The maximum allowable size of a single-family residence in East Hampton Town should be sliced in half, from 20,000 square feet to 10,000, a working group looking at sweeping zoning code amendments told the town board. Another key proposal, which proved controversial, was to include finished basements and attached garages in calculating a house’s gross floor area.

The environmental review for East Hampton Town's new 22,000-square-foot senior citizen center in Amagansett will be guided by the town board, not the planning board, after a decision was reached Tuesday by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. 

With major improvements planned for North Main Street and Three Mile Harbor Road from East Hampton into Springs, the Suffolk County Department of Public Works and the East Hampton Town Board and town staff want to hear from the public about the road and its future. At a hearing at Town Hall on Wednesday at 7 p.m., officials from the town and county will talk about the plans and take comments from the public.

The East Hampton Town Zoning Board of Appeals agreed with the town Planning Department last month that a detailed and lengthy environmental review is necessary for a proposal to build a 108-foot stone revetment, 83-foot PVC retaining wall, and new house at 117 Bay View Avenue on Napeague. This despite accusations of complicity between the board and the Planning Department from Brian Matthews, the attorney for Nicholas Grecco, who owns the parcel.

The Sag Harbor Planning Board agreed that Adam Potter’s plans for a 61,292-square-foot downtown building including 44 apartments and nearly 8,000 square feet of commercial space would require a lengthy environmental review. The developer said he is “happy to go through the process. . . . We’d love to be able to answer any questions that people have.”

The stage was set as the East Hampton Village Board prepared to hold a public hearing about proposed legislation to restrict business hours in the historic district, legislation that seemed aimed at discouraging Zero Bond, a private membership club, from leasing or purchasing the Hedges Inn and turning it into a night spot for the ultra-rich.

“I have a big list of thank-yous and acknowledgments, because I stand on the shoulders of giants,” Suffolk County Legislator Ann Welker said, reflecting on her first 100 days in office.

A reconstructed baseball diamond for Herrick Park, complete with dugouts, will be playable by "Memorial Day weekend, give or take," Chris Hines, an account manager with the LandTek Group, told the East Hampton Village Board at Friday's meeting. The board determined that the project will have little environmental impact, and approved $535,720.60 for the work, which will come out of the village's general fund.

The East Hampton Town Board is considering prohibiting overnight parking at 31 town lots and road ends and is also weighing new stop signs at a number of busy intersections.