The owners of Round Swamp Farm in East Hampton are hoping to build pitching and batting cages and two large food prep buildings on a vacant two-plus-acre lot on West Drive, near the farm.
East Hampton Town and the Suffolk County Health Department have previously given the owners approval to construct a more than 15,000-square-foot service commercial building and 35 parking spaces on the property. The new proposal, discussed at an East Hampton Town Planning Board meeting on June 5, calls for two 4,080-square-foot buildings for food preparation and a 6,000-square-foot building to house three or four pitching and batting cages, a viewing area, a changing area, and a unisex bathroom. The latter would operate as a separate business, and the facility would be rented on a reservation-only basis, Drew Bennett, an engineer representing the applicant, Shelly Schaffer, told the board.
The family, which operates a 16-acre farm and market off Three Mile Harbor Road in East Hampton and food stores in Bridgehampton and Montauk, needs site plan approval from the planning board to bring the proposal to fruition. The food prep buildings, according to the application, would not include a retail component; they would be used to bake bread and make dinners, desserts, soups and such for offsite delivery and would operate from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. The owners anticipate that 10 employees would work on site.
The application referred to the baseball training facility as an exercise studio, which, according to the town code, would require 120 parking spaces, said Eric Schantz, a senior planner. The proper nomenclature for the proposed use, Mr. Schantz said, should be “major recreational facility,” which would demand only 13 spaces.
Even so, there were questions about whether 35 parking spaces would be enough for all three buildings. Samuel Kramer, the chairman, said he could envision large groups holding parties at the batting cages, and asked Mr. Bennett if the owners would consider closing the baseball facility while the food prep business was in use, and vice versa.
Mr. Bennett said he would check with the owners, but added that he didn’t believe the parking would be an issue given that the peak use of the facilities would not overlap. The food prep buildings, he said, would be most active from May to November and less so in the winter, when the baseball facility would be more frequently used.
Ed Krug, a board member, said he was a fan of the project and thought the baseball facility would be a great addition to the town. He also pointed out that the three buildings would take up less square footage than had been previously approved.
Other board members were also supportive, as long as the phrase “exercise studio” was removed from application. “You have to get the eraser out on that,” Mr. Kramer advised Mr. Bennett. “And we look forward to seeing you again on the major recreational facility.”