Coming Down The Pike

The developers of more than 43 acres of woods stretching from Route 114 (Sag Harbor Turnpike) in East Hampton have gotten a little too far down the road with their subdivision - literally.

Well over a year ago, Deep Hollow Associates finished cutting a road onto the rolling property to serve 12 eventual house lots. The problem was, the partnership never had approval for the road. Now the dirt road and its steep dirt banks, directly across from Red Fox Lane, remain unfinished and prone to erode onto 114.

The subdivision, known as Hilltops, was nearing final approval when the East Hampton Town Planning Board last reviewed it in April 1996. The developers were told then that the plan would be ready for clearance once the Health Department okayed it, an earlier county approval having expired. The Planning Board signed off on the design of the road during that review.

Since then, the road has been cut, cleared, and graded. Deep Hollow Associates and their representatives on the application, George H. Walbridge Company, told the board last week they thought the map had been approved and weren't aware at the time that the Health Department approval had expired.

The Town Planning Department has recommended the developers begin some of the remaining work on the road to stabilize the shoulders, such as an erosion-control mat and the vegetation approved in the plans. Meanwhile, several members of the Planning Board proposed reporting the premature clearing and grading to the town's code enforcement officer or the State Department of Transportation.

The principals of Deep Hollow Associates are listed as Gregory Troutman and Robert Kramer.